United Nations Criticisms

A Dependency Culture? Some of the aid the UN gives can be criticised for being too much of a hand out not a hand up The WFP’s budget is around $5 billion, however $2 billion of it comes form the US The vast majority of this comes in the form of sacks of surplus American food Discussion question – Why might this negatively impact on the people where the aid is being delivered?

Not meeting the target The world recession has bitten hard into the budget of the United Nations Developed nations promised to pledge the UN target of 0.7% of their GNI to their aid budgets Although not in Africa, the situation in Syria illustrates donors reluctance to commit to aid. Only half of the aid required was given by UN members despite the humanitarian crisis which has engulfed the country

Can’t always deliver In 2010, The WFP had to pull out of most areas of southern Somalia due to the threat to their workers They said around 1 million people would not receive the aid they required Militants demanded that women working in the area for the WFP be removed from their jobs See notes on WFP and Somalia for more detailed information

Corruption UN agencies have to work through official government channels, opening their aid up to corruption In 2010, the WFP were heavily criticised for their role in a scandal which led to almost half of the food aid (worth over $200 million) being distributed to Al Shabbab and corrupt contractors working for the UN They were found to be selling the food or swapping the food for other things such as false passports etc Watch the video clip which gives you more of an insight into the scandal.video clip

General Limitations The aid the UN deliver is limited by a number of factors, including: Conflict Corruption Debt Unfair trade In your essays it is important to remember these factors which limit the effectiveness of aid, regardless of the course

Possible exam question To what extent are the UNO effective in promoting development in Africa?