“Aid is not an end in itself. The purpose...must be to create the conditions where it is no longer needed”, stated by the former president of the United States, Barack Obama to the Ghanaian parliament in 2009(1). Said by Victoria Williams, “foreign aid is the international transfer of capital, goods or services from a country or international organization for the benefit of the recipient country or its population.”(2) The concept of foreign aid is not a new one. Notable uses of foreign aid in the past have been the Marshall Plan, which “channeled over $13 billion to finance the economic recovery of Europe between 1948 and 1951,”(3) and the United Nations, which allocates international funds for foreign aid(4). Foreign aid is something that countries take seriously. The total aid of China, the United Kingdom and the United States, in 2015, added up to almost $88 billion, leading to the phenomenon of foreign aid being provided to a less economically developed country (LEDC) from a more economically developed country (MEDC).(5) A MEDC has a large amount of wealth, low birth rate, low mortality rate and low rate of infant mortality. MEDCs experience high life expectancy’s, access to doctors, clean water, education and quality medical care. A LEDC is less wealthy, has a high mortality rate, high birth rate and high infant mortality rate due to lack of access to proper medical care and clean water. LEDCs produce raw materials, while MEDCs manufacture those materials into high value goods. This leads to LEDCs not being able to afford proper technology that would create better medical care for the people, while MEDCs can afford expensive medical equipment because they can sell their goods for a higher price.(6) Medical aid is a necessary measure in foreign aid policy because without wellness of citizens, a country cannot grow. If a country does not have a healthy workforce, those people cannot go out and get jobs to support their families, which creates an increased number of undernourished dependents and a weakened economy. The United States, China, the United Kingdom and their affiliated nonprofit organizations will be discussed from the medical, social-cultural and financial perspective to determine the extent to which the medical aid being provided to LEDCs has been beneficial. Some believe that foreign aid, specifically medical aid, creates government corruption(7), while this is a valid argument, without successful medical aid, there would be no way for LEDCs to become economically stronger or self sustaining in the modern world.

In addition, a major contributor of health focused foreign aid to LEDCs is China. From the social-cultural perspective, since 1963, China has been sending medical teams (CMTs) to Algeria. A CMT is a group of Chinese medical professionals that are sent to cities in Africa from specific chinese provinces. By allowing CMTs to go to Africa, it supports the idea that medical aid does not just involve paying for medical equipment, but also funds teams to actually initiate change. The relationship between the CMTs and the African people is equal, “China believes assistance is mutual”, according to Li Anshan, with Doctors Without Borders. CMTs battle malaria by creating training programs to teach people about the transmission and symptoms of this disease causing parasite, transmitted though the bite of a female Anopheles mosquito(8). The most significant “advantage of CMTs is chinese traditional medical treatment, especially acupuncture” and the use of “the most affective anti-malaria drug” that has been brought to Africa. The fact that the CMTs have brought the revolutionary aid to Africa is not the most important aspect, it is the fact that Africans have chosen to adopt these practices and endorse them. For example, “In Mali, where the climate and living conditions cause rheumatism [and] arthritis..., acupuncture is the most effective cure” and “in 45 years, CMT expanded its 16 treatment stations to 21 provinces and cities.”(9) Furthermore, when China gives foreign aid, they follow eight main principles that were outlined by Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai. These principles include mutual aid given, no political conditions imposed on the recipient, the government will make sure that the recipients will understand new techniques taught and that experts will have the same privileges as the locals. The third principle is the most interesting; when China provides economic aid, it is in the form of a loan with little to no interest.(10) According to Celia Hatton of BBC News, this differs from 1/4th of the financial aid given by the United States, which “represents a direct grant, not a loan that needs to be repaid.”(11) China’s aid is not categorized as traditional aid, which is why they are not included in Developmental Assistance Committee.(12) A team of American researchers have created a database of all the movement of China’s aid money (AidData), and they found that “when China gives out traditional aid, the recipient countries reap impressive economic rewards.”(13) A good thing about the economic principles of China’s aid is that the money is given with no political implications. In Tanzania, China is not imposing a specific government ruling type, economic system or religion, they just genuinely want their aid to positively impact the Tanzanian recipients. China has also donated 120 batches of medical supplies to African countries and has sent resource development teams, volunteer programs and industrial improvement initiatives to Tanzania and other African countries, meaning that China is not just focusing on one part of the problem, but are tackling all aspects with medicine, medical teams and respect for the recipients of the aid, which allows for real integration of the practices being taught in these areas. (14)

