Does giving international aid sometimes cause more harm than good?
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Does giving international aid sometimes cause more harm than good?
Hello! Nowadays there is an open debate about if aid causes more harm than good due to all the cases of small countries which are affected by this dependence. I agree with this statement because of several reasons, such as the ones I am going to talk about. I will also add some evidence of what I am saying.
Firstly, as I’ve mentioned, some small countries begin to become more dependent, because as bigger countries may facilitate their work, they would not find the necessity to work or to try to thrive. For example, the african country Yemen totally depends on international aid, making it difficult to thrive, as I have explained before.
Secondly, imagine you are with your mom and she buys you an amazing pair of shoes, however, you can’t use them, because they aren’t of your size; well, something similar could happen to small countries. Sometimes big countries contribute with an advanced technology that is useless for small countries because they may not have sufficient resources to use it.
For example, during the Ebola crisis in West Africa in 2014, many countries supplied medical equipment with the objective of help. However, some of the most affected countries such as Sierra Leone or Liberia didn’t count with all the infrastructure necessary to start working with this material, so they were not able to use them until better hospitals were built.
Thirdly, it can affect the political or military situation of the country. If a big country which counts with a large list of global enemies supplies other small country, the rest of the enemy countries could feel this as a threat, and they could even attack this country in the worst cases.
Fourthly, we couldn’t make sure if this aid is being correctly managed, because it may not reach everyone who needs it. To ensure this, we will need to make an exhaustive control that will take too long. For example, after the Haiti earthquake in 2010, a lot of international aid arrived to the country, however, the major part of it didn’t reach the most affected area due to logistic problems.
To sum up, I believe that international aid may cause more harm than good, as I have explained before, because we could appreciate all the consequences by real examples of countries that received aid.
Comments (2)
Most development experts stress that well-designed aid saves lives and improves welfare.
Major successes include:
Vaccination campaigns against Smallpox (eradicated globally).
Massive reductions in deaths from Malaria and HIV/AIDS through global health programs.
Emergency food relief during famines.
Organizations like The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance are often cited as examples of aid working effectively.
I think international aid can sometimes cause challenges, even though it is meant to help. One reason is that some countries may become too dependent on aid and stop developing their own solutions. Another problem is that aid is not always suitable for the country receiving it, especially if they do not have the infrastructure or resources to use it properly. In some cases, aid may also be poorly managed and not reach the people who need it most. Because of these reasons, it is important that international aid is planned carefully so it truly helps countries grow and become more independent.