Foreign Aid: How Does it Work?

This article discusses the working of foreign aid and its impact on developing countries. It covers the different types of foreign aid, the role of international organizations, and the criticisms faced by foreign aid. The article also highlights some positive examples of foreign aid work, such as the Green Revolution and The Global Alliance for Vaccinations and Immunizations. However, it concludes that the success of foreign aid is dependent on the approach of the recipient countries.

Running head: CRITICAL APPROACHES TO DEVELOPMENT
Critical Approaches to Development
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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How does the Foreign Aid work?
Foreign aid is considered as a system by which poor and developing countries receive
funding for development by the first world developing countries. There are a lot of ways by
which the foreign aid work in the world. Foreign aid works as goods, money and medical aids
are transferred from one country to another for benefits. The role of recipients of foreign aid is to
utilize these resources for benefits of their country. The aids can be of different types like
emergency, military, economic and others.
The primary purpose of sending foreign aid to weaker countries is to help them in
eradicating the issues created in countries. The foreign aid is sometimes given to the poor
countries in form of loans or sometimes they are provided through the channels of international
organizations. The foreign aid is sent to countries to confront against poverty or helping them to
combat against emergency situations like environmental disasters like floods and earthquakes.
These things are very much relevant for providing foreign aid to countries. The international
bodies who take part in these campaigns mainly are NGOs, International Monetary Fund (IMF),
World Bank, and United Nation’s Children Fund (UNICEF). The assistance is given to needy
countries once United Nations approve that they actually need help because of some serious
situations. A very common form of foreign aid is Official Development Assistance (ODA). The
foreign aid work is also provided so recipient countries can opt their security systems properly.

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Source: (https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/foreign-aid-has-had-a-
victorious-year-lets-celebrate-not-disparage-the-good-work-being-done-abroad-9044499.html)
According to some critics, around 28% of the country’s annual budget is kept for
providing foreign aid by United States of America. As per some critics, foreign aid always
increases the sense of dependency for the recipient countries. It also fosters corruption and
terrorism to some effects. Recently, it has been observed that few countries are promoting
terrorism by foreign aid. This is completely a misuse of the foreign aid indeed. When a country
is under emergency, friend countries donate food, healthcare services and money for the
development of the situation. However, rival groups in the recipient country go on to snatch the
donated food and money from each other.1 Thus it can be debated that the success of the foreign
aid is clearly dependent on the approach of the recipient countries.
1 Brown, Stephen, and Jörn Grävingholt, eds. The securitization of foreign aid. Springer, 2016.

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Source: (https://www.workingabroadmagazine.com/volunteer/relief-work/aid-workers-
volunteer-abroad)
The monetary loans approved by International Monetary Fund and World Bank have
often faced some criticisms. It is due to the conditions they look to impose on the recipient
countries. International organizations like IMF and World Bank need to understand that these
countries need the donations because they are facing sheer countries.2 These international
organizations insist on recipient countries to cut off the state subsidies for goods as this makes
the price of products go high up. Sometimes, foreign aid works perfectly as well. During times of
natural calamities, many countries have donated money to these countries and they have utilized
the money to bring improvements in the situation. On the contrary, the ill effects of foreign aid
are very clear when millions of dollars went to the pockets of American dictators instead of
being delivered to the suffering people who needed it urgently.3
2 Milner, Helen V., and Dustin Tingley. "Public opinion and foreign aid: A review essay." International
Interactions 39.3 (2013): 389-401.
3 Browne, Stephen. Aid and influence: do donors help or hinder?. Routledge, 2012.

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There are some contrasting views in this scenario as well. There are some instances
where good things have happened by virtue of foreign aid work. The Green Revolution was
started by Norman Borlaug who was an agricultural scientist and this movement or revolution
was funded by Rockefeller and Ford Foundations. This is where the funding for a movement or
revolution was utilized properly for the benefit of the environment.4 This Green Revolution had
brought in new supplies of high-yielding rice and wheat, synthetic fertilizers, use of pesticides
and several other new techniques of agriculture in this scenario. This Revolution took place in
the 1960s and 1970s. This movement had been very much fruitful for many poor countries and
this enhanced their food production to a whole large level. The poor people had been benefitted
to a new level. Another positive example of foreign aid work is the fact that The Global Alliance
for Vaccinations and Immunizations had been initiated by several Governments and international
organizations in the year 2000.5 The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was also very much
involved in this scenario. Due to this, around 370 million children across 77 countries had been
benefitted because of this initiative through vaccinating to safeguard them from several diseases.
4 Arel-Bundock, Vincent, James Atkinson, and Rachel Augustine Potter. "The limits of foreign aid diplomacy: How
bureaucratic design shapes aid distribution." International Studies Quarterly 59.3 (2015): 544-556.
5 Glennie, Jonathan, and Andy Sumner. "The $138.5 billion question: when does foreign aid work (and when
doesn’t it)." CGD Policy Paper 49 (2014).

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Source: https://www.redcross.org.au/about/careers/international-aid-work
In the final section of this blog, it can be said that foreign aid work is a very debatable
question in the social sphere across the world. There are instances of both good and bad things.
This is why no judgmental decision can be made whether it is good or bad. It entirely depends on
the mindset of the leaders of recipient countries. Thus it is a matter of self consideration how
several countries would react to this foreign aid work.

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Reference List
Arel-Bundock, Vincent, James Atkinson, and Rachel Augustine Potter. "The limits of foreign aid
diplomacy: How bureaucratic design shapes aid distribution." International Studies
Quarterly 59.3 (2015): 544-556.
Brown, Stephen, and Jörn Grävingholt, eds. The securitization of foreign aid. Springer, 2016.
Browne, Stephen. Aid and influence: do donors help or hinder?. Routledge, 2012.
Crewe, Emma, and Elizabeth Harrison. "Whose development." An ethnography of aid (1998):
23-65.
Curtis, Benjamin W, and Serena Cosgrove. Understanding Global Poverty. Routledge, 2017.
Glennie, Jonathan, and Andy Sumner. "The $138.5 billion question: when does foreign aid work
(and when doesn’t it)." CGD Policy Paper 49 (2014).
Milner, Helen V., and Dustin Tingley. "Public opinion and foreign aid: A review
essay." International Interactions 39.3 (2013): 389-401.
Mosse, David. "The anthropology of international development." Annual Review of
Anthropology 42 (2013): 227-246.
Riddell, Roger C. "Does foreign aid really work? An updated assessment." An Updated
Assessment (March 1, 2014). Development Policy Centre Discussion Paper 33 (2014).
Smith, N. "The Satanic Geographies Of Globalization: Uneven Development In The 1990S".
Public Culture, vol 10, no. 1, 1997, pp. 169-189. Duke University Press,
doi:10.1215/08992363-10-1-169. Accessed 12 Mar 2019.

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Yanguas, Pablo. Why We Lie About Aid. Zed Books, 2018.