INTERNATIONAL AID p16

Aim : Describe types of aid and the arguments for and against giving aid.

WHO GIVES AID

Voluntary Aid is also known as charity aid. It is money collected by agencies such as Oxfam and ActionAid which is then spent on a variety of different schemes.

Bilateral means "two sides". This type of aid is from one country to another. An example would be Britain giving money and sending experts to help build a dam in Turkey. Quite often bilateral aid is also tied Aid.

Multilateral means "many sides". Here organisations that involve many countries, give help. This aid is run by groups such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) - both of which are part of the United Nations (UN).

Why Countries Give Aid summary

Aid helps trade. If aid helps developing countries to become richer, they will buy more goods from the developed countries.

Much official aid is tied aid. This means that the country has to spend the money buying goods and services from the country that ‘gave it (called the donor country). This helps companies in the donor country.

Giving aid means that the donor country has the support of the developing country, which it may need in times of war.

Many people in the richer, developed countries feel that they should help poorer countries.

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SHORT AND LONG TERM AID

Short term aid is provided when help is urgently required.

When hurricanes hit Central America in October/November 1998 many different organisations such as OXFAM and the Red Cross gave aid in the form of food, fresh water and medical supplies. Without this help even more people would have died.

Countries such as the UK gave help in the form of money. Normally short term aid involves relatively small sums of money which can be used on a short term basis.

Long term aid is given to help countries develop It is a form of planning for the future and its effects may not be

experienced for several years or more. In the past long term aid involved borrowing money (multilateral or

bilateral) to be used to build hospitals, roads and power stations. The sums of money involved were huge and countries often got into debt as a result.

It is now widely believed that this can be detrimental to a country’s development.

More and more countries are seeking small amounts of money to allow grass-roots development or self-help schemes such as providing farmers with implements and good quality seed so that they can farm the land properly and provide for their family.

This gives a small income which increases spending power and can help to stimulate the economy of a country.

Self-help schemes

These have the following characteristics They are small scale – this makes them cheaper

and means that the country does not need to borrow money.

They involve the local people – this means that they help everyone in the area are more likely to be successful.

They use simple technology – so the skills of the local people are used and they do not have to rely on experts from other countries.

Aid

Short term emergency relief aid

Aid from governments, organisations, charities to help people survive after natural disaster, or armed conflict. Sometimes called humanitarian aid.

Long term development aid

Aid from governments, organisations, charities to enable countries and communities to ensure people have access to basic needs and can improve their living conditions.

Draw 2 columns with the same headings as the ones here in blue. Decide which of the following examples of aid is short term aid or long term aid.

helicopter rescue

seeds for crops

building a welltraining a teacher

blanketsbuying coffee at a fair price

lending money to a small business

tentssetting up a refugee camp

building a damgiving out food parcels

vaccinating a baby

sending booksmedicine for malaria