In any case, after doing all of these readings on the topics of aid and responding to humanitarian crises (another one of my dissertation ideas), in conjunction with my addiction to watching CNN clips, I have found it very interesting and rather hopeful to see the influx of aid for Haiti. After looking at the response during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the preceding Asian Tsunami in 2004, it is interesting to see how the public responds to these crises. Fortunately crises of these magnitude aren’t a frequent happening, but it is clear that there are lessons to be learned from our experiences during all of these natural disasters. During Katrina, the response was heavily criticized — aid wasn’t delivered quickly enough and people lived without housing for long periods of time afterwards (I’m sure there are many still recovering). In the case of the Tsunami, despite the extreme loss of life (230’000+ people), it was interesting to see the global community come together to assist with the crisis. $14 billion (yes, billion) was raised for disaster relief and a great deal of it came from private donors — people and corporations digging into their pockets to help relieve some suffering from afar. One of the interesting things that was noted by Aid Watch’s contributor Laura Freschi was that the $14 billion that was raised was actually about $4 billion more than costs incurred from the storm (around $10 billion).

Despite the sadness that surrounds Haiti at this time, there is surely a sense of hope as we watch the world mobilize to help a nation in need. To see the compassion that human beings can have for one another is actually rather inspiring. Doctors, nurses and medical professionals were on-site as quickly as possible, patching wounds, resetting bones and performing surgeries in low-tech and rather primitive environments in the hope of saving as many lives as possible. First aid kits were disbursed and food and water were delivered as effectively and efficiently as possible. Of course, there are logistical issues that have been encountered: lack of organization on the parts of some, lack of proper tools, getting supplies to the area in time, and harmonization of the number of agencies on the ground in Port-au-Prince. The issues will (hopefully) undoubtedly be lessons learned for the future; when future crises strike, the hope is that we will be better equipped internationally to help support those in need.

With all of the humanitarian aid delivered and with individuals continuing to want to assist, an interesting question arises about donating money and/or products to Haiti. An interesting article I ran across delivered some to-the-point, eye-opening information. The article was entitled ‘Nobody wants your old shoes’ and discusses the impracticality of sending stuff to a country in crisis. In the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch in 1998, Honduras was inundated with goods by people wanting to help. Of course, it seems kind to send clothes, shoes, equipment, medicines, etc. Key word in that sentence: seems. Mind you, it is a kind gesture, but not a practical one. As with Hurricane Mitch, the shipments of goods actually harmed more than helped — the ports couldn’t absorb the incoming shipments and, moreover, many of the items are rather useless for the people in need. As I’m sure is the case with the Haitians right now, they could probably use professional medical attention and a home more than they can use your prescription Motrin or Chuck Taylors. The problem with most people (I fall into this category at times), is that we’re a bit nervous when it comes to giving our hard-earned money to an organization. It seems much more handy (to us) to send them goods. We know that we purchased something that we think is useful and we’re sending it to people directly. There’s no middleman, thus no one (theoretically) to intercept cash and use it for other purposes (like administrative costs and advertising). Well, here’s the reality: cash is more practical. Money donations is what they need. The people on the ground know what’s going on; they see it with their own eyes and understand where the system is most under pressure. They can use your cash to help people with the things that are really of interest at this moment in time; life-saving necessities.

