Pious platitudes vs. real fixes for Africa's parade of horrors
UNITED NATIONS — Celebrities plan to confront politicians with an “in your face” challenge: why aren’t you doing more to help needy Africa? As the G 8 industrial states gear up for their annual economic summit in Scotland, and the UN soldiers on pressing for its Millennium goals to eradicate global poverty, rock concerts in cities like Berlin, Paris and Philadelphia are planned to shame governments into giving more humanitarian assistance to Africa.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has repeatedly signaled out Africa as desperately needing urgent assistance for vital human needs.
There’s no doubt there’s a stunning humanitarian emergency crushing large parts of the African continent from Sudan’s Darfur region to the Congo. Actually there are a myriad of issues and myths too concerning the African crisis.
The immediate emergencies are either caused by deliberate regime malice such as in Sudan or Zimbabwe, or the passive horror of famine caused by drought. There’s also the entrenched and ongoing ill-effects of endemic political corruption, state socialism and the AIDS pandemic which have turned even potentially successful countries into powder keg poverty traps. Indeed even many resource rich countries are desperately poor.
A year or two ago the crisis de jour was in West Africa; Liberia, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone. Farther back it was Burundi, Rwanda and Angola. Ethiopia tragically has been an enduring candidate for compassion.
Indeed places like Darfur have descended further into Dante’s Inferno as a pious hand wringing world community offers platitudes, good wishes and band aid assistance. Good people and most governments want to help but concerted and serious action by the UN Security Council is sadly lacking save for a plethora of meetings and expressions of deep concern.
Or take Zimbabwe were a once rich agricultural producer and food exporter is stalked by a regime-induced famine and plagued by government policies against its own population. The government of Comrade President Robert Mugabe is literally bulldozing opposition homes and villages displacing 200,000 people.
Encouraging a feel good response to a complex problem, the entertainment community led by Bob Geldof has nonetheless revived the old formula of Live Aid Ethiopia concerts from the 1980’s. Such concerts focus on the human impulse to “do something” rather than just fret but at the end of the day provide little more than a style over substance solution. Fine. But while treating the symptoms are important, solving the problem remains the real challenge.
Though the West can and should do more to help, it’s positively sickening to hear comments that the USA is doing nearly nothing to eradicate poverty in Africa or globally for that matter. Yes the U.S. spends far less of its GDP in aid as compared to say Norway. Still the actual sum stands at $19 billion or 0.16 percent of Gross National Income. Japan spends $9 billion or 0.19 percent and Germany allocates $7.5 billion or 0.28 percent. The UN target/wish list goal for development aid remains at 0.7 percent of GNI of which only France with 0.42 percent or $8.5 billion comes close to.
For example, the U.S. provided over $3.2 billion in Official Development Assistance (ODA) to sub-Saharan Africa in 2004, more than triple the amount sent in 2000. In addition the Washington-based USAID also provided almost $1.4 billion in humanitarian assistance to 32 African emergencies during 2005 such as Sudan and Ethiopia.
Given that crushing national debt continues to pull down African governments, the British Prime Minister Tony Blair specifically has taken to some arm twisting on George W Bush to write off $40 billion in World Bank debt for eighteen poor countries. The logic is simple; debt proves to be a millstone and a hindrance to development. Uganda for example pays $120 million in debt service, money better spent on health care. Erase the debt, and in theory, countries can move forward.
There are many options, opinions and choices ahead. But while the pronouncements of celebrities will echo in newsrooms and living rooms the deeper issue comes down to encouraging economic enterprise and promoting good governance in African states.
John J. Metzler is a U.N. correspondent covering diplomatic and defense
issues. He writes weekly for World Tribune.com.  |
