Example Of The Effects Of War And Peace On Foreign Aid Research Paper

Introduction

Foreign aid entails the transfer of services, capital or goods from one country to another country in need of aid. Foreign aid involves distribution of things like emergency assistance, provision of food aid, military provision and even medical assistance. Various aspects of foreign aid have been stated making it difficult to fully assess its effectiveness in the fight against social and economic disparities. War is the main cause of different issues present in the world today. Many countries go to war either against other countries of ethnic wars among its tribes. In order to fully analyze the effectiveness of foreign aid in developing countries, there is need to understand some of the negative and positive effects of war and peace (Wuestewald, 2014).

Effects of peace and war on foreign aid distribution

Peace has many positive impacts on a country and the society in general. It also has an immense impact on the distribution of foreign aid in the country. In a country like Somalia, peace helps foster unity leading to harmony and collaboration in doing different activities either by individuals, community or the government. The existence of peace, in Somalia can help foreign aid build their economy and ensure that their living standards improve after over two decades of fighting. Peace also helps in the even distribution of resources in the country. Without peace in Somalia, the country will continue to suffer from uneven distribution of resources and foreign aid as the only places that will receive aid are those with peace. When a country has peace, it helps in the even distribution of resources among its population. As a result, the country will be in a position to ensure constant and even development across its borders. Peace will also ensure that foreign aid like medical care reaches those in need of it especially in areas that lack medical facilities (Soomo, n.d.).
On the other hand, war has numerous negative impacts that are not only felt by a country and its citizens, but also its neighboring countries. War impacts on the ability of foreign aid to get supplies including food and medicine to those in need. These may result from lack of food, wounds, torture or harassment by the conflicting parties. In most cases, death occurs as a result of one of these effects. War may also lead to increasing conflict and harassment as the armed groups seek to forcefully have access to relief aid. Disappearance is also a common effect of war including extra-judicial cases of executions and mass displacement of local communities that impacts on the ability of In Somalia, there are reported cases where those enlisted to distribute foreign aid have been captured and tortured. Indirect effects of war include destruction of infrastructure, breakdown of the economy, destruction of agricultural products and collapse of the health care system. This makes it difficult for foreign aid to be evenly distributed across the country (Shortland, Christopoulou & Makatsoris, 2013).

Efforts of leadership

The Somali government has strived to ensure that its citizens are safe and have access to their basic needs. Its leadership has worked with foreign military support including the African union to ensure that its military are properly trained in combat skills to help fight against the terror groups in the country. The leadership is also working to ensure that the citizens who are refugees in other countries like Kenya are motivated to go back home through initiatives that seeks to eliminate future conflicts. The government is rebuilding schools, hospitals and mosques to ensure that its citizens can go back to rebuild the economy. The leadership is also working with international lending agencies to ensure that infrastructure is restored in the country. The leadership aims at ensuring that the country is able to fund itself and maintain its military in order to have a safe environment that nurtures economic growth (Perrin, 2010). The social environment is also important in rebuilding a country after warfare or during efforts to regain a peaceful environment. As a result, the government and its leaders are working on a healing process where communities come together and work towards a better and peaceful country than it has been in the past two decades.

Impact of foreign aid in reducing warfare and poverty

Somalia has been a warzone for the past twenty three years and this has caused immense damage on the country’s economy, infrastructure, political structure and social structure. Over the years, the country has been struck by disease, deaths, famine and conflict. As a result, the country has heavily relied on foreign aid to help supply health and military personnel to provide health and security services. It also relies heavily on international lending institutions to rebuild its economy. So far, the country is still in the process of fighting the terror group Alshabaab that has dominated the country since the collapse of the central government. Foreign aid is, therefore, helping the country alleviate poverty and improve its economy as it fights against (Brunton, 2013).

Conclusion

Foreign aid goes a long way in helping developing countries especially those recovering from war. It helps the country gain perspective and recovers from the effects of war. Through personnel and funding from foreign funding, countries plagued by war have hope of regaining peace and regaining their previous economic stand. However, this is not an easy thing as there are many challenges that come with efforts by foreign aid agencies to help a country at war.

References

Brunton, K. (Mar 15 2013). Securitization, Democratization and Aid Distribution.
Retrieved from <http://www.e-ir.info/2013/03/15/securitization-democratization-and-aid-
distribution/>
Perrin, P. (2010). The impact of humanitarian aid on conflict development. Retrieved from
<https://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/57jpcj.htm>
Shortland, A., Christopoulou, K., & Makatsoris, C. (2013). War and famine, peace and light?
The economic dynamics of conflict in Somalia 1993–2009. Retrieved from
<http://jpr.sagepub.com/content/50/5/545.short?rss=1&ssource=mfr>
Soomo (n.d.). Understanding Development [Webtext]. Retrieved from
<http://www.webtexts.com/courses/9218-cathey>.
Wuestewald, E. (2014). Portraits of people living on a dollar a day. Retrieved from
<http://www.motherjones.com/mixed-media/2014/04/living-on-a-dollar-a-day-photos-renee-byer-thomas-nazario>