Daphne Wolf: Small and local aid agencies are best equipped to help the victims of cyclone Nargis because they are already operating on the ground. Donations to these agencies are more effective since big aid organizations are still struggling to access the affected areas.
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Many countries in Africa suffer from a stifling dependence on foreign aid and actually receive more money in aid than they do collecting taxes. ++ This imbalance is detrimental to the citizens as the government is more concerned with the interests of the aid donors than its own people. ++ Donors should, therefore, limit their aid to no more than 50 percent of what a government can collect in tax
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There are four main problems that deepen the world crisis: incoherence of American leadership, lack of global financing, lack of contact between scientific experts and politicians, and finally the fact that the G8 ignores the UN and the World Bank — institutions offering the best hope to tackle global problems. ++ The Group of Eight summits have turned into photo opportunities and illustrate the
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Financial aid will not solve the problem of food security in Africa. ++ Western succor is the main source of revenue for corrupt sub-Saharan African governments. ++ An effective way to help the Africans is to remove the trade barriers that cripple the development of their economy. ++ World Bank figures reveal that removing taxes and tariffs on agricultural goods and fertilizers would bring Africa
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Providing food to starving populations - currently under discussion at the summit on the global food crisis in Rome - is less of a challenge than the problem of raising the world’s agricultural productivity in the long term. ++ Industrialized countries need to increase investment in untapped and unproductive agricultural parts of Africa. ++ If this next green revolution occurs in a “greener” and
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Responsibility and emergency to act in Burma cannot be doubted but UN legitimacy is lacking and R2P stands for “responsibility to protect,” not “right to invade.” ++ Any action requires “a careful, informed calculation of the likely consequences.” ++ Now the junta has acquiesced to limited aid “under an Asian umbrella,” the West should drop plans for air and sea bridges that could entail the
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Despite the determination of Burma’s military rulers to prevent foreign interference in fear of losing its grip on power, the international community has a moral obligation to deliver aid to cyclone-stricken civilians by all means necessary. ++ Countries such as Thailand, China and Indonesia, which enjoy closer relations with Burma, could act as proxies to deliver Western aid. ++ If this fails, a
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The reluctance of Burma’s military rulers to help their own people in the aftermath of cyclone Nargis is criminal. ++ The international community should use a measured approach in encouraging Burma to accept aid and de-prioritize the scheduled constitutional referendum. ++ Greater involvement should be elicited from regional actors such as China and Thailand. ++ Pressuring too hard will only be
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Political pressures are preventing the structural problems of the aid system from being solved rapidly. ++ Achieving the development goals set for 2015 requires immediate action, the political will of official donors, and the contribution of non-profit organizations. ++ Even if aid is in short supply, a system which coordinates donors, projects and priorities can deliver quality assistance.
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World Bank lending to Kenya has more than doubled since 2005, yet ever more funds seem to be diverted from the activities’ objectives. ++ The Bank and its country director in Nairobi are contributing to a culture of corruption of which American taxpayers are bearing the heaviest burden. ++ If power sharing offers a solution to the political crisis, one can hope it will also lead to greater
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A new rating of 22 developed countries (and the EC) puts the United States at 16th on Humanitarian Aid. The new Humanitarian Response Index (HRI), carried out by a Spain-based NGO called DARA, focuses less on total funding and more on how well aid dollars reach their target.
Sweden gets top marks for quickly delivering funds in cash, and consistently following up. The US on the other hand
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