To What Extent Does Aid Help Reduce Disparities?

To what extent does aid help reduce disparities?

Aid is used to help other LEDC countries develop their economies and improve services in order to raise their standard of living and quality of life.  There are different types of aid that can be used to reduce disparities. These include Emergency or short-term aid, conditional or tied aid, charitable aid, long-term or development aid and multilateral aid.

An example of aid being useful is Kenya. ActionAid is a NGO (non-governmental organization) that works to fight poverty in more than 30 countries. It started in 1972 and now helps more than over a million poor people in rural areas and urban slums. It has four goals which are ‘giving a voice to all’, ‘linking people and groups with similar goals’, ‘national and international campaigning’ and ‘equal rights for woman’. This kind of organization is an example of multilateral aid.

Aid can also be ineffective in helping reduce disparities if it is to do with funds that don’t help the long-term development of the country. Short-term aid is also ineffective as it does not change the long-term development of a country. Poorer countries always depend on other countries for Aid which reduces their chance of developing in the future and being independent.

In conclusion Aid helps reduce disparities only if it is long-term and helps the countries in the future rather than short term and during emergencies. It should change the standard of living and quality of life. It should allow the country to be independent.