In my assignment I am going to use evidence from two modules, Internet, news articles and news programs. I will also use evidence from Penny Forsyth’s talk, videos and other research I will do. I am going to evaluate all the evidence and see which was successful and which was unsuccessful aid.
Aid can be given in many forms but the two main distributors of aid are the Government (95%) and Non-Government Organisations (5%). The Government aid is given in many different ways and reasons, some forms work and others fail. The United Nations recommended that the M.E.D.C’s spend at least 0.7% of their Gross National Product on aid, this figure is rarely reached. Government aid is given in two main forms these are Bilateral aid and Multilateral aid. Bilateral aid is vital resources, which are given directly by an ME.D.C (the donor country) e.g. Britain to an L.E.D.C (the recipient country) e.g. Kenya. Multilateral aid is when M.E.D.C’s give money to international organisations such as the World Bank, the IMF (international Monetary Fund), or the EC Development Fund. These organisations redistribute the money to L.E.D.C’s.
The most common type of Government Aid is Tied Aid and this is the aid that most governments prefer. This is because the recipient country must spend the money given to them on services and goods from the donor country. The donor country benefits because it gives work to their own population and money is returned back from the sales of machinery and equipment. The recipient country usually falls into a higher debt because eventually it has to pay the donor country back the loan with a relatively high rate of interest, for example this happened with Brazil and the Iron Ore trade. Political Aid is also another form of Government Aid; it is where countries give aid to other countries that have the same political views as them. For example the USA used to give Political Aid to countries which were anti-Communists whilst the USSR gave Political Aid to countries such as Cuba and Eastern Europe who were Communists. The threat of communism is not so great now so donor countries often give aid to other countries where they hope to set up trade links and industries. The only reason that Tied Aid and Political Aid is given is because the donor country thinks they will benefit.
Non-Government Organisations (NGO’s) like Oxfam often provide vital relief in times of crisis and long term projects such as getting water and wells close to villages and making sure it’s clean they also send over doctors and medical help so the people of the country can live a better life. These are long term effects to try and maintain a sustainable healthy nation. NGO’s provide both Emergency Aid and many types of Development Aid programmes. NGO’s are very different to Government aid mainly because NGO’s are not usually looking for any financial gain and there are no political or financial ties. Some of these organisations work with the poorest people on Earth, get all the money that’s donated through donations and they put a lot of effort into collecting it. They collect it through charity events (red nose day), moneyboxes in public places, sponsorship events and the selling of second-hand items. Unlike other types of aid NGO’s make sure the aid gets to the people who need it most and they work hard to avoid it being wasted. Training and equipping village health workers in Kenya and building and supplying education facilities and teachers are typical examples of the type of aid that charities such as Oxfam or Action Aid might give. Penny Forsyth gave other examples given by Action Aid she talked most about the long tipped plough that is used in Mwingi, it worked because it was appropriate, long term and sustainable. The long tipped plough formed soil into ridges, which retained water and made it easier for roots to develop, oxen could also pull it. In Kuso simple dams were constructed to collect water. Water flowed into different pond for different functions, one pond for drinking water another for cleaning, and another one for the animals. This improved the hygiene of the community where it is placed. Water was also collected in containers made from cheap, local materials.
Aid that can be given by both governments and NGO’s is known as Project Aid. Project aid is given for special developments like road building or providing water supplies. The donor country usually has some say over what the money is spent on but this is in consultation with the local people, even more so when the NGO’s are involved.
All of this aid has been successful because the donors have used resources from the local area which means they don’t have to import expensive materials, Donors have also exploited the local education by teaching them face to face instead of by books which many of the people can’t read.