Re: i learned two things from MSNBC and CNN today
[quote=cltbdcentersnare]In my opinion, the Africa situation is a lose-lose situation. America is the number one giver of aid, but no matter what, we will always be critisized for not giving enough. Nobody ever seems to think about the fact that giving large sums of money to unorganized, corrupt, ever-fighting tribal governments may not be the best course of action. There is probably billions of dollars that are lost and embezzled every year that the average poor starving African doesn't get to see.[/quote]
You're right about that, unfortunately. However, the idea of Europe and the US just pouring money in a bottomless pit without even looking to see where it ends up, is not entirely true. There has been a major change in the Aid sector, mostly focusing on 'demand based' aid: governments and civil interest groups have to point out what they need and why, show what they're going to spend the money on.
Governments and groups that apply for fundings also have to be really transparent about their methods and financial situation. This is in general what has happened.
not perfect, but more effective than what it used to be.
Most of the aid to Mugabe's Zimbabwe for instance has been frozen at the moment, same goes for a number of fundings for Angola, pending and investigation that showed the money missing on the payment balance was almost exactly the amount that had been received as 'aid' in that same period the investigation covered. And there is more examples, but I think you get the point. We're not there yey by a long shot, but we're improving bit by bit. Effective financial aid has been a process of trial and error over the decades after independence, just like everything else.
[quote=face]maybe if we just stopped all the missionnaries from going to africa--the ones who encourage the population NOT to use contraceptives--there wouldn't be such a rampant epidemic![/quote]
Those kids are the only way of securing your old day in most of those countries: this is simply a matter of non-existent social services...the kids are there to take care of you when you grow old. Contraceptives won't change this much until the economic situation improves and people can fall back on things like a pension fund after they stop working, or health insurance when they get sick. But those things are only available to those who have the cash...
There is a different reason though why I am opposed to people still going that way and playing the missionary: the church is still putting too much of a financial strain on those people. If they put their donations aside for a whole year, they might even be able to start up local projects from their own money, generating jobs and a moderate income. Instead, the church plays on their feelings and makes them give what they actually can't miss, and has church buildings built from it.
This actually made me raging mad when I was in Ghana, seeing people who couldn't send their kids to school because they couldn't afford the tuition fees paying what they have in fucking [i]donation competitions[/i]...women against men, monday-born against tuesday-born and shit like that. The only decently dressed guys in the village are the goddamn clergy.