Posts

A "beautiful and horrendous and generous moment." Aid organization leader reflects on visit to Sudan

Image
  In April, Canadian Foodgrains Bank executive director Andy Harrington was in Sudan to draw attention to the terrible food crisis in that country—over 21 million are facing acute hunger.   While there, he visited a camp for people displaced by the conflict in Port Sudan, one of 50 such camps in that city.   While walking through the camp, a resident approached Harrington with a plate of homemade pastries and offered one to him. His first thought was to say no. “This is a place where there's nothing,” he said, adding it didn’t seem right to eat in front of people who were hungry.   But before Harrington could decline, a staff member from a local Sudanese aid group who was with him intervened, whispering: “’You must take one. It is culturally really important for you to eat this.’”   And he did. “It was incredibly delicious,” he said. “But it was also ironic that she was feeding me in a place of absolute devastation where there was no food . . . it was a ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Security at what cost? Peace advocates warn Canada is rushing into a military buildup without a real debate about the merits — and trade-offs

Image
  Canada has committed to spending five per cent of GDP on defence and security by 2035. Is that a good or bad thing? And if it’s a good thing, is five per cent the right number? Is more spending on defence the best way to ensure Canadian security? And what about peacekeeping?   Those are questions being asked by some Canadian peace group leaders, including Paul Heidebrecht, director of Project Ploughshares, a Canadian peace research institute.   “It feels arbitrary to me,” he said of the defence spending goal, noting the five per cent figure is not official NATO policy.   “It’s mostly because of “the bully in the south,” he said. “I was surprised there weren’t more furrowed brows questioning that figure.”   Read more about this issue in in my recent article in Canadian Affairs. Photo above: Chris Young, The Canadian Press
Post a Comment
Read more

“Having development support our trade is key" says Canada's Secretary of State for International Development

Image
  “Having development support our trade is key. We are trying to focus on where there are trade opportunities.”   That’s the message from Randeep Sarai, Secretary of State for International Development about the direction Canada will be going when it comes to funding for international development projects in the Global South.   Canada will remain committed to humanitarian work, he said, but development work will be focused on enabling Canada to get more trading opportunities.   Read my interview with Sarai in Canadian Affairs here.   Leaders of Canadian relief and development groups are responding with concern to this direction. Read their responses in Canadian Affairs here. Photo above: Sec. of State Sarai walks with community members in Ghana.  
Post a Comment
Read more

Canadian aid organizations respond to Israel’s Gaza aid suspensions

Image
  The news cycle these days is nuts. Who can keep up? No sooner is there one major breaking story than it is replaced a day later by another one or more—and so on. Soon, we don’t even remember the item that made us angry or upset.   That’s what happened with the decision on Dec. 30 by the government of Israel to suspend 37 aid groups from working in Gaza, including Oxfam Quebec.   Who even remembers that now that the president of Venezuela has been kidnapped, the U.S. has been threatening to invade Greenland, the I CE raids in Minneapolis and protests in Iran.   I didn’t forget, nor did Canadian Affairs.  Click here to read why some aid organization leaders think the new rules from the Israeli government violate humanitarian principles, and how they think the suspensions are going to harm people in need in Gaza.  Photo above from Oxfam.
Post a Comment
Read more

A friendly letter to Global Affairs after the budget cuts

Image
As Global Affairs ponders the future of international assistance during a time of shrinking budgets, Nicolas Moyer, CEO of Cuso International, and a self-described “old friend,” has some thoughts about how it can do better.   This includes being quicker to make decisions, streamlining administrative processes, finding a clear sense of direction and showing Canadians what their tax dollars are doing (sharing stories of success).   “I must also be candid,” he said. “Too often, the extraordinary work you do is held back by slow decision-making, costly administrative processes and a lack of clear direction. “When approvals drag on for months, when programs are spread too thinly across the globe, or when projects end before results can take root, Canada’s impact is less than it should be. “And when you don’t show Canadians clearly what their tax dollars are achieving, public confidence falters.” Read his letter in Canadian Affairs.
Post a Comment
Read more

Canadian relief and development organizations express concern about aid cuts, see opportunity in government's trade agenda

Image
Canadian relief and development organizations are expressing concern and disappointment with the federal government’s decision to cut the country’s foreign aid budget, saying the cuts couldn’t have come at a worse time when global instability is increasing, human rights are increasingly under threat and humanitarian needs are at an all-time high.   They note the cuts to “soft power”—aid—are coming at a time when Canada is pouring more money into defence—“hard power.” This despite evidence that it costs less to prevent conflict than to respond to needs caused by it after it happens.   They also note that aid and development should not be seen as charity, but as something that can support Canada’s overall trade and investment strategy. Read more about this in Canadian Affairs. Photo above:  Secretary of State Radeep Sarai (centre) walks with recipients of Canadian foreign aid in Ghana.
Post a Comment
Read more

U.S. funding freeze of USAID puts tied aid in the spotlight

Image
  Millions of people around the world have been negatively affected by the U.S. government’s decision to freeze foreign aid through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).  While most of those affected live in the developing world, it is also hurting another group: American farmers.  The agency, which has an annual budget of about $40 billion USD, typically spends about $2 billion of that total buying crops from U.S. farmers for aid through its Food for Peace program—what’s called “tied aid.”  Republican officials in states such as Kansas, North Dakota and Arkansas are asking President Donald Trump for an exemption to the cuts, saying they will affect farmers in their states — many of which voted for Trump in the election.  In Canada, farmers do not face a similar worry, even if a future federal government were to cut foreign aid spending, as Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre has pledged to do. That’s because the Canadian...
Post a Comment
Read more