Blog #10 - Africa

I thought that the article from CATO on aid dependency was really thoughtful. I assume that the majority of the world's citizens, (myself included prior to reading this article), thinks that any kind of financial aid can only mean positive outcomes and progress. Sub-Saharan Africa is probably the most financially needy region of the planet. Living conditions and health are ranked among the world's lowest here. There is, without a doubt, an extreme need for development in these countries. So, it can only mean good outcomes if millions of dollars are delivered to these countries in order to provoke drastic improvement. After reading the CATO article, though, I thought about some different ideas. The authors of the article mention how the United States and United Nations have been sending millions upon millions of dollars to Africa since the 1960's in hope of its development. After almost half a century, development and improvement of human conditions in these areas have not drastically or noticeably improved. Could this mean that foreign financial aid does less than originally thought? Maybe.
Come to think of it, can money really solve any of our real problems? Development and catching up with the rest of civilization has to be among the toughest challenges we can face. How could such an issue be solved with currency? Without the right hands to which the money is given, the assistance may just turn out to be worthless. Like the article mentions, these funds can be used for corrupt and inappropriate purposes. Money corrupts, right?
I propose something else, though.
In Environmental Science class this semester, we had a rather interesting class on the Guinea Worm, a parasitical illness that thrives in the less-developed and less-educated countries in Africa. This parasite had been plaguing these countries for decades. But recently, Guinea Worm has been on a steady decline. Money exchanges could never solve this problem. Rather, it was a group of people in foreign countries working together to educate the plagued communities and eliminate the parasite.
It was people.
We can solve the problems of the world. Money, not so much.