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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: greenspirit who wrote (115482)	9/22/2003 3:51:32 PM
From: KLP	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Wonder what would happen if the Americans who give so much to so many wound the world just quit giving for a year or two??? Obrinski may well say it is an "act of privilege"...but it is in fact, a gift of someone's time and effort. A GIFT is just that, a gift. Perhaps this man means that"government given money" can be used for graft (i.e. Saddam's Iraq, North Korea, etc...), while private money usually is given directly to the organization or individual. From X's link: globalissues.org >>>>>>>>>Nonetheless, it is interesting to note for example, per latest estimates, Americans privately give at least $34 billion overseas -- more than three times U.S. official foreign aid of $10 billion: International giving by U.S. foundations totals $1.5 billion per year Charitable giving by U.S. businesses now comes to at least $2.8 billion annually American NGOs gave over $6.6 billion in grants, goods and volunteers. Religious overseas ministries contribute $3.4 billion, including health care, literacy training, relief and development. $1.3 billion by U.S. colleges are given in scholarships to foreign students Personal remittances from the U.S. to developing countries came to $18 billion in 2000 Source: Dr. Carol Aderman, Aid and Comfort, Tech Central Station, 21 August 2002. (Aderman admits that there are no complete figures for international private giving. Hence these numbers may be taken in caution, but even with caution, these are high numbers.) (Unfortunately I have found it very difficult to find comparative figures for private donations from other regions.) The interest on this section though is on government aid, because that is less specialized than private contributions and it is internationally agreed, and importantly, reflects foreign policy objectives of the donor government in power, which can differ from the generosity of the people of that nation. Private donations, especially large philanthropic donations and business givings, can be subject to political/ideological or economic end-goals and/or subject to special interest. A vivid example of this is in health issues around the world. Amazingly large donations by foundations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are impressive, but the underlying causes of the problems are not addressed, which require political solutions. As Rajshri Dasgupta comments: "'Private charity is an act of privilege, it can never be a viable alternative to State obligations,' said Dr James Obrinski, of the organisation Medicins sans Frontier, in Dhaka recently at the People's Health Assembly (see Himal, February 2001). In a nutshell, industry and private donations are feel-good, short-term interventions and no substitute for the vastly larger, and essentially political, task of bringing health care to more than a billion poor people." -- Rajshri Dasgupta, Patents, Private Charity and Public Health, Himal South Asian, March 2001<<<<<<<<<