Investing in foreign aid makes the global economy stronger
Areas where the main goal of the citizens every day is to not die, are generally not very productive. Investing in health, food, education, and safety of these people allows them to focus their energies on other endeavors. Bill Gates says, “The Point is not that aid directly makes poor people richer. It’s that aid helps create a foundation for growth … it helps remove some of the barriers that keep people from making the most of their talents. And when people in one place do better, the rest of us do better too”.
Better health means a better economy
Being sick is expensive. When people are sick, they are not able to work as hard as they otherwise would have. Medicine and doctors visits cost money, and family or friends have to take time away from their day to care for the sick person. Aid that helps people get sick less often or recover faster when they are sick, can do a tremendous amount to stimulate the economy.
Look at the fight against AIDS in Africa. The United States created a plan called PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) to help address the AIDS crisis and get support to countries struggling the most. Today, countries receiving this aid have shown almost 3 times more economic growth than those that did not. For example, Ethiopia’s per capita income rose by 107%. With that rise came more demand to purchase foreign goods and US exports to Ethiopia are up 241% from where they were before the initiative started.
Foreign aid makes the world safer
Fighting over basic resources is a marker of poverty. That is why you tend to see more violent crimes in lower income areas. When people go through each day not knowing if they will have the basic resources they need to survive, they are far more likely to fight and even kill for the chance that they might survive another day.
When PEPFAR got involved in creating AIDS relief in Africa they not only strengthened the economy but created a more stable political climate, “…political instability fell by 40% between 2004 and 2013. In non-PEPFAR countries, it dropped by only 3%”. -Gates
Foreign aid makes the world more stable and helps prevent dangerous individuals from rising to power. “Groups like ISIS are successful in poorer regions, incentivizing new recruits with the promise of resources. If foreign aid provides resources to these regions first, terrorist groups suffer a major blow to their campaign of fear.” -Bailey Rose Boyle
Foreign aid makes our country safer
According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, “PEPFAR countries have had an average [United States] approval rating of 68 percent compared with the global average of 46 percent”. Which means that by providing aid, we are also building good-will which helps prevent the chances of foreign terror attacks and protects the safety of US citizens abroad.
General James Mattis wrote a letter to congress along with 120 other military officials and claimed “If you do not fully fund the state department, then I will have to buy more ammunition”. The State Department supports many of our federally funded foreign aid initiatives. “US aid programs ‘are critical to preventing conflict and reducing the need to put our men and women in uniform in harm’s way’… Out of 135 countries that receive some health or development aid from the United States, we have bilateral defense agreements with 131 of them”. In other words, foreign aid prevents war.
Having a better educated population is good for everyone
Foreign provides people with educational opportunities. There is a direct link between education and economic growth and stability. The better a countries education system is, the more likely it is to do well economically.
Foreign aid creates global connections
The internet is one of the biggest knowledge sharing tools in existence. One of the things foreign aid does, is bring internet to improvised areas.
Many of the first reports of COVID-19 came from whistle blowers in China sharing medical information on the internet.
Hospitals in remote areas can use Telehealth systems to get medical assistance that would otherwise not be available to it’s patients. For instance, in areas with low educational resources, there may only be one doctor covering hundreds of miles and thousands of people. That doctor can use video calls to access local medical centers and diagnose patients or even use additional technologies to preform surgeries. Increasing access to life saving measures.
Women in dangerous situations have been known to reach out online for support in getting out of abusive households.
Resistance fighters in war torn countries can share news with one another and the outside world in real time.
Foreign aid empowers women
Women and children are some of the hardest hit in impoverished areas. Many third world countries see their women as second class citizens. They are raped, beaten, forced into child marriages, and prevented from receiving an education.
Foreign aid workers and organizations fight to protect women from oppressive regimes and ensure that they have basic human rights.
Foreign aid is good for the environment
There is a definite correlation between global poverty and carbon dioxide emissions, “diversification of energy sources means new jobs and resources for everyone. As the global economy grows, emissions go down”. -Boyle
Getting money back from foreign aid
Like any other investment, it is possible to get money back by putting it into a foreign aid investment. The easiest way to do that is through tax returns. “A charitable donation to a foreign aid organization with 501(c)(3) status is claimable on tax returns. Buying stock in Kroger is not”. -Boyle
For those looking to profit more directly, investing in companies that do a great deal of aid work can pay out in stock growth and dividends. For example ProjectLoon is a group providing internet access to nearly 1 billion people living in Africa, and Microsoft’s 4Afrika initiative funds tech startups in improvised areas, which led to the invention of “the Cardiopad, a touchpad device for heart exams and a breakthrough in medical technology” in Cameroon. -Gates
Helping others makes you a better person
It is proven that people who do more to build up others lead happier and more fulfilled lives. Investments in foreign aid are a way to celebrate your own successes while helping others around the world.
Sources:
*This article was originally published by the Borgen Project
Comments