Canada’s Aid How do we help?

Types of Aid Even though more money is spent on weapons and military funding, aid is still given in millions of dollars worldwide Multilateral Aid: large scale programs that involve a number of governments Tied Aid: given with conditions, eg Canada will give aid as long as the receiving country only buys Canadian wheat. This type of aid is highly criticized for being self-serving.

CIDA Canada’s government has a specialized agency designated to providing relief to developing nations, this is Canadian International Development Agency

NGOs Because many feel that government organizations are self-serving and corrupt, many non-gov’t organizations (NGOs) have been created. These give relief without the same political angles. Examples include: Oxfam, Rotary, Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders Ironically, CIDA gives some of its funding to NGOs so they can distribute it as they see fit.

United Nations Since WWII the UN has become more focused on improving living standards and less focused on military operations. The UN has special organizations to give relief. UNICEF is forefront in combating disease, malnutrition, and poverty for the world’s children

Problems with Foreign Aid Because many of the nations that need aid are unstable and war torn, it is difficult to get aid to the people that need it. For example, in Somalia in the 1990s, warlords purposely blocked UN food supplies from reaching the citizens. The relief was there, people just couldn’t get it

Example: Tsunami victims in 2004 needed clothing, shelter, food, and medical attention but because roads and cities were destroyed, relief could not get to the suffering people.

Problems con’t Even if developed nations want to give aid to other countries, many of the governments receiving the funds are corrupt. The money is promised to go to the people, but it stays in the hands of the already rich. Moreover, countries like Canada do little to stop this because they want to keep relations with powerful governments good.

Ethics: Should Aid be Linked to Human Rights? 1.3 billion people live in extreme poverty, and many of these people are under governments that are known to violate human rights. Example: Afghanistan under the Taliban – should we give relief to this country when we don’t agree with their practices? Example: Canada is criticized internationally for its policies towards First Nations people – should we be denied certain support?

Solutions to Poverty?