Foreign Aid

1. Foreign Aid

2. Official Development Assistance (ODA) • Also called Foreign Aid or International Assistance • Most comes from the 30 members of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC)

3. Who’s Giving It Who Gives the Most (as a % of their total GNI) 1. Sweden – 1.40% 2. Norway – 1.05% 3. Luxembourg – 0.93% 4. Denmark – 0.85% 5. Netherlands – 0.76% 6. United Kingdom – 0.71% 7. Finland – 0.56% 8. Switzerland – 0.52% 9. Germany – 0.52% 10. Belgium – 0.42% 11. France – 0.37% 12. Ireland – 0.36% 13. Austria – 0.32% 14. Canada – 0.28% Who Gives the Most (actual amount) • European Union – $86.66 billion • US – $31.55 billion • UK – $17.88 billion • Germany – $14.06 billion • Japan – $11.79 billion • France – $11.38 billion • Sweden – $5.83 billion • Norway – $5.58 billion • Netherlands – $5.44 billion • Canada – $4.91 billion • Australia – $4.85 billion

4. The UN set out a goal for countries to reach giving 0.7% of their GNI (Gross National Income) to foreign aid • Only the countries in green are hitting the UN’s target

5. How Much Are We Giving • Canada’s ODA never close to UN target of 0.7% • 0.5% of GNI in 1986–1987 • 0.34% in 2009-2010 ($5.16 billion) • 0.25% in 2015-2016 ($5.16 billion)

6. Bono Encourages Trudeau to Give More • U2 frontman Bono is urging Justin Trudeau give more foreign aid, even though the Liberal government has deemed it too ambitious to hit the 0.7% UN goal • The Irish rock star praises Canada for showing an openness to the world at a time when many countries have been retreating deeper into isolation. • The OECD says Canada was well below that mark last year when it committed 0.28% of its GNI • Bono is co-founder of ONE Campaign, a global organization dedicated to ending extreme poverty and preventable diseases

7. Trudeau’s Spending • In his first month in office he sent around $3billion in foreign aid • The Liberal Party tends to pay much more in foreign aid than the Conservative Party

8. Who’s Getting It • The Top 20 Recipients of Canadian Foreign Aid

9. Canadian Partnerships That Make a Difference Canadian Organisations • Aga Khan Foundation Canada - education, food security, economic opportunity • Micronutrient Initiative - Helps vulnerable populations receive vitamins/minerals • CARE Canada - Improves basic health, education , economic opportunity Multilateral Organisations • World Food Programme • UNICEF • World Health Organization International and Global Partners • Global Fund – prevents and treats HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. • International Committee of the Red Cross – helps people affected by armed conflict and other situations of violence. • Helen Keller International – Combats the causes and consequences of blindness in Africa and Asia.

10. Canadian Response to International Humanitarian Crises • Canada gave $857 Million in total in 2013-2014 • Since the start of the Syrian crisis, Canada has committed $403.5 million in humanitarian assistance for Syrians affected both in Syria and those who have sought refuge in neighbouring countries • Food assistance to more than 6 million people • 25 million children received polio vaccination

11. Improving Maternal, Newborn and Child Health • This is Canada’s top development priority, with Canada committing $3.5 billion in funding from 2015 to 2020. • Canada is committed to working with a range of partners toward ending the preventable deaths of mothers, newborns and children under the age of five.

12. Pros & Cons

13. PROS Supports global human development & reduces poverty Helps areas affected by war and natural disaster Helps reduce risk of conflict and terrorism

14. PROS • Creates jobs • Enhances foreign trade. Creates market for Canadian goods. • A lot of aid is “tied aid”: Receiving country must spend the money in Canada.

15. PROS • Develops good international relations • Develops military alliances • It’s the “right thing” to do.

16. Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet formed the Giving Pledge in 2010, enlisting billionaires to commit at least half of their wealth to philanthropy. • http://givingpledge.org/ • WARREN BUFFETT, one of the world's wealthiest people said, • "If you're in the luckiest 1% of humanity, you owe it to the rest of humanity to think about the other 99%.""It's class warfare; my class is winning, but they shouldn't be."

