- July 18, 2015
- Posted by: Sergei
- Category: Argumentative and Controversial
Foreign aid is a procedure that implies non-repayable international assistance in terms of providing financial support, equipment or products. There are several purposes for such aid to be provided. First, foreign aid is given in support of social and economic changes that might be taking place in this or that state. Second, foreign aid is provided in order to help foreign countries solve some environmental problems. Third, foreign aid is given for the development of a country’s infrastructure. There are also other reasons for providing foreign aid, but the truth is that such kind of assistance is associated with not only positive outcomes, but also negative ones.
Thus, according to the opponents of foreign aid, financial and technical support provided by one state to another can be spent for wrongful purposes. Such actions are prosecuted in many leading countries of the world. In fact, various countries that provide foreign aid to other states strictly control the process of spending the given resources, whether these are financial resources or some other forms of support. The countries, which are assisted in this or that way, should be ready for strict supervision on behalf of their sponsors. For instance, if a country has been granted some kind of equipment, there will be strictly monitored the process of its use for the right purposes. Thus, foreign aid can be an excessive burden for those countries that are in need of some kind of support making it an unnecessary measure.
On the other hand, foreign aid might help to solve a number of problems faced by certain undeveloped countries. This may include lack of financial resources, insufficient equipment or the existence of environmental problems. In this regard, foreign aid is a must for solving these problems. Thus, foreign aid represents a valuable measure that should be taken in case some underdeveloped country is faced with this or that problem and cannot solve it on its own. In this case, foreign aid would be of much help.
Foreign aid does not necessarily mean financial support, but also some assistance in the form of goods and services that are provided to the country free of charge. In fact, foreign aid can be used for different purposes. First, it might help to mitigate the consequences of various technical or natural catastrophes that might have taken place in the given country. Second, it might help a given country to carry out scientific investigations and realize scientific projects. Third, it is oriented towards helping to reconstruct or create historical and cultural monuments and develop the reserved areas. Fourth, foreign aid is aimed at providing medical services to the country that lacks sufficient medical equipment or is in other way deprived of an opportunity to provide adequate medical services to its citizens. Furthermore, foreign aid takes a form of social aid provided to low-income citizens of a foreign country and those who have found themselves in a difficult life situation, which prevents them from living a normal life. This may include natural disasters, catastrophes or some other calamities. These are positive sides of foreign aid as an act of good will aimed at helping other countries to overcome difficulties.
However, there are some negative sides of foreign aid. First of all, such aid is associated with high taxes that should be paid in order to receive financial or other help from another country. This is not always possible especially for underdeveloped countries. Furthermore, foreign aid is strictly controlled, so that it adds stress to the foreign countries and makes them do their best in order to meet the expectations of another country. An adverse situation, which leads to negative outcomes, is when foreign aid is spent for one’s selfish purposes so that the terms and conditions of using foreign aid are violated.