Category: Reimagining Aid

Ebera Okereke of Chatham House argues that the America First Global Health Strategy provides potential opportunities for African countries, despite being designed as strategic asset for the benefit of the USA. She suggests that recipient countries respond strategically, to 1) reclaim the narrative regarding the dependency that was largely created by donor countries, 2) to negotiate collectively to increase the leverage and strength of the dependent countries, 3) to accelerate domestic investment in health-related activities via earmarked taxes, excise levies,…

In late July, The New York Times published an article regarding the State Department planning process for PEPFAR, indicating that they plan to discontinue the program in 2-8 years, depending on the country. PEPFAR resources would be transformed into a platform for rapid disease detection and outbreak response, establishing new markets for American pharmaceuticals and technologies, and encouraging privatization of HIV services. The plans also call for an abrupt termination of funding for most efforts to prevent new infections, especially…

Obinna Onyekwena reminds us, in his recent opinion piece in Development today, that aid to the Global South has functioned as a mechanism of control, influence, and outsourced profit, entrenching asymmetries of power under the guise of assistance. He also notes, that following the recent aid cuts “it is not the recipients who express the greatest anxiety, but the dominant institutions and donor actors.” Given that the conventional narrative continues to be framed through the lens of a “savior complex”…

A recent Reuters investigation reveals that countries like Japan, France, Germany, and the United States are reaping billions in economic rewards from a global program meant to help low- and middle-income countries combat climate change. The grants and loans often come with high interest rates or binding conditions, requiring recipients to hire companies from the donor countries. Read this article on how wealthy nations turned a supposed act of climate justice into a profitable venture for themselves.   Image Source:…

In 2015, USAID unveiled the largest contract in its history, aimed at transforming health supply chains in lower-income countries. It has not gone according to plan. In 2017, it was clear the project was failing. During its worst quarter, only 7% of its shipments arrived at their destinations on time and in full. Project leaders scrambled as multiple countries ran short of essential health products and faced stockouts. A recent public narrative of recovery is called into doubt by a new investigation, which…