Should NGOs take the corporate bait?
Every economic slump ushers in predictable, if not propagandistic, debates about Official Development Assistance, otherwise known as foreign aid. While Stephen Harper’s government has frozen aid spending through to 2015, the real anti-aid evangelicals can be found to the south, at the Republican primaries. Ron Paul, whose greatest accomplishment is that the press is still willing to hand him a microphone, has pledged to cancel American foreign aid altogether. There are, therefore, compelling reasons to consider where aid is now and where it might be headed.
The recession has been brutal to those who are reliant on humanitarian assistance for their very survival. European governments have, not surprisingly, made drastic cuts to their aid spending. So has the U.S. Congress, and many foundations are operating on reduced budgets. The effect has been that non-governmental organizations around the world are swimming in a rapidly evaporating pool of funding, raising the competitive stakes alongside a host of ethical questions.
On this point, several of the world’s leading international charities are now keeping some rather curious company, which could either represent the future of aid – a progressive merger of economic interests and social development – or its fire sale. In September, the Canadian International Development Agency announced a controversial multimillion-dollar grant to three leading international charities who will partner with major Canadian mining firms on development initiatives in African and Latin American countries in which these companies operate.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/opinion/should-ngos-take-the-corporate-bait/article2313605/