Another MEDC that provides substantial foreign aid is the United Kingdom. The UK’s nonprofit organizations have been very influential in the lives of Africans. From the social- cultural perspective, Medical Aid to Sri Lanka is a UK charity that focuses on providing medical aid to Sri Lanka and surrounding areas. One project is the Vajira Children’s Home Project. According to Medical Aid to Sri Lanka, “There are 2,000 children who have been given care and have been integrated to the society since it’s inception in 1983. MASL continues to fund monthly pest control service to prevent illness caused by poor hygiene.”(15) By not just sending medicine, the UK is indirectly strengthening the workforce by helping children in Sri Lanka prevent illnesses caused by things like poor hygiene. If the children cease to die and be affected from/by preventable diseases, then there are more people to grow stronger and enter the workforce, subsequently supporting their families and strengthening the economy by spending money within their local area. From the financial perspective, the UK’s government has pledged to commit 427 million pounds to Sierra Leone to finally put an end to the ebola outbreak and help rebuild what is left. This includes “ebola beds, testing labs, trained burial teams and an effective command and control structure”, as stated by Justine Greening to the House of Commons.(16) Without money, charity work and government assistance would not be able to occur in LEDCs, like Sierra Leone. The fact that the UK continues to send financial support to these countries sets a precedent for other MEDCs to take a look at the world and realize that a country’s issue can quickly become the world’s issue. From the medical perspective, Medical Aid for Sri Lanka has many projects underway to provide medical equipment to Sri Lanka. They have donated an 8,000 dollar cancer diagnostic piece of equipment called a Microtome, donated 25,000 dollars to receive a machine that gives mammograms and donated an 11,000 dollar dialysis machine. “MASL [also] donated 200 [artificial] limbs for the mobile workshops conducted by CIFINS” and “has helped to restore the eye sight of around 1,700 people through an operation that costs as little as 30 pounds.”(17) These medical practices/donations significantly increase the quality of life in the individuals helped. Medical aid does not just have to provide vaccines, it can also help people who need a little extra assistance to be productive and to support their families. Without the help of Medical Aid for Sri Lanka, and other nonprofit organizations, the sheer breath and depth of need for foreign aid would be greater than it is today.

Furthermore, the United States of America is a major contributor to medical aid, as well as foreign aid as a whole. In 2015, the United States spent $31 billion on foreign aid.(18) In this case study, the main source that will be covered will be in the form of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) not necessarily direct aid from the United States government. A prime example of the social-cultural benefits of U.S. aid, is the Arlington Academy of Hope in Uganda (AAH). The AAH runs an elementary school and a health clinic to support the students and the people in surrounding villages.(19) Providing healthcare and traditional education gives the children of Uganda an opportunity to increase their socioeconomic status by receiving higher levels of education. Without this, members of the community would not be able to move upwards or be able to keep themselves and their families from contracting preventable diseases. From the financial perspective, in 2017, it was announced that the United States would add $91 million to their aid package to Ethiopia, due to the major drought which is severely threatening their food supply. This additional aid will go to training “to help herders become farmers, has provided seed money for small businesses... and provided nutritional education” according to Mark Green, the Administrator of the US Agency for International Development.(20) As stated by Peter Katona and Judit Katona-Apte, “Malnutrition is the primary cause of immunodeficiency worldwide” and causes “poor growth, impaired intellect and increased mortality.”(21) Thus proving, that attempting to eliminate malnutrition will help the general health and prosperity of the population. Another American NGO, is the Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children which builds clinics, helps children learn about HIV/AIDS prevention, implements community outreach programs and creates health education programs. The organization, based in rural Uganda, has helped 10,000 people annually learn about preventable diseases and how they can protect themselves from them.(22) Without this organization, there would be no way to teach these people about safety precautions when it comes to blood and bodily fluids and no way for them to get immunizations.

