Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>The humanitarian crises that could result from President Trump\u2019s halt of USAID programmes show that current models of aid don\u2019t promote growth or development, they fester dependency.<\/b><\/p>\nForeign aid operates under the premise that it assists nations to overcome their developmental hurdles. Yet its long-term effectiveness is contentious. Aid may have some short-term positives, but the unintended consequences make it ineffective at bringing about long-term, lasting progress and development. Despite being tagged as a developmental tool, aid has been much more effective as a tool to advance donors\u2019 interests and has fuelled a dependency syndrome.<\/p>\n
Aid fuels a dependency syndrome<\/p>\n
President Trump\u2019s decision to halt significant USAID disbursements has drawn mixed reactions. Aid advocates decry the humanitarian needs that now won\u2019t be met without USAID funding. In 2023, USAID accounted for 29 per cent of OECD countries\u2019 aid funding. There is no one who will step up and fill the funding gap. Reports have already started pouring in about how health and emergency relief efforts are in limbo due to the halt. While the misery that will be caused as a result of these funding cuts is not in doubt, the fact that one country\u2019s aid freeze will have such an effect is a stark reminder that the current model of aid management by donor countries is not working.<\/p>\n
The current aid model of \u201cgiving fish\u201d instead of \u201cequipping to fish\u201d fuels a dependency syndrome in a bid to address problems that need rigorous approaches for long-term solutions. Despite the multitude of arguments and findings that aid more likely fuels a dependency syndrome, donor countries haven\u2019t significantly altered their approaches. The \u201cDead Aid\u201d advice of Dambisa Moyo hasn\u2019t been heeded.<\/p>\n
One of the most persistent inadvertent effects of such funding is the erosion of local ownership and the undermining of the development of self-reliant systems. By providing parallel systems of service delivery, programs can inadvertently weaken existing governmental structures and hinder the development of indigenous expertise needed for development. In Ghana and Uganda, for instance, local government services were crowded out, and villagers left worse off after the arrival of some NGOs; the help had become harmful and left people dependent.<\/p>\n
When donors give out items such as free grains purchased from farmers in the donor countries to the deprived in recipient countries, local farmers in recipient countries lose market and may eventually give up on their production. In discussions about aid, it is very rare to hear the voices of farmers in recipient countries who have been put out of business because of these free grains.<\/p>\n
Recipient governments have mostly become ineffective in addressing the needs of their populations. They feel entitled to aid funding and shift their responsibility to donors \u2013 their \u201csaviours.\u201d In a bid to not bite the hand that feeds them, these recipient governments grow weak to resist donor interests that sometimes may be contrary to the beliefs of their people. A case in point is the US Center for Disease Control\u2019s revelation that the President\u2019s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a US government initiative to fight AIDS globally, was funding abortions in some African countries. In response, 129 African leaders from 15 countries signed a letter to the US Congress voicing their opposition to these abortion services rolled out under the guise of family planning and reproductive health principles and practices. Aid that is contrary to the belief system of the locals cannot be progressive or developmental.<\/p>\n
The challenge, therefore, lies with recipient governments to find alternative ways to stimulate growth and development without undermining their capacity to chart their own course and build sustainable, self-managed systems.<\/p>\n
Looking beyond aid<\/p>\n
Aid should be seen for what it truly is; a tool to advance donors\u2019 interests or provide short term emergency relief, not a development tool with an altruistic tag. As a device for the advancement of donor interests, aid is doing quite well, considering the significant soft power that US and China have accumulated through their disbursements, especially in Africa.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, the goal for recipient economies is to look beyond aid. They need to find paths towards fostering partnerships that promote mutual benefit and long-term sustainability rather than resorting to aid that perpetuates a cycle of dependency that undermines the very goals of development assistance.<\/p>\n
LSE<\/b><\/p>\n
For More News And Analysis About Gambia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"writes Philip Akrofi Atitianti Africa-Press – Gambia. The humanitarian crises that could result from President Trump\u2019s halt of USAID programmes show that current models of aid don\u2019t promote growth or development, they fester dependency. Foreign aid operates under the premise that it assists nations to overcome their developmental hurdles. Yet its long-term effectiveness is contentious. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":77002,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-77003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\n
Foreign Aid Advances Donors\u2019 Interests and Creates Dependency - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/foreign-aid-advances-donors-interests-and-creates-dependency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Foreign Aid Advances Donors\u2019 Interests and Creates Dependency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"writes Philip Akrofi Atitianti Africa-Press – Gambia. The humanitarian crises that could result from President Trump\u2019s halt of USAID programmes show that current models of aid don\u2019t promote growth or development, they fester dependency. Foreign aid operates under the premise that it assists nations to overcome their developmental hurdles. 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