Aid & Politics
During our first quarter retreat, the Global Health Corps cohort of 2015–2016 had the opportunity to watch Poverty Inc., a documentary that exposes the sometimes hidden dangers of philanthropy. This was followed by an enlightening Q&A session which seemed to have raised more questions rather answers.
‘Social entrepreneurship’, ‘global giving’ and ‘international aid’ are trending topics du jour. Humanitarians of Tinder, a blog that makes mockery of individuals with questionable profile pictures, not only has a strong online following but has also been featured in several news outlets. ‘Medical tourism’ and its adverse effects on perpetuating the ‘white saviour’ complex has long been discussed and admonished, however we are often oblivious to how our own actions are in keeping with the established rich-country-helping-poor-country-aid structure.
History is important, and whatever disparity, inequality or wrong we’re attempting to correct has antecedents and causes. We first have to understand the whys and the how-comes before we start designing complex (or simple) solutions to ‘problems’. This analysis often reveals that the causes of ‘poverty’ are multi-faceted and inter-connected, and that any lasting upstream solution has far reaching effects. These effects may not be negligible and it may well be that the comforts that we have grown accustomed to are in fact very linked to the discomforts others in the world face. Some issues in life are simple…but most issues in the development space are very complicated and attempts at simplification — as attractive as it is — run the risk of over-simplifying a complex problem; fragmenting a complex whole into its simplest parts and then only ‘solving’ a component without paying attention to how this component interacts; influences or is influenced by other components.
It is said that hindsight is always 20/20 so we must be careful not to vilify classic failings such as the Clinton-Haiti-Rice saga, Toms shoes etc., by focusing on the ‘perpetrators’ while failing to absorb the real lessons:
Good intentions can cause harm, and it is in fact the failure to be circumspect in our dealings that all too often leads to the would-be short sighted actions that are treated with contempt when given the privilege of looking at the past.
One article featured in the Washington Post, in particular brings to the forefront how little attention is paid to politics and the geo-political landscape in the discourse of international aid. Angus Deaton argues that one ‘side effect’ of foreign aid, is that it changes the relationship between a government and its people; by lessening the clout a people hold over their government, a government is less responsible, and less responsive. There has been a lot of talk of democracy and rule of law and how this ties into the prosperity of nations, yet there remains very little written about the fact that governments can be so supported by other governments, through foreign aid and other means that they are less and less accountable to their populace. When more and more national agendas are set by external parties, and aid becomes the standard more than the exception, apparently democratic governments become more like middlemen than actual governments. The desires of the people matter little, their own vision as a government matters little and any substitute (opposition, replacement, successor) is more likely to toe the same line rather than bring about a worthwhile paradigm shift.
The strength of documentaries such as Poverty Inc. and the ever popular fair trade movement lie in their ability to drive us to question our actions rather than supply quick or simple solutions. The global aid structure, and more so the historical and present day socio-economic structures that make the world what it is today are complex and as such, our activism should go beyond looking out for a green sticker on an avocado or avoiding a green motif on our coffee. They’re not a panacea…but the only way we’ll get to Utopia is if we try.
Sandra Danso-Bamfo is a 2015–2016 Global Health Corps fellow with the GE Foundation in Boston, MA. All GHC fellows, partners and supporters are united in a common belief: health is a human right. There is a role for everyone in the movement for health equity. Join the movement today.
