Developmental+Assistance

Developmental Assistance The term developmental assistance is also referred to foreign aid, and is often used to assist in problems regarding global economic disparity (Clark, 2003).

**The Marshall Plan** media type="youtube" key="mOh_g4poDp8" height="361" width="536" align="right"

As World War II came to an end, most of Europe was destroyed. During this time the United States and Soviet Union were competing for significant power in the post-war world. As a result, General George C. Marshall, the US Secretary of State suggested a generous reconstruction plan that would be affective in the Western European area (Clark, 2003). Through the following years, the United States donated 13 billion US dollars to all non-communist, European countries. Despite the incredibly high cost of the Marshall Plan, it was deemed successful. Although the Marshall Plan was considered a very generous act, it is also noted that United States did also benefit from their contributions. They benefited by producing products that Europe would need, in turn, helping US industries convert to post-war production. This also ensured that most of Europe would remain non-communist.

The development of international assistance dominated world relations for the next fourty years.

**Reasons for providing Developmental Assistance**
Some of the most important reasons are as follows.

**Humanitarian Motives**
There was a strong Christian and Humanitarian tradition in North America and Europe. There was a strong belief that rich countries have a responsibility to help poor countries. Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emrites also give humanitarian aid to Muslim countries.

**Economic Motives**
Assistance can benefit the donor country. In many cases, materials are given to the country in need, and products are often from or linked directly to the donor country. For example, Canada may give in wheat or provide funding to purchase transportation equipment from Ontario.

**Political Motives**
Giving assistance helps to foster strong relationships, or are not given to certain countries to establish a “punishment.” Assistance is often associated with former colonial relationships, and is the primary indicator in of whom Canada gives aid to. Canda gives more to the British and French then developing countries. The commonwealth or Francophone must be or have been a part of French or British empires.

**Development Assistance After the Marshall Plan**
The Marshall Plan created a model for development assistance for the next half-century. In 1959, the chancellor of Austria called for a Marshall plan for the South. In 1960 the World Council of Churches declared that the World's more wealthy countries would give at least 1% of their GNP for contributions towards developmental assistance. The United Nations comission led by Canadian Prime Minister Lester Pearson later set the target for .7%. This target remains today, but is rarely reached.

Foreign Aid's primary success was from the 1950s to the 1980s. It proved a growth of income, increased life expectancy, a decline of fertility rates and infant mortaility rates. However perhaps the most impressive result of the Marshall Plan was the Green Revolution, which dramatically increased food production and reduced the potential for a population decline. By the 1990s donor countries' confidence in the benefits of foreign aid dropped significantly. The decline coincided with dev elopment assistance and with reduced levels of economic and social growth in many recipient countries. There are numerous reasons to consider when determining developmental assistance to be unsuccessful in the following years. Below are a few.

**The Cold War**
The immediate and essential needs of the Cold War seemed far more important than preventing and eliminating poverty.

**Promoting Development**
In developing countries it is slightly more complicated to promote development. This is because unlike the rebuilding of Europe, there is nothing to rebuild. More modern economic, social and political programs needed to be built from the ground up.

**A Flawed Model**
There are many positive and negative aspects that have been experienced both by the donors and recipients of aid throughout the years. The following examples also explain why it is often better to donate in the form of money instead of material.

//Example One://
A foreign country has a food shortage, and a donor country has an excess of food, therefore the donor will donate or have the recipient purchase the food from the donor. Although the problem of hunger does not have as much prominence, additional problems develop. One major issue is the food rarely reaches the people who need the most assistance. Often food stays in the cities, or people who could survive without it. The second issue that arises is the sudden availability of food causes an imbalance of local markets. This will cause a reduced need for locally grown agriculture, and the prices will drop. These low prices affect those who need the benefits the most. Sometimes the food is foreign to the country itself, and the people are not accustomed to cooking or using these types of food. Because of lack of knowledge, people may become ill due to poor food preparation.

//Example Two://
Industries often build plants in foreign countries and are praised for their attempt at development, however the long-term affects are not considered. The construction of the Akosombo Dam on the Volta River in Ghana was built to supply electricity for foreign-owned companies. The plan backfired though as the dam created the largest reservoir in the world and displaced over 80 000 people. These decisions have caused tremendous affects including poverty and suffering from bilharzia and river blindness caused by organisms living in the reservoir.

**Role of NGOs**
An NGO is a non-governmental organization. A large portion of aid is contributed by NGOs, non-profit organizations that operate internationally. CIDA, Canadian international Development Agency, often works with NGOs to promote and fund development.



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