Tag: International Aid

Bad News and Values

Throughout my academic research around sustainable and just futures, a common theme I have identified is the misalignment of value. This post uses the example of HIV to discuss where we currently place value and where the value actually lies.

Money was created to make the exchange of goods easier; without such a system, there is no room for economic growth and, in turn, development, which is vital to improve the lives of those within said economies. However, resistance starts to occur when economic systems exploit certain individuals for the benefit of other individuals.

HIV is among the leading causes of death in low-income countries; Malaria and Tuberculosis are also on the list. HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) damages the cells within your immune system, weakening your ability to fight everyday infections and diseases. Furthermore, HIV can often lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) when there is one or more diseases present in the body caused by a weakened immune system. Whilst there is no cure for HIV, it can be managed and treated to allow those who contract the virus to live a healthy and long life. However, with major countries halting their shipment of life-saving HIV medicine, these individuals are robbed of this opportunity.

Unsurprisingly, the USA is one of the major countries reducing international aid, as a result of the Republicans’ reelection. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) operates in over 100 countries, focusing on areas like Africa, Asia and Latin America. As of the 20th of January 2025, there is a 90-day halt on all USAID actions whilst they are reviewed by the new president. But before a verdict is reached, those living in areas with a high HIV rate, such as Lesotho, Botswana and Zimbabwe, will experience a drop in international support that will be detrimental. USAID support 20 million individuals living with HIV, and a slight pause in receiving medication will cause an influx of deaths. Not only will those already diagnosed suffer, but the likeliness of the virus spreading will increase. Moreover, the USA is terminating its relationship with the World Health Organisation (WHO) due to the belief it carries an ‘unfair’ burden of paying more than other countries such as China. WHO focuses on sustaining the developments in global healthcare, with research and implementation of strategies to help test and treat HIV. Without such donations, those in unstable countries will suffer.

There has been no comment on why USAID is being reviewed, but I cannot imagine a reason good enough to stop the support of 20 million people. These are individuals who are part of a community and a family, just like us. It would be sensible to assume the $40 billion a year spent by USAID will be diverted to the American oil industry. A huge driver of pollution, disease and climate change, but a huge money maker, so it’s worth it, right? Heavily investing in a dealthy industry to benefit the weathy and increase suffering of the many.

Unfortunately, too many elites hold their value within money, and this greed has irreversible impacts. If we look around and see the value in our communities, we appreciate the need to sustain these communities to create a better world. Current systems only achieve a larger equity gap and increased suffering as major barriers such as healthcare and education are not overcome. Placing value on a select number of elite people is a major mistake; the number of foregone opportunities exceeds the value created.

Wealth is a measure of value, but it’s not THE measure of value.

7th Feb 2025

Climate Change, Disease, Global Development, HIV, International Aid, Sustainable Development, USA, USAID, WHO
Why We Need Sustainable Development

The aim of sustainable development is to meet the needs of the present without compromising those of future generations, this also refers to societies having acceptable resources and living conditions that do not take away from the planet (see Defining Sustainability).

When discussing sustainability, climate change is often one of the main topics to arise. Whilst this is important, there are other factors which should be considered in order to be truly sustainable. Below I have identified seven main consequences of hundreds of years of unsustainable actions which we should focus on improving.

Poverty: those living without the necessary financial resources, often due to conflict, poor governance, gender or ethnic inequality, exploitation, and domestic violence. Currently, 700 million people live in poverty worldwide, which is more than double the population of America.

Health: our physical and emotional well-being, good health is considered living without injury, disease and pain. Those living in poverty will most often experience poor health due to a lack of financial stability and/or accessibility to adequate health care. Having a restricted income not only means medical treatments cannot be paid for, but a healthy diet cannot be maintained and therefore is likely to lead to malnutrition and long-term health problems.

Education: conveying knowledge and skills is highly important for securing a fulfilling job which has adequate pay. In 2016, 750 million of the global population of adults were illiterate, 2 out of 3 being women, the cause of this is often a lack of access to schooling, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Education is a human right giving everyone equal opportunity to explore their potential.

Inequality: the disparity of opportunity, this may take the form of gender, ethnicity, or wealth… to name a few. By reducing opportunities for certain groups of people we are limiting our potential, everyone has their own skillset which can contribute to developing a sustainable planet. No one knows everything, we need to work together to create innovative solutions to everyday issues.

Economics: economic inequality is the distribution of income across a population. Economists like to dispute equality vs. equity, equality means everyone receives the same resources whereas equity refers to individuals/populations receiving different resources based on their needs to reach equality.

This theme also links to promoting policies that encourage productive activities, end forced and child labour, and promote safe working conditions. 1 in 10 children are forced into child labour, half of which are in hazardous conditions severely endangering their health.

Climate change: the most recognised theme of unsustainability refers to the increased atmospheric temperature and number of extreme weather events. Whilst some temperature shifts are natural, humans are increasing the speed at which the change is occurring more than three times as fast. It is believed that the earth will surpass dangerous temperatures within the next 10 years unless we make dramatic, sustainable changes.

Earth preservation: the earth’s resources are limited, so conserving them for future generations is vital for survival, this refers to non-renewable resources such as oil, coal and gold, as well as the natural environment, i.e., forests, water, species, and land. To put this into perspective, it is expected that we will run out of oil in less than 50 years. There may be sources of oil we are unaware of, however, these are economically unavailable and therefore unattainable, on top of oil being a fossil fuel and extremely harmful to the environment. Once our oil reserves have depleted, we will be forced to use alternative, renewable forms of energy for heating, electricity and powering vehicles. The earlier we start this conversion the better.

None of these themes occur in isolation, they often arise in succession. Additionally, many of the above, such as poverty and health, require international collaboration between developed and developing countries. This may be through financial aid, training, donation of equipment or distribution of knowledge. If governments of developed countries were to invest more in international aid to reduce poverty, charities such as Oxfam could focus on tackling climate-related issues rather than basic living conditions, speeding up the process of sustainable development.

The United Nations focuses on international peace, setting 17 Sustainable Development Goals which are designed to tackle the discussed challenges, these are to be achieved by 2030, but as of 2024 none of these goals have been met with progress severely behind schedule. As a result, these targets have been criticised for their lack of measurability, as well as individual countries being responsible for making their own plans for meeting these goals. The lack of structure for achieving these targets means they’re left up to interpretation and in turn misinterpretation, which becomes an excuse for not achieving the goals. Perhaps the goals are too ambitious, or maybe there is not enough responsibility being taken for these developments? Having said that, this is the only international effort in place to overcome the sustainability crisis; therefore, we must work with these targets to achieve a sustainable world.

Overall, climate change is just one of many challenges we face as a result of unsustainability. Working towards these goals set by the UN will provide us with the sustainable development needed to survive, however, we need to take more responsibility for our actions and encourage those with the resources, whether that be capital, knowledge or leadership to propel the change we need.

10th Sep 2024

17 SDGs, Economics, Governance, International Aid, Politics, Sustainable Development, United Nations

Tag: International Aid

Bad News and Values

Why We Need Sustainable Development