Top business professionals and political leaders alike believe that allocating the necessary funds to help the world's poor will create potential consumers of U.S. goods and products. The assistance we provide for these growing economies will help the U.S. economy as well as create job opportunities domestically. The return on this investment certainly promises a high reward in more ways than one.
"Your future is in the global economy."
-Tom Donohue, CEO and President of U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Many people debate whether the US should provide foreign aid for low income, developing countries. They wonder whether it is useful, a waste of money, or even effective.
Bill Gates in his address to the US Global Leadership Coalition gives important reasons for why the US provides and needs to continue providing aid. The benefits far outweigh the costs, not only for the poor, but for the United States as well.
Below I outline briefly the points of his address:
1). The economic importance of developing countries to global markets.
Exports to developing countries have grown 6 times faster than exports to major economies in last decade. In fact, half our exports now go to developing markets (1/2 trillion dollars a year).
The book Emerging Africa, demonstrates how the developing world is growing at very high speeds. For example, Mozambique has grown drastically since the 1990's due to the steady flow of reliable aid.
"Growth for this country in the future is going to be overwhelmingly dependent on our ability to seek faster income growth in the most populous places of the world." --Obama
"The growth of these developing economies are engines for our own economy. Our success is dependent on those around us, and the investments we make today will help create the jobs of tomorrow." -- Bill Gates
2). The world will be a safer and more stable place if people are able to have enough to eat and have opportunities.
3). The US is one of the largest givers to protects to support the poor. If we continue to give, our generosity will motivate others to do the same. We set the example for the developing world.
4). Many claim that most of foreign assistance does not actually reach the poor due to corruption. But in the past decade, there has been a major change. Donors have come to understand the system and created new programs focused on investments that have proven to have a beneficial impact. Mechanisms are also in place to track how funds are being used.
As Bill Gates rightly argues, "The statement that foreign aid is a waste of money, does not stand up to scrutiny."
Because of foreign assistance, small pox was eradicated 30 years ago and global organizations are on the brink of eliminating polio. The number of cases is down to less than 2,000 from more than 30,000. Five million people with aids are receiving treatment, and millions of children are able to sleep under mosquito nets at nigh protecting them from malaria.
Foreign assistance is responsible for the incredible reduction of childhood deaths. In 1960, over twenty million children died before reaching the age of five years. Last year, 8.1 million died. That is a 60% decline even with the enormous increase in the global population.
5). Saving children's lives helps build sustainable population growth. As child mortality rate goes down, and parents know that their children are likely to survive, they have less children. This could help limit the major population that has been taking place.
6). Investment in the agriculture not only cuts hunger, but builds up a countries wealth. As farmers improve productivity and access new markets, they become self-sufficient.
"A poor country with a sustainable, healthy population and a thriving agricultural system will not remain poor for long."
Wisely, Gates concludes the speech by asking whether the US truly has the money to spend on aid and spend it now?
Yes, he says, and recognizes David Cameron's initiative to give 7% of GDP in aid. The 1% that the US spends on aid has an enormous impact on the lives of the poor and developing economies, which positively affects the United States.
-Gabrielle Gurian
SOURCE: BILL GATES REMARKS AT THE 2011 USGLC TRIBUTE DINNER
Although many people view foreign aid money as being wasteful and even damaging to societies, "aid money can and does work" as stated by Bill Gates. Gates reviewed a deeply researched book called "Getting Better: Why Global Development is Succeeding-- and How We can Improve the World Even More" written and researched by a senior economist on leave from the World Bank, Charles Kenny. Even outspoken aid critics are impressed at the case given by Kenny in "Getting Better."
In "Getting Better," Kenny acknowledges that hundreds of billions of dollars are spent in poor-low income countries and have had limited affects on income. The income gap has widened between rich and poor countries and no one really understands why. However, Kenny argues that income is not the only measure of success and may not be the most meaningful one. Kenny shows that the quality of life in some of the world's most poverty stricken countries have improved drastically over the past decades, a great deal more than people realize. In his analysis, Kenny also shows with solid data support that governments and aid agencies have played an important role in this progress.
Half a decade ago,more than half of the global population struggled to get enough food each day. By the 1990's this number drops to about 10%. But thats not all! Across the global infant mortality has decreased and life expectancy is up. In Africa, life expectancy has increased by 10 years since the 1960's. This is despite the HIV pandemic that has swept across the country. In the 1950's less than half of of the worlds children were enrolled in primary schools. Now almost 90% are enrolled. Since 1970's literacy rates in sub-Saharan regions have doubled and civil rights have even begun to gain substantial ground in these countries.
But how is it possible that quality of life has so drastically improved while incomes have fallen? Kenny claims that new technologies and innovative ideas might play a major role. For example, eradicating smallpox costs a mere 32 cents per person infected and in just six years vaccinations against measles reduced the number of children who died by three quarters. Gains in public health can have impressive benefits at very low costs. One third of the ten million children who die in poverty ridden countries could be saved by the wider use of breast feeding, insecticide treated bed nets, and oral rehydration therapy.
These are low cost treatments with huge results. Perhaps aid hasn't effectively increased poor countries income, but it is obviously improving the quality of life of million of people. If foreign aid and development could focus on spreading such ideas and cheap technologies to poverty ridden countries, the lives of the world poor could measurably be improved.
-Gabrielle Gurian
SOURCE: THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Review of Charles Kenny's "Getting Better: Why Global Development is Succeeding-- and How We Can Improve the World Even More" by Bill Gates To listen to the video interview go to TheGatesNotes.com
In a recent interview with Financial Times, Bill Gates -- the world's second richest man and co-chair of the philanthropic Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation -- spoke about foreign aid for development and recent successes of aid in improving quality of life in poor nations.
Gates acknowledged skepticism of foreign aid. He noted the notorious former President of then-Zaire, Mobutu, as an oft-referenced example of how foreign aid has sometimes been funneled to corrupt politicians, like Mobutu, and then wasted.However, Gates argued that examples like this are not arguments against aid, but illustrate the need for greater investment in aid so that it can be channeled effectively.
He went on to highlight several important areas in which foreign aid has produced real results, including improved agricultural production and, especially, great advances in medical technology.He said, "The primary reason we’ve gotten down from twenty million children dying a year to close to eight million is vaccines.” Indeed, the funding of vaccine research has been one of the primary focuses of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Interestingly, Gates also discussed the role of political interests in determining where aid money is spent. He criticized former U.S. support of corrupt governments, calling certain instances examples of "Cold War calculation." Similarly, he criticized those that oppose international aid on the grounds that domestic interests are more important. “If all you care about is the US or the UK’s relative strength in the world, then it’s particularly scary,” he said, encouraging the consideration of problems beyond those of our own country. Wise words from the world's most prominent philanthropist. -Elizabeth Newton
Posts
