2008 Global issues: development assistance, military aid, debt forgiveness, and control of international institutions such as the World Bank

 In past years, this section of Hunger Notes has focused on

• development assistance

• food aid

• debt and development. 

This year we will add a section on

• military aid  and other elements of developed country influence. This section will include ways in which developed countries try to influence the political and economic outcome of developing countries.  This will include military 'aid' which, like development 'assistance' is not just aid in an altruistic sense, but  typically involves self interest, possibly to a very high degree, on the part of the donor nation. It will also include use of other aspects such as  legal structures, public opinion, and a significant level of control of international institutions. This section will also include developing country reaction to developed country efforts.  It will not include the world trading structure which is covered in another Hunger Notes section, Global issues: trade, hunger and poverty.

Development Assistance

The United States spent $75 billion over the past year to finance worldwide intelligence operations (by contrast, funding for the State Department and foreign aid was $33 billion) Walter Pincus Washington Post September 17, 2009  US role as top arms supplier grows as it increases its share to more than two-thirds of all arms deals Thom Shanker New York Times September 6, 2009

Basic analysis of United States foreign aid

U.S. Foreign Aid Explained  Lane Vanderslice  June 5, 2005

This article describes the four principal components of U.S. foreign aid: 

• development assistance ($8.4 billion in 2005) to assist in the development of poor (and other) countries.  The  principal components assisting poor countries are the USAID Child Survival account, the USAID development assistance account,  the State Departments Global HIV/AIDS initiative, the Millennium Challenge account, and contributions to multilateral development banks such as the World Bank.  There are also two accounts assisting Eastern Europe and countries of the former Soviet Union, most of which are higher income countries.

• humanitarian assistance ($2.3 billion in 2005) goes to those very much in need, because they are in a natural or man-made disaster (such as war) or because they are refugees.

• military and security assistance ($7.8 billion in 2005) provides assistance to U.S. allies, principally through  financing military purchases by these countries or making budget support payments to their governments.

• narcotics control initiatives ($1.0 billion) to assist countries in eradicating drugs and providing alternative employment.  Assistance to country police forces is also made.

Official Development Assistance. How much are developed countries contributing to developing countries?   What is official development assistance--what is counted and what is not?

Half of total assistance, $9.7 billion in 2005,  is development and humanitarian assistance that goes to poor countries. (Some development and humanitarian assistance goes to countries that are not classified as poor, such as many countries in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.)

Official development assistance (ODA) measures how much each developed country gives to developing countries, both in terms of United States dollars and as a percentage of each countries gross national product. The United States gives the largest amount of  development assistance, but it only gives .17 of one percent of its gross national income (GNI), substantially below the average country contribution of .41 of one percent of GNI, and far below the agreed upon target of .7 percent (in 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit). For more information see How much are developed countries contributing to developing countries??

Official development assistance (ODA) is slightly broader than development assistance to developing countries--the $9.7 billion mentioned above.  It is difficult to find a good explanation of what exactly ODA is and what it counts. Hunger Notes provides two:   What is official development assistance? (based on information from the United States Agency for International Development) and a fuller explanation,  "Foreign aid: understanding data used to compare donors" (six page pdf file) by Larry Nowells,  a researcher with the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress.  This article was originally done for Congress.

Food aid

Bags of food stored in Galkayo, Somalia. Part of the country is teetering on the brink of famine. Photo: Jehan Nga/New York Times

US delays Somalia aid, fearing it is feeding terrorists. Meanwhile, one in five Somali children waste away from malnutrition Jeffrey Gettleman  New York Times October 2, 2009

Military aid and other elements of developed country influence on developing countries

Pakistanis balk at US aid package--viewed as infringement on national sovereignty Karen DeYoung and Scott Wilson Washington Post October 8, 2009 

Joint Chiefs chairman urges limit on mission of military, strengthening of US civilian agencies responsible for diplomacy and overseas economic development  Thom Shanker New York Times January 12, 2009

Defense Secretary Gates lays out agenda for US military, says the nation's armed forces need to be better prepared to fight unconventional battles Julian E. Barnes Los Angeles Times December 5, 2008 See Gates article in Foreign Affairs  Report sees scarce resources, nuclear arms as sources of global instability Peter Finn and Walter Pincus Washington Post  November 21, 2008 See National Intelligence Council's full report

Staff Sgt. Cynthia Ramirez sums up the mission of AFRICOM, the Pentagon's newest command: 'Hearts and minds. And we're showing the bad guys we can go anywhere.' Photo:  E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune January 13, 2008)

War on terror's hidden front: US military quietly trying to wage peace in Africa  Paul Salopek Chicago Tribune November 18, 2008

Defense Secretary Gates warns against militarization of US foreign policy  Ann Scott Tyson Washington Post July 16, 2008 (You will leave this site.) 

Debt and development

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