Wednesday,
February 20, 2008
Italy
Foreign Aid Overlooked
The US
is considered the wealthiest, strongest and most influential nation. It
is also considered the most generous. But Not calculated
as a % of GDP !!!!
Italy
contributes .02 % of GDP , while the US
lags behind at .17 %. But even more so, around the world for numerous
years, many have criticized the US
for cutting back on its promised obligations and responsibilities, and that
furthermore, when it has provided aid, it has been tied to its own foreign
policy objectives
- Aid is primarily designed to serve the
strategic and economic interests of the donor countries;
- Or [aid is primarily designed] to benefit
powerful domestic interest groups;
- Aid systems based on the interests of
donors instead of the needs of recipients make development
assistance inefficient;
- Too little aid reaches countries that most
desperately need it; and,
- All too often, aid is wasted on overpriced
goods and services from donor countries.
The
article below outlines Italy's Aid to Sierra Leone, Battling to re-build
six years after a brutal civil war, and is ranked the least developed
country in the world. Italy
has provided Aid also to Mali,
Senegal, Liberia and Guinea-Bissau,
among many others, particularly Libya,
Ethiopia , Eritrea,
and Somalia,
former Protectorates.
AFP
The Times - Johannesburg,Gauteng, South Africa
February 19, 2008
FREETOWN - Italy
has extended 10 million dollars to help boost food production over the next
three years in Sierra Leone,
the African countrys Agriculture Minister Sam Sesay
said.
The
deal will help "significantly contribute to food security through support
for a modern competitive and commercially vibrant agriculture sector," Sesay told AFP.
The United
Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) will
provide the technical back-up to the scheme.
Other states
set to benefit from similar Italian-backed projects in the region include Mali, Senegal,
Liberia and Guinea-Bissau, according to the Italian
funds representative in Freetown,
Arturo Rollo.
Battling to
re-build six years after a brutal civil war, Sierra Leone is ranked the least
developed country in the world under the United Nations Human Development Index.
http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=709358
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