Conversely, some believe that foreign aid’s consequences are not outweighed by its benefits. Not only do some question the longevity of the medical practices put in place by the organizations and governments, but some further the argument by saying that foreign aid only aids in increasing government corruption. In a graph from Arvind Subramanian and Raghuram Rajan(23), it shows that “the countries that receive less aid... tend to have higher growth-- while those that receive more aid... have lower growth.” Nobel Prize winner, Angus Deaton, argues that aid leaves “a government less accountable to its people, the congress or parliament, and the courts” because the money funding the government no longer comes from the people, but from another country, so the government no longer has loyalty to the people but to the government funding them.(24)

Some believe that foreign aid, specifically medical aid, creates government corruption,(25) while this is a valid argument, without successful medical aid, there would be no way for LEDCs to become economically stronger or self-sustaining in the modern world. Foreign aid allows organizations to help individual people with medical ailments, so MEDCs are effectively providing medical aid to LEDCs because by curing one person of a highly susceptible disease, it can positively benefit the rest of the community, town or even country. Globally, if MEDCs help other countries gain economic strength, through foreign aid and other diplomatic policies, this will over time strengthen the global economy, decreasing the total amount of foreign aid that needs to be distributed.

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2, 4. Williams, Victoria, Foreign Aid, May 15, 2015.

3. History Staff, Marshall Plan, 2009. e: 3/1/18

12, 18. OECD, Developmental aid in countries to grow despite costs for in donor refugees, April 13, 2016.  access date: 3/1/18

5. RevisionWorld Staff, MEDCs and LEDCs, publish date unavailable: 3/1/18

7, 24, 25. Swanson, Ana, Why trying to help the poor countries might actually hurt them, October 13, 2015. access date: 3/1/18

9. Anshan, Li, China- Africa Medical Cooperation: Another Form of Humanitarian Aid. :3/1/18

10. Enlai, Zhou, Chinese Premier during state visit to Ghana, January, 1964. 0 access date: 3/1/18

11, 13. Hatton, Celia, China’s Secret aid empire uncovered, October 11, 2017.

14. Florence, Tesha, An Evaluation of China’s Health Aid to Africa using a Case Study of Chinese Medicine and Medical Practices in Tanzania, 2017. access date: 3/1/18

15, 17. Medical Aid to Sri Lanka Charity, Vajira Children’s Home Project. / access date: 3/1/18

19. Arlington Academy of Hope, Arlington Academy of Hope.: 3/1/18

20. Morello, Carol, United States to give Ethiopia $91 million in drought aid for food and medicine, August 31, 2017. access date: 3/1/18

21. Katona, Peter and Katona-Apte, Judit, The Interaction between Nutrition and Infection, May 15, 2008.25# access date: 3/1/18

22. Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children, Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children. access date: 3/1/18

16. Development Secretary Justine Greening to The House of Commons, Ebola Outbreak: An update on the UK’s response in West Africa, March 12, 2015  access date: 3/1/18

23. Subramanian, Arvind and Rajan, Raghuram, Aid and Growth: what does the cross-country evidence really show?, August, 2015  access date: 3/1/18

8. World Health Organization, Do all mosquitoes transmit malaria?, April, 2016 

1. Scherer, Michael, Barack Obama’s Speech to Africa, July 11, 2009.  date: 3/1/18