The Curse Of Foreign Aid, And Medécins Sans Frontières

Foreign aid can clearly help African countries, and foreign aid has done a world of good in Africa and elsewhere. It has saved millions of Africans from starvation, and saved millions from deadly tropical diseases. It has alleviated untold amount of human misery and suffering. However, as the hundreds of billions of dollars of wasted, misused, and stolen foreign aid over several decades show, it is ultimately good, honest, effective African governments that will ensure that foreign aid is used to build new roads, schools and hospitals rather than siphoned off to the Swiss bank accounts of big shot politicians and ministers. Even the most ardent advocates of foreign aid would accept that too many foreign aid dollars that are transformed into Mediterranean villas, Rolls-Royce limousines, and yachts of corrupt, greedy African officials who do absolutely nothing to improve the lives of ordinary Africans. Foreign aid works only when good governments put it to good use. Therefore, the impact of foreign aid on Africa’s development, like Africa’s development itself, ultimately depends on Africans themselves…