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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 4-Oct-06
Care International says that aid money to Africa is being wasted

Web Log - October, 2006

Care International says that aid money to Africa is being wasted

Although the amount of aid has tripled, it hasn't improved things, according to Care International U.K.'s chief executive, Geoffrey Dennis.

The Care International report, says that over 120 million people in black Africa are "permanently living on the edge of emergency ... because we keep them there."

Even though aid has tripled, we keep them there because "this money is often made available too late, is too short-term and is targeted at the wrong things. The result is that the needs of people living on the edge are largely ignored until they have fallen into starvation. The same money must be spent differently to end the cycle of emergency."

One particular complaint is that 39% of the aid given to Africa is food aid. "[F]ood aid responses continue to be popular, partly because food aid is used by several international governments to offload their own domestic food surpluses, but also because the results are immediate and visible. Despite this, food aid often leaves people no better off then before the emergency."

Instead, priority should be given "to recovery and prevention programmes like seed distribution and improved veterinary services so that families can pull themselves back from the edge and be in a stronger position to fight off the next emergency themselves."

I know I shouldn't be such a curmudgeon, but these things are so crazy unrealistic at a time when the entire world is crazy unrealistic.

Last year in June, the leaders of the G-8 countries, the "richest" countries of the world, vowed to cure poverty in Africa during the next decade. But the sheer size of Africa makes that mathematically impossible, as I explained at length at the time, and the politicians know it. But they all patted themselves on the back for making promises that they knew could not be fulfilled.

Africa is larger than Europe, America, Alaska, China, and New Zealand (not shown) combined. <font size=-2>(Source: Boston Univ)</font>

Africa is larger than Europe, America, Alaska, China, and New Zealand (not shown) combined. (Source: Boston Univ)

Most people seem to think that it should be easy to cure poverty and hunger in Africa because Africa is about the size of Texas, so how hard could it be?

Actually, Africa is a tiny bit larger than Texas. Africa is as big as the entire United States. PLUS Alaska. PLUS Europe. PLUS China. And there's still enough space left over to throw in New Zealand.

I'm in favor of doing what we can to feed the people of Africa, but call me a curmudgeon if you want, but if all the so-called "rich nations" of the world gave every penny they had to Africa, it still wouldn't be enough. Africa is too big.

Meanwhile, we're not preparing enough for a bird flu pandemic.

Most Americans are oblivious to the rising tide of terrorism throughout the Mideast and Europe, and over the weekend the level of violence between Palestinian gangs in Gaza is leading even Palestinians to believe that a civil war may be near.

Americans are oblivious to the rising tide of militarism in China, and to the fact that they're actively preparing for war with the US.

And yesterday, idiot investors pushed the stock market up to Dow 11727, the highest in history, at a time when the real estate bubble is bursting, household debt servicing is at a historic high and will be going higher, and China's economy is softening. There seems to be no limit to the "state of denial" of today's investors.

In the meantime, the top international news story is a sex scandal in Congress.

So fine, let's bicker about whether we should be sending food aid or seed aid to Africa. It'll fill the time until we have something real to worry about. (4-Oct-06) Permanent Link
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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 4-Oct-06 Care International says that aid money to Africa is being wasted

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 4-Oct-06
Care International says that aid money to Africa is being wasted