<\/p>\n Read more: Inside Geneva: what\u2019s the point of foreign aid?
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We began with some stark figures; the United Nations estimates that 239 million people worldwide need humanitarian assistance this year. The UN\u2019s plan for 2026 is to help 87 million of them. Some call that careful, efficient targeting of those most in need. Others suggest it is taking food from the mouths of the desperately hungry, to feed those dying of starvation.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile conflicts around the worldwide are proliferating, there are currently more than 100. The number of people displaced has doubled in just ten years, to 117 million.<\/p>\n
Waste of money?<\/p>\n
With so much going wrong in the world, despite the billions spent on foreign aid, Carbonnier says it is understandable that traditional donor countries are asking if this is really a good investment. \u201cWhat\u2019s the point of mobilising taxpayers\u2019 money, and sending it to far away countries to assist vulnerable people? And how do you sell that to your own taxpayers?\u201d<\/p>\n
As Jaclyn Lee pointed out, millions of people in wealthier countries are facing their own financial challenges, and their governments, often with one eye on future elections, fear foreign aid is hardly a vote winner. \u201cA lot of people don\u2019t understand what foreign aid is needed for,\u201d she told us. \u201cWhere it goes, how it works. They kind of look at their own situation and say well maybe economically I\u2019m not doing well.\u201d<\/p>\n
But concluding that because humanitarian needs are rising, foreign aid is a waste of money, may be the wrong way of looking at it. For years aid agencies have argued that they are being asked to be permanent sticking plasters on the gaping wounds of conflicts that diplomacy and political will should have resolved.<\/p>\n
Lockyear reminded us that military spending far exceeds spending on humanitarian aid, and that just a fraction of that is invested in peace mediation and conflict resolution. So we are spending a lot starting and waging wars, then spending a bit more trying to alleviate the suffering those wars cause, but investing almost nothing in bringing those conflicts to an end.<\/p>\n
Lockyear also lamented the current inward looking trend in some traditional donor countries, in which many voters seem unwilling to show solidarity with others in less fortunate situations. \u201cIf a child is in pain in Khartoum, that\u2019s exactly the same as a child being in pain in New York or London\u201d he said. \u201cIf a mother is grieving in Gaza, that\u2019s exactly the same as a mother grieving in Geneva.\u201d<\/p>\n
More efficiency, less duplication<\/p>\n
But our podcast guests did agree the humanitarian system could be improved. \u201cThere is a lot of duplication, and there is also a lot of financial waste in the system. That needs to be cut down,\u201d ambassador Potzel told us. She also warned aid agencies against believing their presence in a particular country was somehow permanent. \u201cThe mindset should be, I want to reach a state where I\u2019m not needed. Rather than I need to make sure I get money to be everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Carbonnier pushed back on that last point. \u201cIn an ideal world we would love to have the ICRC leaving the Yemens of this world,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been there for way too long. But the fact of the matter is there is no way.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Lockyear, while not disputing that efficiencies were possible, warned against assuming a cheaper option was always better. \u201cI think you will fall into the trap of somebody saying I can do it cheaper, I can do it better, and we get into this efficiency paradox.\u201d<\/p>\n
And the point is?<\/p>\n
A key argument in favour of foreign aid, which all our guests made, was that it contributes to global peace and stability, even when the other part of the equation \u2013 conflict resolution \u2014 may be lacking. If people have had to flee for their lives, the country or region they have fled to \u2013 think of Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey or Kenya \u2013 has a better chance of staying stable if the new arrivals have shelter, medical care, and schools for their children.<\/p>\n
If a conflict has destroyed farmland, and made a harvest impossible, those depending on food in that region will stay at home if they have food to eat, and support to start planting again.<\/p>\n
Our guests gave us good examples of aid programmes that really have worked \u2013 they are often the ones that never make the headlines \u2013 and you can hear them by listening to this week\u2019s Inside Geneva in full.<\/p>\n
But Carbonnier reminded us that we cannot always apply a conventional yardstick of success to foreign aid. We will not necessarily see a return on our investment that we can immediately measure. We can though, be sure that trying to alleviate the suffering of others is a fundamental part of our existence as humans. It\u2019s a key element in all religions, and it\u2019s a tradition with thousands of years of history, from Roman emperors, to Christian monks, to today\u2019s humanitarian organisations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat defines us is humanity\u201d, said Carbonnier. \u201cAnd humanity means we cannot stay idle when we see others suffering. We have to act and do something to try to protect them, to assist them, and to prevent suffering, regardless of where this happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Who could disagree with that?<\/p>\n
vm<\/p>\n
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