MDCs Giving Aid to Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s health problems are caused by many factors including isolation from modernized areas, illiteracy preventing information on heath practices, the shortage of trained professionals, and insufficient funding. Many countries give generous aid to help Ethiopia meet its health care needs. Cuba, the Soviet Union, and many Eastern European countries provide medical assistance and food aid. Many send over medical technicians and physicians to support local efforts on public heath problems. Other long term aid comes from Western countries. The U.S. gives $10 million annually but does not compare to the main western donors of Italy and Sweden. Western medicine was shipped to Ethiopia with the arrival of missionary doctors, nurses, and other trained persons. Many organizations and missionaries go over to provide technical, medical, and financial assistance to help stop the spread of malaria and HIV/AIDS and help increase the low economy. They also establish hospitals, clinics, health centers and schools. Every April 25th, the world recognizes Malaria Day. It mobilizes foundations and programs to reach universal distribution of long lasting insecticide treated bed nets. The U.S. Government has made a six year strategy to battle malaria globally, especially in Africa. This is a key component to Obama’s foreign assistance strategy and his Administration’s Global Health Initiative. By 2014, the goal is to halve malaria illnesses and deaths in 70 percent of at-risk populations, by accelerating and intensifying malaria control efforts in the high burden countries of sub-Saharan Africa.

After World War II, foreign aid was expanded to Ethiopia. The United Kingdom was the primary donor but has been surpassed by the United States giving $211.9 million between 1950 and 1970. Also during this time the Soviet Union gave $100 million and $121 million from the World Bank. But during the Ethiopian revolution, all this aid was dried up and used on the corrupt military regime. Military agents set themselves up as aid providers from Ethiopia with MDCs to get their aid. These political leaders were corrupt and former commander, Aregawi Berhe stated that 95% of all the $100 million of foreign aid given in 1985 went toward weaponry and support for rebel groups. Rebel soldiers apparently diverting the funding to their own organization to try and overthrow the Ethiopian government. This is an unfortunate event that occurred for over a year as Ethiopia became more poverty stricken and became even more less developed. However, after 2000, aid started to increase again especially from the U.S, the European Union, European nations, Japan, the People’s Republic of China, the World Bank and the African Development Bank. By 2001, aid totaled $2 billion. In this same year, Ethiopia qualified for the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) sponsored by the World Bank International Monetary Fund. It is used to help reduce or eliminate the repayment of all the loans from MDCs. This program aims to stabilize the country’s balance of payments and free up funds for economic development. International Organizations such as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO), the United States Agency for International Development and The United Nations Population also give much assistance to Ethiopia. However, even with all this aid, Ethiopia still has trouble modernizing. National income has declined 50% in the last 20 years and at the same time the population is growing by more than 3% each year. Little process was being made in the health of the country until the government established its Ministry of Public Health in 1948. It established hospitals, health centers, clinics and private institutions. Since 1974, only a few health improvements have been made. Governments only spend about 4%-6% of the total budget on health while 7-8 % in the health budget went to salaries.

The United States has traditionally had good relations with Ethiopia, however this changed somewhat during the regime of the Provisional Military Administrative Council, or the Derg. In July 1980 the two countries limited diplomatic ties with one another and even limited economic ties. Since the fall of the longtime Derg leader Mengistu, however, relations have once again improved. The United States reinstated its ambassador in 1992 and in the past decade has fostered Ethiopia with over $2 billion in aid. Also with the ongoing food crisis, droughts and starvation in Ethiopia, the UN World Food Program and individual national programs give assistance and also help with the issue of development. Food donor countries in 2005 agreed to expand development aid. With $50 billion worldwide and $25 billion set aside just for Africa. With a combination of droughts, wars, and natural disasters, Ethiopia has been dependant on food aid from MDCs. Since 1985, overall economic growth has declined and in order to help regenerate the economy, the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (TGE) regulated agriculture to help development. The famine of 1889 wiped out villages and ever since, nutrition and food sources in Ethiopia are dependant on foreign food aid.

Ethiopia is an obvious struggling country which needs as much help as it can get from MDCs. With globalization in mind, many more developed countries give aid in the form of medical assistance and monetary donations. If MDCs keep up there assistance while forgiving all of Ethiopia’s debts, this country has a good chance of modernizing and rising out of extreme poverty. Religion can also play a major role in helping Ethiopia by sending missionaries to voluntarily help out and work very hard to relieve many of the Ethiopian’s burdens.

-Krista E
(photo credit: http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46593000/gif/_46593103_ethiopia_malnourished_226gr.gif, http://a.abcnews.com/images/WN/nm_ethiopia_food_distribution_091028_mn.jpg)