FOREIGN AIDS

Foreign aid or (development assistance) is
often regarded as being too much, or wasted
on corrupt recipient governments despite any
good intentions from donor countries. In
reality, both the quantity and quality of aid
have been poor and donor nations have not
been held to account.
There are numerous forms of aid, from
humanitarian emergency assistance, to food
aid, military assistance, etc. Development aid
has long been recognized as crucial to help
poor developing nations grow out of poverty.
In 1970, the world’s rich countries agreed to
give 0.7% of their GNI (Gross National
Income) as official international development
aid, annually. Since that time, despite billions
given each year, rich nations have rarely met
their actual promised targets. For example,
the US is often the largest donor in dollar
terms, but ranks amongst the lowest in terms
of meeting the stated 0.7% target.
Furthermore, aid has often come with a price
of its own for the developing nations:
Aid is often wasted on conditions that
the recipient must use overpriced
goods and services from donor
countries.
Most aid does not actually go to the
poorest who would need it the most
Aid amounts are dwarfed by rich
country protectionism that denies
market access for poor country
products, while rich nations use aid as
a lever to open poor country markets
to their products
Large projects or massive grand
strategies often fail to help the
vulnerable as money can often be
embezzled away.