Here’s how I have come to think of it: Find an organization that you know and trust. Check out Charity Navigator so you can evaluate any of the charities and give to an group that you align with. If I don’t trust an organization or dont’ like the way that they allocate funds, I won’t donate to them. There are loads of organizations out there — surely you’ll find one that you appreciate. Here’s the other part of this equation: Haiti is but one tragic disaster. It is without a doubt a horrendous tragedy that continues to touch my heart and the hearts of many others, but we must realize that there are many disasters in the world. This has received a lot of media attention (not undeserving), but what about when the media attention stops? Do we forget about it then? What about the other countries that have seen disasters that haven’t received the same media attention? I’m sure it’s not that we don’t care, it’s just that we don’t know. Also, let’s remember that the Asian Tsunami relief received $4 billion more than necessary to cover the costs of disaster in Asia… when the funding requirements for Haiti are reached, couldn’t your money be better used to help someone else suffering elsewhere in the world? In donating money to an organization that you trust, you can ensure that it’s earmarked for emergency relief, but it doesn’t have to be for Haiti. If it’s a good organization, they’ll be using your money to help people in need all around the world. I know it feels good to give. It especially feels good to give when you’re seeing the people that the money is benefiting, but whether Haiti receives your donation or not, the cash will go to help another human being in need somewhere in the world. It will help in saving lives, rebuilding homes, reconstructing infrastructure, giving people back their livelihoods. Click here to donate to Doctors Without Borders, an organization that I highly respect and one that has done some amazing work in Haiti thus far.

Lots of love and prayers for Haiti,

As of late, I have developed a minor obsession with foreign aid and its effectiveness. After reading Dambisa Moyo’s book, Dead Aid, I became extremely interested in the topic of aid, looking at whether aid helps recipient societies or actually hurts them through engendering aid dependency, corruption, etc. (I think by now everyone has come to recognize my non-sexual female crush on Moyo). Easterly and Moyo both make poignant arguments about the lack of aid effectiveness, including the fact that (extremely) large sums of money (think $2.3T in the last half century or so) have been funneled into foreign aid with no real growth to show for it. Moreover, there are a number of aid recipients that are worse off now than they were before. Surely, aid has a direct effect on bettering the living standards of a certain number of individuals here and now, but in terms of long-term poverty alleviation/eradication (eradication’s probably an entirely too ambitious term), is aid really where it’s at? Sachs, who penned, ‘The End of Poverty,’ is the former director of the UN Millennium Development Goals and is super pro-aid; he sees aid as a large and beneficial factor in development and has continually pushed for a large boost in aid. I’ve continued to look into all of their arguments (plus arguments of Paul Collier) to figure out where I stand on the matter… as for now, I tend to lean towards the side of Easterly & Moyo.

I found this fantastic write-up done in 2007 that puts Sachs up against Easterly in a discussion about foreign aid and it’s effectiveness in the development arena. Check it out. Perhaps it’s just the idea of these two brilliant (and somewhat dichotomous) men having it out that makes me love academia (and academics). Even more, it makes me love that we live in a world where people can voice their opinions on these types of matters freely.

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For anyone else out there that finds this debate interesting, here are a few fun links to help you stay connected.

- Check out William Easterly’s Blog

- Check out Dambisa Moyo’s Website

- Check out the Center for Global Development’s work on Aid Effectiveness

- Follow Dambisa Moyo on Twitter

- Follow William Easterly on Twitter

- Watch Moyo speak at LSE on January 26th!

- Watch the debate: Moyo vs. Alison Evans (ODI)

Enjoy!

December is coming to a close which means January is right around the corner! Before January 11th rolls around and Lent Term begins, I have a dissertation proposal to write and a summative essay to conclude. Ideally, both will be done well (let’s all cross our fingers for distinction). On top of that, real life has begun to hit me: although last term was challenging, this term is going to be a real feat. Not only do we have to concern ourselves with normal coursework, but most of our graded coursework is due at the end of this term/beginning of Summer Term, plus we have to get a substantial start on our dissertations, plus there’s the whole job/internship situation if we actually want to put our education to use (I like to think that most of us do).