17. CONS Burdens taxpayers The situation in Canada should be improved first Some say that a budget surplus and zero national debt should be prerequisites for foreign aid. Some say that If you're worried about Canada's reputation, there's nothing stopping you from donating your own money to any cause you wish. They say Canadian tax dollars should only be spent on Canadians.

18. CONS • Aid causes the receiving country to become poorer as it tries to pay off the loans. • A lot of foreign loans never get repaid.

19. CONS • Local businesses suffer since they cannot compete with free or discounted goods. • Creates dependency, not independence. • Some say “Give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you will feed him for life.”

20. CONS • Sometimes foreign aid gets spent in the wrong areas: the military and not on the poor. • Have to be careful that aid does not create bitterness or enemies by helping one country and not another.

21. CONS • Difficulties with selection: which countries deserve aid; what causes should receive aid • Why give aid to India? They can afford nuclear weapons and a space program so let them feed their poor. • Canada provides aid to the BRICS: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa ...Why exactly are we helping the fastest growing economies of the world?

22. CONS • A lot of problems remain unsolved in Canada (e.g. Native communities)

23. Aid and Africa Zambian-born economist, DambisaMoyo has authored a book titled "Dead Aid" in which she writes that foreign aid actually stifles African self-sustainability and innovation.Here is a statistic that Ms. Moyo cites... that should give us pause:"Between 1970 and 1998, when aid flows to Africa were at their peak, poverty in Africa rose from 11% to a staggering 66%."When we visited Nairobi, we read the following sign on the walls that surrounded a mosque:" Please do not encourage begging"... CNN Video 2009 three mins.: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHKa4qiIegM Is Aid Killing Africa? Dambisa Moyo talks about Dead Aid on ABC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIPvlQOCfAQ Bill Gates’ rebuttal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5utDdxveaJc

24. DEBATE: ODA Does More Harm Than Good • In a world where over 3 billion people live on under $2 a day, where economies and threats are globally interconnected, and where only small amounts of aid are given, should wealthy nations do more? • Or, given the poor track record of aid, the support it provides to dictators and tyrants, and the actual need for individual entrepreneurialism and free markets, should we focus our limited resources elsewhere? • http://www.munkdebates.com/debates/foreign-aid

25. Types of foreign aid

26. Bilateral Aid • one government directly transfers money or other assets to a recipient country. • E.G. Japan gives a grant to Syria for the construction of a hospital.

27. Multilateral Aid • : like bilateral aid, except it is provided by many governments instead of one. A single international organization, such as the World Bank, often pools funds from various contributing nations and executes the delivery of the aid. • E.G. UN development program gives money to women’s education in Afghanistan.

28. Focused Foreign Aid • Humanitarian aid e.g. natural disasters • Charitable aid e.g. scholarships • Fund projects that work closely with Canadian businesses overseas • e.g World University Service Canada partnered with Rio Tinto Alcan at its mines in Ghana

29. Just a thought • Instead of comparing how much foreign aid is given, it is more important to compare how much countries spend on their home soil aiding refugees who seek asylum in their countries.Canada used to accept more refugees per capita than any country in the world. Now we are far behind several other countries such as Germany, Finland, Norway. We provide needed from financial support, medical care, dental, eyeglasses, prescriptions, legal fees, schooling, language training, social supports, job training, interpreters. Refugees are given priority for affordable housing, etc. • If one country is doing more than its fair share in accepting refugees on a permanent basis and incurring all of the costs , then should it also be expected to contribute as much per capita in aid outside of the country as those who take in less refugees per capita on a permanent basis and provide them with less than Canada does?

30. Writing Assignment • Write a ¾ -1 page response to: • Do you think Canada should be giving MORE foreign aid, or less? • Explain why. Use the notes from today AND also do a bit of research of your own. • Due: next Tuesday’s class