Factors Influencing Effectiveness of Development Assistance and Humanitarian Aid in Developing Countries: A Literature Based Review
Keywords:
effectiveness of development assistance, humanitarian aid, developing countriesAbstract
An effective and timely humanitarian aid and developmental assistance is crucial for diversified development. Donor Aid Effectiveness remains a top priority for the international development community. Use of humanitarian aid and effectiveness of development assistance have received renewed consideration during the first years of the 21st century. At the Millennium Summit of 2000, the international community agreed on certain Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to be reached by 2015. Literature based review was adopted in this paper. Various factors influencing effectiveness of Development Assistance and Humanitarian Aid have been identified. The factors include effectiveness of Development Assistance and Humanitarian Aid, donor assistance and humanitarian aid Internal Management Structure, monitoring and evaluation, donor polices and transparency and accountability in aid. Foreign aid has been contributory towards fostering broad-based development and complementing national development initiatives in the recipient countries. According to Radelet (2006), most foreign aid is designed to meet one or more of four broad economic and development objectives: stimulate economic growth through building infrastructure, supporting productive sectors such as agriculture, or bringing new ideas and technologies, strengthen education, health, environmental, or political systems, support subsistence consumption of food and other commodities, especially during relief operations or humanitarian crises and or to help stabilize an economy following economic shocks. However, there are controversies about aid effectiveness go back decades. Critics such as Milton Friedman, Peter Bauer, and William Easterly have revealed stinging critiques, charging that aid has enlarged government bureaucracies, perpetuated bad governments, enriched the elite in poor countries, or just been wasted. Undoubtedly some aid is given with humanitarian motives in mind; however, according to the literature, most foreign aid is given for variety of political, strategic and economic reasons that benefit the donor countries in the longer term. Official Development Assistance (ODA) is often designed to achieve political objectives rather than increase the prosperity of recipient countries.
Key words: effectiveness of development assistance, humanitarian aid, developing countries
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