Problem
Ineffectiveness of foreign aid
Experimental visualization of narrower problems
Other Names:
Unproductive technical aidWastage of development aid
Counter-productive effects of foreign aid
Negative environmental effects of foreign aid
Inappropriate provision of foreign aid
Nature:
In many aid-giving countries there is a persistent suspicion that aid objectives are ill-chosen and make little impact on economic and social conditions. In the countries which receive aid, there is also a good deal of dissatisfaction with the efficiency and honesty of the aid system; for example, when aid does not reach the purpose for which it was intended there is seldom an investigatory follow-up to determine accountability.
Incidence:
In 1994 it was reported that the US$3 billion aid from the USA to Russia and other countries of the former USSR was not reaching those who needed it. The report claimed that too many decisions were being made at the point of origin so that the distribution at the point of receipt was poorly adjusted to the opportunities and difficulties of the local contexts.
An used factory in Tanzania, completed in 1985 by the Belgian government under the foreign aid programme in Mbagala, near Dar es Salaam, has never been provided with water, electricity and road access. The factory was designed to produce glass windows in a country where most houses do not have windows. Another Belgian financed project, the Inga II hydroelectric power station in Zaire, has also never been used.
Narrower Problems:
Disaster tourismInappropriate food aidInternational aid paternalismReverse flow of financial aidToken humanitarian interventionRestrictions imposed on foreign aidExploitation of dependence on food aidInfantilization of deprived populationsCorruption and mismanagement of foreign aidProhibitive administrative overhead costs for aidImbalance between capital and technical assistanceReallocation of aid funds to alternative prioritiesDistortion of national economies from food subsidies Aggravates:
Compassion fatigueSocial underdevelopmentInadequacy of foreign aidLack of participation in developmentDependence of countries on foreign aidDeterioration of staple food productionWaste of resources Strategies:
Assessing development assistanceProviding humanitarian aid to women and childrenProviding environmental assistance to developing countriesIncreasing productivity of technical aidsReducing amount of wastage of development aidUsing foreign aidProviding foreign aidImproving effectiveness of foreign aidAffirming positive environmental effects of foreign aidNeutralizing negative environmental effects of foreign aid References:
Baskin, V: Aid Offered by the West: myths and realityAdams, Patricia and Solomon, Lawrence: In the Name of Progress: the underside of foreign aidCassen, Robert and Associates: Does Aid Work?Hayter, Teresa: Exploited Earth: Britain's aid and the environmentRich, Bruce: Mortgaging the Earth: the World Bank, environmental impoverishment and the crisis of developmentMoore, Deborah: Reforming The World Bank's Lending For Water: An NGO critique of the World Bank's draft water policy paper Subject(s):
Development → AidDevelopment → Development
Economics → Productivity
Environment → Environment
Societal Problems → Ineffectiveness
Societal Problems → Waste
Society → Foreign
Technology → Technical
Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Problem Type:
F: Fuzzy exceptional problems Date of last update
04.10.2020 – 22:48 CEST