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What it takes to open a door for the poor

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by

mwkruse
in , , , , , ,

Christian Science Monitor: What it takes to open a door for the poor

The real work of lifting the last billion out of poverty, the experienced and the expert will tell you, happens country by country, village by village: Digging wells, delivering bed nets, building schools. Faced with this reality, the greatest asset anyone from a wealthy nation might bring to the challenge of eradicating extreme poverty is a healthy balance of audacity and humility. Not to mention a refusal to mistake cynicism for sophistication.

Big levers for working the problem are within reach, but tend to be overlooked in practice or to be controversial in the popular mind. While no universal solutions apply, and no one claims to have all the answers, decades of hard-earned experience between rich and poor nations suggest a few fundamentals:

Change from within must be driven by brave people in the country, to assure the relevance, acceptance, and success of any assistance or reform.

Governments that support transparency, audits, strong judicial systems, a free press, and a professional civil service deserve direct support. For those that don't, ownership by civil society is critical. Without it, aid transfers to the worst governments shield the inept, enrich the corrupt, and entrench the brutal. A jaw-dropping 40 percent of weapons budgets in Africa are inadvertently financed by foreign aid. In the worst cases, the West needs to listen, think, and act more locally, getting more help directly to the people who need it, rather than through government-to-government transfers.

Property rights create jobs and self-sufficiency.  …

Trade beats aid. …

Military intervention. …

Comments

4 responses to “What it takes to open a door for the poor”

  1. Dave Avatar
    Dave

    Can someone please explain to me why bed nets make any difference? If I have a bed net, then I only get bit 16 hours a day versus 24?
    I must be missing something.
    Digging wells to provide safe drinking water is probably a good thing. Although digging a well for a tribe that has always been nomadic may not have the intended consequenses.
    But either way, how does digging wells affect poverty?
    Just curious…..

    Reply
  2. Michael W. Kruse Avatar
    Michael W. Kruse

    Dave, most African mosquitoes caring the malaria virus are active between about 10pm and 4am. Insecticide treated bed nets can reduce the incidence of malaria by 80-90%. Less ill people means less death and more people who are healthy enough to do productive work.
    Clean water is a profound problem in many emerging nations. Surface water is often polluted by any number of human, animal, or other contaminants. Some people (usually women) literally walk miles each day to procure clean water for themselves and their families. A clean well, means less disease, less time spent procuring water, and therefore healthier stronger people freed to do more productive work.
    Before a society can hope to grow economically basic needs of food, water, shelter, clothing and health have to be addressed before people can be economically productive on a sustained basis.

    Reply
  3. Dave Avatar
    Dave

    Cool! Thanks for the info. I hadn’t heard about mosquitos being active at night. I usually get nailed in the mornings when the wind is calm.
    I guess the next step after getting healthier would be land that could sustain some sort of crops, or some sort of productive job?
    Take care!
    Tell your lovely bride that Dave and Lorrell say hello.

    Reply
  4. Michael W. Kruse Avatar
    Michael W. Kruse

    Thanks Dave. So hello to Lorrell for us too.

    Reply

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