Can’t Have It Both Ways!

A few people have written about the ineffectiveness of foreign aid in Nepal. As concerned citizens it is important for us to criticize the INGOs and the NGOs, institutions who are in control of the projects from the beginning, especially when these projects fail to meet the criteria set up to measure progress. This kind of discourse helps propel the debate on aid effectiveness forward and brings the issues to the forefront, which is important and could lead to solutions. A couple of articles (here and here) written on daily newspapers seem to have hit some nerves. People who are part of the aid machine in developing countries, especially the locals, seems to be resentful of any criticism. This is perfectly rational as from where they stand everything looks good--good inflow of funds, good wages, good office, sense of being an elite, self gratifying deeds--even though the macro picture looks grim. 
Here is an article written by Mr. Simon Galimberti, the deputy country director of CCS Italy (Nepal) and associated with the Association of International NGOs in Nepal (AIN), complaining about the criticism and frustration expressed in national media regarding the failures of these organizations on many fronts, including the alleviation of poverty.
Here is a graph that I created on Gapminder that shows the total aid received by Nepal over the years. We all know what has happened to income disparity, access to health care, clean water, electricity, etc., not just in Kathmandu, but also in other parts of the country. Now, it is not the NGOs or the INGOs actions that have brought a lot of pain to the Nepali people, however, it is their model and dispensing mechanism that has failed to do any good. So it is not only fair but also our responsibility to ask questions about the effectiveness of foreign aid in Nepal—it is the right thing to do!

Are NGOs Addicted to Misery?

I have been spending some time writing an article on the effectiveness of foreign aid. I will post it when I am done. At this point, however, I wanted to share something that caught my attention. Those of us from under-developed countries are aware of the countless number of NGOs that are active in our respective countries. There are plenty of organizations that do good work, but one cannot be naive and overlook the ones that are set up to generate funds for the administrative professionals. Are the incentives lined up in such a way that these organizations stand to lose if they succeed in their mission? This article addresses this question.