Aid - what does it mean to you?

Debt aside, Africa is doomed to remain in poverty, however much aid anyone sends. 2 reasons, corruption we know about, more important is population control, for cultural and religious reasons it is simply off the agenda and not discussed.
Population growth exceeds the resources of the country.

Aid is everything already mentioned and so much more. It may seem altruistic but of course it's not entirely that. It's also not completely about soft power. Interestingly, Davids description of China's aid is actually not aid in that it's loans given to countries to build infrastructure using Chinese companies and technology which supports China accessing the things China needs to build China's economy. Any benefit to the host country is accidental and puts them in China's debt. Unfortunately many of the host countries are finding it impossible to service the debt they've accumulated.
The world as a whole benefits from improving the economies of poorer countries just as they benefit from stability and trade agreements etc International aid programmes help to underpin this.

Aid = help both monetary and physical
simply put those less fortune wherever they live need help from those more fortunate and so it should be

foxie48

Aid is everything already mentioned and so much more. It may seem altruistic but of course it's not entirely that. It's also not completely about soft power. Interestingly, Davids description of China's aid is actually not aid in that it's loans given to countries to build infrastructure using Chinese companies and technology which supports China accessing the things China needs to build China's economy. Any benefit to the host country is accidental and puts them in China's debt. Unfortunately many of the host countries are finding it impossible to service the debt they've accumulated.
The world as a whole benefits from improving the economies of poorer countries just as they benefit from stability and trade agreements etc International aid programmes help to underpin this.

I agree with you about China Foxie.. though I'm not sure quite how much benefit it will actually bring to those countries..

Aid is also about giving people the benefit of medical interventions to improve health, setting up practical programmes to enable people to become financially independent and hopefully finding innovative ways to cope with natural disasters nad damage caused by climate change.and war. It should be a mix of forward thinking and pragmatic instant help..

pascal30 Sadly the infrastructure will help other countries to plunder the resources whilst paying low wages and unsafe working conditions to the locals they employ!
My niece works for a charity that has been affected by the ending of USAID. It provides treatment for Trachoma, a tropical disease which causes extreme pain in the eyes and eventually can lead to blindness meaning the affected people can't work. Nearly 2 million people in 38 countries are affected by it, a disease that is easily treated with antibiotics. How can anyone feel that foreign aid is being misused when it improves the lives of poorer people is, frankly, totally beyond my understanding.

foxie48

Aid is everything already mentioned and so much more. It may seem altruistic but of course it's not entirely that. It's also not completely about soft power. Interestingly, Davids description of China's aid is actually not aid in that it's loans given to countries to build infrastructure using Chinese companies and technology which supports China accessing the things China needs to build China's economy. Any benefit to the host country is accidental and puts them in China's debt. Unfortunately many of the host countries are finding it impossible to service the debt they've accumulated.
The world as a whole benefits from improving the economies of poorer countries just as they benefit from stability and trade agreements etc International aid programmes help to underpin this.

The worst is South Africa the outright inefficiency and blatant corruption for what is a rich country is a disgrace, it’s dangerous too, the safest way to travel from place to place is by air

In the 60s, the 'Department for Overseas Development' was responsible for providing personnel for aid projects and for education where it was needed and/or wanted. I was fortunate to be recruited to teach in a girls' school. By now, of course, most of my students are; like me, grandparents, but they have had careers their mothers would never have dreamed of: doctors, lawyers, diplomats, and, of course, teachers. I see a very important aspect of aid to be enablement which is what it meant to me and my students.

Despite corruption in certain areas, and China's involvement, we shouldn't give up on the most needy or the most productive forms of aid/development. Some excellent examples above. Surely it's also obvious that it's best to help people where they live instead of forcing situations where people leave?

Often i think it means patronising...I saw a documentary where the African participants were creative designers and inventors with businesses. One thing I remember was that the huge dumping of clothing from Europe seriously undermined the African fashion and clothing industry. And I also question middle class kids going on gap year trips to build things....what useful skills can mosr 18 year olds have

It’s not the lack of talent, it’s the lack of opportunities at home which is why so many migrate - anywhere and go to extraordinary lengths to get there. Even those who do find a place at home, they join the same corrupt system

Newdawn I can only share my daughter's experience of volunteering in her gap year, she taught English for a couple of months in a school in Tanzania, also worked on an HIV awareness programme. She then went to China and taught English is a huge rural school for a couple of months. Her living conditions on both trips were absolutely basic. Like most volunteers she was completely self funding working a number of part time jobs in order to save for her trips.
I think she gained as much, if not more, than her students as she went off a rather naive and somewhat privileged 18 year old and came home much more worldly wise with values and beliefs about the world that have helped to guide her life. She contributed to two charities both financially and as a volunteer so there was a quid pro quo. She still volunteers as an unpaid medic on challenging expeditions, run for charitable purposes, providing a necessary service whilst widening her own horizons and experience. That's what volunteering is at it's best and IMO why it's so useful, it's not about providing aid.

foxie - 👍

Aid equals help, of which we have given plenty.

Yes, as a country we have given more help than many other countries, we've also taken lots from other countries in the past. Our wealth was built on empire, we're richer than many countries and many of us feel an obligation towards those who are less fortunate in the country of their birth. Clearly , not everyone thinks as I do and that's fine but foreign aid is not a one way flow, we also benefit.

Aid - what does it mean to you?

Helping in a time of crisis.
Helping people to help themselves.

Not heard of Aid, but I have just donated £15 to Lend with Care