Why Development Aid For Africa Has Failed - 876 Words

The final article is an article translated into English from the German news magazine Der Spiegel and is a piece published on 16th August 2010, entitled â€Å"Why Development Aid For Africa Has Failed. It is written by Kurt Gerhardt who was a journalist on German radio from 1968 until 2008. He was a Country Director for the German Development Service in Niger so has first hand experience of the problems facing impoverished African countries. Additionally Gerhardt was the founder and is the current chairman of Makaranta; an association aimed at providing education to Africa which has so far helped develop primary education initiatives in Niger and Uganda since its formation in 2001. Der Spiegel is a weekly news magazine similar to English-written publication TIME, with a circulation of around 1 million copies weekly; and is known for its critical stance towards the German government. Whilst being independent of any political party or business group it has a left-wing stance and so a n article scrutinising aid to Africa is perhaps a slightly atypical viewpoint for the magazine to publish. The article begins by claiming that whilst the donors receive good wages with the current aid system, and the recipients are wise in how to continue to receive sympathy and attention, some of those on the inside, and even those with little knowledge, are beginning to sense that aid has only produced paltry results in the last half-century. Gerhardt claims that the West has assumed too muchShow MoreRelatedThe Epidemic Of Botswana, South Africa Essay1282 Words   |  6 Pagesfacing an epidemic that has gone completely ignored by their very own government. Instead of proposing policies directed towards reducing the amount of HIV/AIDS cases that continue to rise each year, they have chosen to implement failed policies or none at all. 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