Do you think Foreign Aid is affective?

Faraj Aldossary
Research
Writing Class - Heidi Wright

Does foreign aid fulfill good goals around the world? Foreign aid is one of greatest human services introduced to help others who have civil wars, natural problems, or poverty. According to Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (2007), foreign aid comes from wealthy countries to help poor countries. Foreign aid takes different forms to reach to people deserved. These days, we see some countries that cannot live without foreign aid. Foreign aid take care of children, women, and old people who suffer from bad situations. However, we wonder if all foreign aid reach to those people or if it misses some during its way to them by workers, managers, or by other reasons. However, foreign aid is main reason for continuing many poor people’s lives. Foreign aid is good, but to make it effective we must do several things: choose good managers, make it tangible, and make strict punishments and useful rewards.

According to Brinkley (2006), the definition of foreign aid is ''funding for an emergency, like a natural disaster''(para.8). Foreign aid is managed by formal and informal institutions. They take foreign aid to give it to poor countries. There is formal foreign aid managed by united nations, and informal foreign aid managed by individuals or private institutions. Foreign aid is deserved human responsibility from wealth countries to poor countries. How can we see people needing to eat or drink while we stay and watch without give them any help? That question pushes many people and companies to contribute in foreign aid. Hartley (2005), states that "the history of foreign aid has been a history of bribery and corruption which often has not benefited and has even harmed the poorest because it has keep political elites in power”(para.15). However, some people support introducing foreign aid to help poor countries because they see it social responsibility. In article “Less aid. More trade” (2006), “the drumbeat grows louder for increased foreign aid. The United Nations Millennium Development Goals aim to halve extreme poverty, provide universal primary education and end the spread of HIV/AIDS. One thing is needed to do all this and much else: more money from rich nations”(para.1). Then, it is obvious that foreign aid helps poor countries to provide basic important requirements for their citizens. On the other hand, others disagree with introducing foreign aid because it makes poor countries dependent. In article “Less aid. More trade” (2006), “But the foreign aid debate is quite odd. Few ask the obvious question: Does foreign aid actually help the poor?”(para.2).

First of all, foreign aid should be managed by good people. Foreign aid is honesty for poor people, so workers who manage foreign aid have to be faithful, truthful, honest, and helpful to deliver those honesties to poor people who really deserve them. For example, if workers who manage foreign aid are not honest, though, and they steal some foreign aid blankets, then there will be some poor people without covers because they did not get their allowance. Moreover, people who divide foreign aid among poor people should be clever, faithful, and aware to recognize people who indeed need foreign aid and people who just want to take more fore other purposes. For example, some of poor people may take their allocation two or three times. So, foreign aid leaders should be organized and strict to avoid that problem. Furthermore, people who take lead foreign aid have to feel like poor people and remind poor people’s bad conditions to be away from bad behaviors toward foreign aid and poor people. Foreign aid is deserved right for poor people.

Next, foreign aid should be tangible. People who introduce foreign aid should look at poor people’s future instead of their temporary needs because that will benefit them for long a while through more than one generation. For example, schools can help poor people to know how can they gain their food and their needs? Another example, hospitals can save their lives more than temporary needs like clothes. Moreover, foreign aid should cover health tools and medicines as foreign aid tangible to fight contagious diseases that sometimes come from poverty such as rickets and malnutrition. According to Zakaria (2005), there is much money has spent to cure for people who have diseases around Asia and Africa. It is good for poor people to get useful different foreign aid to cover different needs.

Third, there should be strict punishments aid rewards for failing of foreign aid. People working on foreign aid should know that there are punishments for failing keep this section. For example, if they have 1000 meals of food, they must give them to 1000 poor people, or they will be punished. In addition, we have to recognize a guilty person among others by allocating responsibilities to be fair. For example, if there is rice was stolen, we have to look for a guilty among employees of a rice section, not among all employees of all sections. To make good employees we have to punish any one who makes a mistake because consequences urge people to do the best. On the other hand, people who give, they should receive rewards for this great work. We should encourage the people who give money, food, clothes, blankets, or any thing to help poor people to make them feeling good. For example, medals, certifications, letters of thanking. In article “Bush: U.S. to tighten sanctions on Myanmar” (2007), "A nation that is open in trading with the world will create economic rewards that far exceed anything they could get through foreign aid," he said. "Open markets ignite growth, encourage investment, increase transparency, strengthen the rule of law and help countries help themselves"(para.18). Moreover, we should show people who give that their aid is given to people intended for example, by records, films, or via media. The system of foreign aid should be clear for senders and receivers.

Opponents claim that foreign aid should be given to people intended as cash money because they think that those countries which receive foreign aid should decide the best ways for spending foreign aid according to their needs. However, this argument does not consider other sides that may make foreign aid is not effective. On other words, foreign aid as cash money is easy to be stolen. For example, we can hide money in our pockets, then nobody can notice it. According to Beeston (2006),“OXFAM suspended its operations … in an area of Indonesia devastated by the tsunami, after allegations that tens of thousands of pounds in aid money may have been stolen”( para.1). In addition, cash money is easy to spend, so poor people will waste cash money as fast as they can for easy and temporary things because they do not have enough knowledge how they can spend for important needs. For example, we spend much money for extra watches or pens just because we have cash money in our hands and they may be tempted to do the same. It is good for poor people to have vital things more than luxuries.
To sum up, foreign aid has exalted aim. We should care about foreign aid to show good picture of good relationships among people through different classes. Because we know the best things for those poor people, we should provide tangible foreign aid to cover many their needs through many years. In order to reach good outputs, we should make penalty and reward. We should encourage individuals and companies to invest in poor countries to build good economy as foreign aid. Foreign aid is responsibility depending on rich countries to help poor countries. With foreign aid, poor countries will have good infrastructures such as streets, schools, and housing. Foreign aid social work that has exalted principles. So, foreign aid will keep continuing for life.

References
Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (2007, July 31). Mozambique; Finance Ministers Discuss IDA Replenishment. Africa News. Retrieved October 5, 2007, from Lexis Nexis
Beeston, R. (2006, March 17). Tsunami operations halted after aid theft allegations. The Times (London). Retrieved October 5, 2007, from Lexis Nexis
Brinkley, J (2006, March 4). Hamas Seems Undeterred By Threat To Cut Aid. The New York Times. Retrieved October 5, 2007, from Lexis Nexis
Bush: U.S. to tighten sanctions on Myanmar (2007, September 25). CNN.com. Retrieved October 5, 2007, from Lexis Nexis
Hartley, J. (2005, June 5). Blair to put pressure on bush to aid Africa aid; As Bob Geldof launches his latest crusade to save lives, the pm vows to win more support from America. Sunday Express. Retrieved October 5, 2007, from Lexis Nexis
Less aid. More trade (2006, September 22). National Edition. Retrieved October 5, 2007, from Lexis Nexis
Zakaria, F. (2005, November 28).The earth's learning curve; The scientific revolution that began 300 years ago has accelerated exponentially. It is moving so fast that the spread of knowledge defines our times. Nations that learn faster will prosper. But it will take something else--wisdom--to endure. Newsweek. Retrieved October 5, 2007, from Lexis Nexis