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Issues: Aid
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The image below delivers a pretty standard message from the social justice / international development community, and it makes me so furious that I choke on food that I successfully swallowed hours ago. It doesn’t even make sense that I could choke on such items, but such a rage defies physics.
Why does my food besiege me for a second time? Because pictures like this assume that the proverbial short guy is always disadvantaged through no fault of his own. That if someone or something is undersized, that we should pull out our wallets and buy them as many wooden boxes as they need to be just tall as lanky over on the left. Worse, the big fella has actually even lost his own box in the pursuit of this... this... “justice”.
There’s a tougher question to ask. “Is something behind the eight ball as a result of its own bad behaviour, and to what extent should we help it if it refuses to change?”
An example is a small, developing, island nation which spends 80% of its tax revenue on salaries for government workers. Thousands of these government workers are relatives of village elders and other government officials, parachuted into jobs because of who they know. It is not rare in numerous ministries to see workers asleep at their desks, if indeed they decided to go to work that day. These horrible inefficiencies are a key reason why the government can’t balance its budget, and is receiving “Budget Support” from numerous foreign government donors. This involves the foreign governments writing multimillion dollar cheques to the island nation, and the money being used as overpriced, corrupt welfare for the friends and family of powerful people. So is the budget support actually helping the recipient country? Yes and no... the cheques allow the salary scam to survive for another year.
So, tell me again. How many free wooden boxes should we give the short guy?
It’s often politically awkward for donor governments to impose reform requirements on recipient governments in return for aid money. The donor governments are variously accused of neo-colonialism, exporting political ideologies via blackmail, ulterior motives, or a lack of cultural sensitivity. But, where there’s a good argument for it, I want them to do it. A culture of laziness and nepotism isn’t a culture, it’s a bunch of people making excuses, and trying to hide behind an emotional concept that donors are reluctant to closely examine. Yet the recipients still want stuff for free. Not only do they want their dessert before their vegetables, they want to have their free cake and eat it. Cake contains as many as five of the six food groups, but in ratios that make it an irresponsible breakfast option.
If we’re serious about aid effectiveness, the blank cheques have to stop, and the tough conversations about governance have to increase. Why should a nation that became tall as a result of discipline and efficiency indefinitely subsidise a nation that refuses to make similar sacrifices (Germany says hi, Greece)? Is this seriously our best attempt at defining justice?
This is a guest blog by economist Michael Jayfox. All views expressed are his own. |
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Yesterday, Bill Gates published his fifth Annual Letter. In it he “makes the case for using a tool of business to improve the health and welfare of more of the world’s people.”
The day before Bill was at London’s Royal Institute speaking to a room of around 300, including some of our accomplished Global Poverty Ambassadors, as part of the prestigious BBC Richard Dimbleby Lecture. He – “The Impatient Optimist” – charismatically and articulately addressed a world free of polio.
"The best of who we are – our capacity for innovation, our resilience, our sympathy for each other – has gotten us to this threshold. Only disease, poverty and indifference still stand in the way. The fight to eradicate polio is a proving ground, a test. Its outcome will reveal what human beings are capable of, and suggest how ambitious we are about our future."
The six chapters within Bill’s Annual Letter include: Measuring Progress, The World’s Report Card, Global Goals / Local Change, Mapping the End of Polio, Feedback for Teacher Growth and The Way Forward.
So, where do we begin? At the Global Poverty Project we want to see an end to extreme poverty in a generation. But with that comes commitment, funds and resolve – Bill also agrees these are key variables.
In Bill’s letter he demands that we must begin with accurate measurement and clear goals in order to improve the lives of poor people around the world. And only through quantified measurement can we, as a global community, achieve the task ahead. He highlights progress with education in the United States to the prenatal health care in Ethiopia.
“I have been struck again and again by how important measurement is to improving the human condition,” he writes. “…In previous annual letters, I’ve focused a lot on the power of innovation to reduce hunger, poverty, and disease. But any innovation — whether it’s a new vaccine or an improved seed — can’t have an impact unless it reaches the people who will benefit from it."
He uses examples from Colorado, Ethiopia and Nigeria to show how gathering and organizing data with increasing speed and money is making a difference. The Microsoft co-founder also discusses how polio is close to being eradicated from the world and how new advances in measuring teacher effectiveness are providing opportunities to improve education.
