In 1983, a Canadian group helped rebuild traditional cooking houses in Tonga in the aftermath of a devastating cyclone. The Tonga Kitchens project offers lessons for Canadian aid today.
International Committee of the Red Cross rehabilitation center staff members assist a Taliban member on Oct. 11, 2021, in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Bulent Kilic/AFP via Getty Images
A scholar from Afghanistan outlines what more than $150 billion in assistance did and didn’t accomplish in two decades following the arrival of U.S. troops un 2001.
Morocco wanted to spend more on health care. As a result, its credit rating was cut.
AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar
Low-income countries that sought to spend more on health care during the pandemic have been hit with ratings downgrades, while others avoided borrowing entirely.
Many developing countries cannot free up public money to invest in economic stimulus packages. For them to join in the global recovery, they will need assistance.
The Trump White House questioned the value of foreign aid and neglected policies related to helping low-income countries. But US aid had already needed improvement.
Western solutions to Pacific Island issues often end in failure. These countries must build their autonomy to survive climate change.
Scott Morrison has heavily promoted his government’s ‘Pacific Step Up’, but it hasn’t invested the requisite funds to support the initiative diplomatically.
Darren England/AAP
New research shows that funding for DFAT has hit a new low of 1.3% of the federal budget. Scaling back has a real effect on Australia’s influence around the world.
A Canadian aid worker tends to children in a Haitian orphanage in April 2010. Haiti and other impoverished nations would be hurt by proposals by Andrew Scheer and Maxime Bernier to cut Canadian international aid.
(AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Development assistance has its problems. Nevertheless, it’s crucial for reducing extreme poverty. And it fosters important international relations that benefit all Canadians.
Canadian Forces troops assist a U.S. Navy helicopter unload its cargo of aid at the airport in Jacmel, Haiti in January 2010. Canada uses the rhetoric of a global foreign aid leader, but in fact, it’s a laggard.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Compared to the size of our economy, Canadian aid has been slipping since the 1980s, and we now lag behind most other donors. Our rhetoric is unmatched by action.