Iraq War, Middle East conflict, health and development in Africa (2)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Odutola,
Thanks for your thoughts about likely impacts on health development
in Africa of massive US 'investment' in Iraq. An article, below, in
today's Boston Globe also touches some of the issues your raise.
I doubt health development assistance in Africa will be much dimin-
ished in the near-term by US preoccupations with Iraq. If, however,
aprehensions of such prompt greater mobilization of domestic re-
sources for health, Africans will benefit. Present broad reliance on
US and other external financing and technical assistance won't serve
Africans well in the long haul.
Best,
Gary Merritt
Arlington VA - USA
mailto:cgarymerritt@yahoo.com
--
Boston Globe; April 15, 2003; Pg. A11
Iraq Aid Efforts Raise Africa Questions
By John Donnelly, Globe Staff
WASHINGTON -- Relief efforts for Iraq are threatening to siphon away
funding for the world's other crises, raising questions about why the
world treats Africans differently than other people, senior UN offi-
cials and humanitarian groups say.
James Morris, head of the World Food Program, told the UN Security
Council last week that his organization's $1.8 billion request for
emergency food aid for Africa remains more than $1 billion short.
"We are all seized with the war in Iraq," Morris said. "But as we
meet today, there are nearly 40 million Africans in greater peril.
They are struggling against starvation."
Morris questioned whether a double standard existed in responding to
crises in Africa and elsewhere. "How is it we routinely accept a
level of suffering and hopelessness in Africa we would never accept
in any other part of the world? We simply cannot let this stand," he
said.
Mark Malloch Brown, the administrator for the UN Development Program,
said that the scope of Iraq's problem could not help but drain some
funding from other programs. He noted that the UN has requested $3.5
billion in global emergency assistance this year, compared with $2.2
billion requested by the UN for Iraq alone over the next six months.
"Sixty percent of the total is for one country, Iraq -- and that's
only for six months," Malloch Brown said. "And over the next two to
three years, when Iraqi oil is not paying for reconstruction, we fig-
ure the cost will be $25-$30 billion for Iraq. There are going to be
huge demands on the international purse."
But James D. Wolfensohn, president of the World Bank, said Sunday he
is confident that wealthy countries would not ignore crises in Af-
rica, South Asia, and other parts of the world.
As evidence, Wolfensohn cited an announcement over the weekend by
John W. Snow, the US treasury secretary, that the Bush administration
would seek an extra $100 million from Congress for the International
Development Association. That World Bank unit gives grants and low-
interest loans to poor countries.
"I am actually quite comforted," Wolfensohn said after meeting with
donor countries, during which he said representatives showed great
interest in supporting poverty reduction programs.
During the weekend meetings, several African leaders spoke about
their worries about losing funding and interest from the donor world.
"The focus must not rest only on Iraq. We still have to struggle for
resources," said Finance Minister Timothy Thahane of Lesotho, where
31 percent of adults are infected with HIV.
Stephen H. Lewis, the UN special representative for HIV and AIDS in
Africa, said that "people struggling with the HIV virus could become
collateral damage from the war. As people's attention goes, you start
all over again, you lose momentum."
"It's very important to have the subject of AIDS and other issues in
Africa in people's minds, and in the news pages," Lewis said. "When
you look now at the responses to the consolidated appeals, whether
they are for Burundi, Eritrea, you name it, the percentages met from
the appeals are unusually tiny. Everyone is holding payments because
there is such anxiety over the Iraqi reconstruction costs."
Several UN agencies, as well as many nonprofit groups, also are bal-
ancing their appeals but know that Iraqi reconstruction might draw
more funding than famine in Africa, UN officials and analysts said.
In a press release received March 18, UNICEF warned that "away from
[the] spotlight, millions of children [are] in peril." The e-mail
said UNICEF put out a $501 million appeal for children in 30 coun-
tries or territories, but received just 14 percent of that request by
the end of February.
In a press release received just 39 minutes later, UNICEF said it
would be asking US citizens for funding for Iraqi children.
Gordon Weiss, a UNICEF spokesman, said yesterday that many donors
were holding onto their money until the Iraq costs became more clear.
"The equation is obviously weighted in favor of a country like Iraq
with so much media attention on them," Weiss said.
UNICEF's recent appeal for $166 million for Iraq has already netted
$49.3 million. But its $110 million appeal made earlier in the year
for Afghanistan -- last year's major recovery effort -- has raised
just $13.3 million.
To view this article, go to:
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/105/nation/Iraq_aid_efforts_raise_Africa_questions+.shtml
[NOTE: To respond to this article, email the editor at:
letters@globe.com or the reporter at: donnelly@globe.com.]
--
To send a message to AFRO-NETS, write to: afro-nets@usa.healthnet.org
To subscribe or unsubscribe, write to: majordomo@usa.healthnet.org
in the body of the message type: subscribe afro-nets OR unsubscribe afro-nets
To contact a person, send a message to: afro-nets-help@usa.healthnet.org
Information and archives: http://www.afronets.org