“…the progress we’ve made towards each [MDG] is staggering.”
Gates also wrote about the United Nations-created Millennium Development Goals as an example of how the world can make changes with the right goals in place.
“While we won’t reach all of the goals, the progress we’ve made toward each is staggering. The MDG target of reducing extreme poverty by half has been reached ahead of the deadline, as has the goal of halving the proportion of people who lack access to safe drinking water.” We at the Global Poverty Project are humbled and proud to be part of this movement and education campaign. Become an Ambassador or Global Citizen and show us your commitment today.
Gates is also encouraging others to speak up and contribute ideas for how to improve the world for the next generation. You can help him out by submitting your idea on the Hopes for 2030 Facebook page. |
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On behalf of the Global Poverty Project, I would like to extend my most sincere heartfelt congratulations to Akram Azimi, a remarkable individual with a truly inspirational story, on his announcement as the 2013 Young Australian of the Year. Akram is no stranger to the Global Poverty Project family, having served as a presenter of our 1.4 Billion Reasons presentation and as an ambassador for The End of Polio campaign.
I have had the privilege of counting Akram as a dear friend ever since we first met at a student conference in Singapore several years ago, and our friendship has deepened over our time together with the Rotary Club of Crawley. Having had the pleasure of witnessing up close Akram's kind character, warm sentiment and colossal commitment to community service, this announcement comes as no surprise. Indeed, you would be hard pressed to find a more deserving and gracious awardee and I have no doubt whatsoever that his example will inspire many Australians to give much more of themselves in time, skills and money.
Yet on the day when his significant contribution to the nation is rightly being celebrated, one would have naturally excused Akram for taking a moment's break from community service to simply bask in glory. He's earned it after all. But that's not in line with Akram's character. Rather he was keen as ever to roll up his sleeves and get to work on one of many upcoming projects he will be helping us out on, and he wanted you - our loyal supporters - to be involved right from the get go. With that in mind we wish to share the below message from Akram.
Congratulations once again Akram!
Michael Sheldrick - Campaign Manager, The End of Polio
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I am living and healthy proof of how foreign aid can transform the life of a person in the developing world. However, you usually don't get the chance to meet them and see what a profound difference your tax dollars have made… until today.
I could thank the Prime Minister today as a healthy young person precisely because I was immunised against polio in war-torn Afghanistan by funds contributed to by Australian tax payers. Reflecting on this, I realise that Australians saved my life well before I set foot on Australian soil.
However, I did fail today to thank someone else: you.
Because if it weren’t for you and the other supporters of this campaign, the Prime Minister wouldn’t have made polio eradication a priority. You’re the reason the Australian Government committed $50 million to polio eradication. And you’re the reason that the PM stood alongside Bill Gates and Ban Ki-moon as a leader in the world of polio eradication at last year’s UNGA.
That’s why I’m so excited to be a part of this incredibly important campaign.
I was born in Afghanistan and spent part of my childhood in Pakistan. I know what it means to live in a polio-endemic country. I even remember receiving the vaccine.
I’ve also seen the research that shows what will happen if we fail – 200,000 children paralysed by this disease every year. On the other hand, success would truly make a statement that every child’s life is as valuable as our own.
So while I thanked the Prime Minister for everything she’s done so far today, I know the Government and our community can do more – together we can fight this through to the end.
I’m planning to make the most of my time as Young Australian of the Year by sharing the inspiring story of polio eradication far and wide. I’ll be doing all I can to make sure our collective voices are heard on this issue, and I’d love to share the platform with you. Join me as I tour the country giving presentations on polio.
And if you're interested in supporting or hosting me on my tour, click here.
Thanks once again for your involvement in this campaign and I hope to see your face in the crowd!
Akram Azimi – Young Australian of the Year |
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Guest Blogger Lyrian Fleming asks why so many of us want to volunteer - and why we should think about it first. To see the original article by Lyrian, click here.
It sounds great, doesn’t it? Give up all your wealthy trimmings, put on your sensible outdoorsy clothes and become one with ‘the locals’ in an exotic location like Cambodia, Papua New Guinea or Uganda.