Knowing that we’ll be 100% done in 9 short months is a little daunting. Most people are leaving before then — off to law school, other professional programs or back to their homelands to send in their dissertations. Theoretically, we can all go back home in July and submit our dissertations via courier. For some of the direly homesick, this is a great option. I, on the other hand, have been wanting to drag out my European excursions for as long as humanly possible! I’m loving London life (aside from the occasional mild bout of homesickness) and have thoroughly enjoyed my ability to travel and meet some amazing people along the way. Thinking of all of this coming to an end is saddening (and an impetus to pursue a PhD). So, this term is going to be a full one: normal coursework, a trip to Cumberland Lodge with my program, a summative ‘project planning’ submission, a dissertation to begin, careers to investigate, jobs for which to apply, summative essays to submit and preparation for exams in May/June. On the bright side, I also get to look forward to some special visitors this term! My cousins are coming at the end of January for a visit, Chris is hitting up Londontown in February, and my dad and sister are coming during my break for a two-week, three to four-country mini tour (England, France, the Netherlands & maybe Scotland)! Hopefully seeing all of their bright, smiling faces will help in getting through the term and alleviating a bit of my homesickness (and hold me over until I return back to the US).

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Also, I must wish my friend, Pooja, congratulations on getting her first acceptance to law school! She’s the perfect example of a girl who has her stuff together: finishing her Masters and off to start law school all before the tender age of 22 — talk about motivation! On that note, I’m off to look for jobs/PhD programs to feel like less of a delinquent.

Here’s to Lent Term and to facing reality!

On an amazingly bright note, Lent Term marks the welcoming of one Dambisa Moyo, author of Dead Aid, and I am going to be 1st in line to see her! I’ve decided to make a concerted effort to take advantage of the university’s speakers and public lectures. We get some amazing visitors at our school (Presidents, Prime Ministers, Queens, Scholars, etc.) and now is the time to get to see them in person!

I just finished reading  a newly published book entitled Dead Aid: Why Aid is Not Working and How There is Another Way for Africa by Dambisa Moyo, a Zambian native. Born and raised in Zambia, she has worked for Goldman Sachs and at the World Bank as a consultant. She obtained her Masters from Harvard and her PhD in Economics at Oxford and, all in all has some amazing, eye-opening (albeit controversial) views on the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of aid in Africa. The foreword, which was written by Niall Ferguson, problematizes the idea of the public debate on Africa’s economic problems being conducted by ‘non-African white men’ (Jeffrey Sachs, William Easterly, Paul Collier, etc.) and ‘rock stars’ like Bono and Bob Geldof. It follows that having a book of this magnitude written by an African woman makes it that much more salient. I found the text so eye-opening, in fact, that I’ve been flirting with the area of aid dependency as a dissertation topic; it is an area that I find incredibly interesting and somewhat controversial. Four books currently gracing my desk? The White Man’s Burden (Easterly 2006), Organizing US Foreign Aid (Lancaster 2005), Foreign Aid: Diplomacy, Development, Domestic Politics (Lancaster 2007) and Aid to Africa (Lancaster 1999).

Though I have always been a self-diagnosed proponent of the ‘pro-aid model,’ I have found myself delving into loads of literature that has changed my point of view (the flexibility of one’s mind is one of the things I love about being a grad student). Moyo is one of many academics/economists/intellectual forces that has criticized aid, and the reasons that she brings to the forefront are hardly unsubstantiated. In fact, it would seem that if most people were given the facts on aid in the way that she presents them, very few people would be proponents of doling out the huge amount of systematic aid that we do. She suggests that Africa has not only not been able to development due to large aid inflows, but it continues to flounder in a state of poverty because of aid. Due to the corrupt nature of government, bilateral and multilateral funding is easily stolen/misused by those in power. Additionally, due to the fact that elites end up with access to aid, people are that much more compelled to fight for powerful positions, further engendering violence and hostility. Regardless of your stance on aid, I highly recommend picking it up. It’s a relatively easy read and it has a lot of great information.

One of my coursemates sent me a video of this debate between Dambisa Moyo and Alison Evans, the head of the ODI. It’s 22 minutes long, but it’s definitely worth checking out. Also, if you want more Moyo, here’s a shorter clip (under 10 minutes) from a CNN segment.

Now I’m off to read some Easterly — I’ll let you know if my views change (yet again)!

Happy learning!