You want to give back, right? Atone for the accident of your birth which saw you born into a wealthy, democratic country like Australia, the Lucky Country no less. You’re probably young, not too tied down by mortgages and kids, the timing is just right to drop it all and become a volunteer in a developing country.
BUT WAIT..
What happens when you work for free?
What do most developing countries have in common? Unemployment issues. And what do a lot of short term volunteering programs offer well-meaning, rich country volunteers? The chance to work for free on a project which will ‘help’ a poor community.
Build a house in Guatemala! Build a school in Ghana! Help maintain a rainforest in the Amazon! But think about it – if you’re willing to go and do it for free, and in most cases actually pay for the privilege of offering your hardworking self to work in poor communities, what happens to the local population in their fight for jobs?
And this is before we even touch on more complex issues like cultural appropriateness of buildings, maintenance and upkeep, land titles and whether or not the building is actually what the community itself wants or needs.
GPP intern Luke helped build a community centre in Ramchey, Nepal.
What happens when you leave?
Sub Saharan Africa has experienced horrendous loss of life, destruction of communities, lost inter-generational knowledge and so much more due to the AIDS epidemic. Millions of children have been left without parents and orphanages are common. They’re common, too, in South and South East Asia, and a lot of them are run by foreign charity groups.
Orphanages often seek the help of volunteers to look after the children, for some this is the only way they stay in business. In exchange for room and board, volunteers work in the orphanage day and night, sometimes for two weeks, sometimes for two years.
Can you imagine what this is like for the children?
A constant stream of new faces. Constant uncertainty. Detachment. Short term relationships and the knowledge that everyone leaves eventually. And we haven’t even touched on the quality of education, child protection, and the destruction of local social bonds orphanages foster.
The reality is that families and communities are generally great at stepping in and looking after their own, albeit with outside support of services where necessary. And many children in orphanages aren’t even orphans. Of course there are cases where there really is no one to look after a child, but these cases are rare, and orphanages disempower communities and often do more harm than good to the very children they are trying to protect.
This is people’s lives we’re talkin’ about here
Would you let your children be educated by the lovely teenager down the street rather than go to school? Do you want your house built by someone with a degree in global economics, or nursing, or communications, in two weeks? My guess is no – and neither do people in poor communities.
What am I saying in this post?
That short term volunteerism often does more harm than good, and it is CRUCIAL you do your research before volunteering your time and money in a developing country, because not all ‘voluntourism’ is bad, but enough of it is to warrant THE SOUNDING OF ALARM BELLS.
Here are two resources to get you started:
No matter how good your intentions are, good intentions are simply not enough. To read more about 'Voluntourism' you can read our previous posts.
Lyrian Fleming is a writer focussing on development issues. She has worked for CARE Australia, The Wilderness society and others as well as writing for Oxfam, trespass magazine and blogs on journalism, twitter and women's empowerment. |
Posted by Lyrian Fleming in Aid, Poverty for column Issue Analysis on Jan 18th, 03:07 |
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 We're thrilled that Save the Children have today released a report outlining how they believe we can see an end to extreme poverty within a generation.
Ending extreme poverty in our generation is at the core of the Global Poverty Project.
It's the belief on which the organisation was founded 4.5 years ago, and is quite literally, our vision statement.
It's the basis of our ground-breaking live presentation, 1.4 Billion Reasons, which tells the story of how we can see an end to extreme poverty within our generation – and the role that each of us as global citizens can play to make this world a reality.
To date, more than 150,000 people have seen 1.4 Billion Reasons at more than 1300 presentations around the world – you can get your chance to see or book the presentation here.
Ending extreme poverty within a generation is the title of our most read blog post – which we reposted just last week.
And, it’s the theme of a tongue in cheek video we made a few years ago, heralding the end of extreme poverty, and your role in it – check it out here.
At the Global Poverty Project, we’re committed to doing all that we can to catalyse global citizens taking action to create this world.
As Justin Forsyth, CEO of Save the Children noted in the report today, "An historic achievement is within reach. By committing to these ambitious but achievable new targets, we really can become the generation that ends extreme poverty forever. For the first time, it is feasible to imagine that in the next two decades no child will die from preventable causes, no child will go to bed hungry and every child will go to school."
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