Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[ecc]

admittedly ,what you said about america's generosity is true ,it is marshall's plan that salvaged the bankrupt europe. but all these belong to the past .america has changed a lot over time .and its image has been tarnished by what it is doing .
btw,how could you know i am younger than you are ?so arbitrary and baseless your conclusion is! i am old enough and could possibly be your senior .and i wonder why you can claim that i" have been fed a censored version of history".just because i am living in the COMMUNIST CHINA and you are from the DEMOCRATIC WEST ?i suggest that u had better get rid of your prejudice .

[Huy]

Haha, Applause to ecc!

Talking about US's generosity, I agree it was different between after WWII and now. Even during the Cold war the US was not that truly generous. US only poured its money into places where it is beneficial for their purposes. From pass history, US has spend million of dollar copping other countries because US don't like the person who is in power. Many of the US installed dictator fail to promote democracy: Chile, Iran, even Iraq. During the Cold war, US turn down the Hungarian when they people was begging for help to over throw their communist regime. And there is nothing beneficial for helping the starving mass in Africa. The amount of money come in Africa is getting less and less. If US is truly generous and fair, the world would be a better place by now, not like a mess. It is all about political advantage.

[Diana]

Here is a list of accomplishment of U.S. foreign aid.

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A Record of Accomplishment
>> This Is USAID
U.S. foreign assistance programs have a long and distinguished list of accomplishments. Here are just a few examples of what the one half of one percent of the federal budget dedicated to economic and humanitarian assistance has achieved:

More than 3 million lives are saved every year through USAID immunization programs.

Eighty thousand people and $1 billion in U.S. and Filipino assets were saved due to early warning equipment installed by USAID that warned that the Mount Pinatubo volcano was about to erupt in 1991.

Oral rehydration therapy, a low cost and easily administered solution developed through USAID programs in Bangladesh, is credited with saving tens of millions of lives around the globe.

Forty-three of the top 50 consumer nations of American agricultural products were once U.S. foreign aid recipients. Between 1990 and 1993, U.S. exports to developing and transition countries increased by $46 billion.

In the 28 countries with the largest USAID-sponsored family planning programs, the average number of children per family has dropped from 6.1 in the mid-1960s to 4.2 today.

There were 58 democratic nations in 1980. By 1995, this number had jumped to 115 nations.

USAID provided democracy and governance assistance to 36 of the 57 nations that successfully made the transition to democratic government during this period.

Over the past decade, USAID has targeted some $15 million in technical assistance for the energy sectors of developing countries. U.S. assistance has built a $50 billion annual market for private power. U.S. firms are capturing the largest share of these markets, out-competing Japan and Germany.

Life expectancy in the developing world has increased by about 33 percent, smallpox has been eradicated worldwide, and in the past 20 years, the number of the world's chronically undernourished has been reduced by 50 percent.

The United Nations Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade, in which USAID played a major role, resulted in 1.3 billion people receiving safe drinking water sources, and 750 million people receiving sanitation for the first time.

With the help of USAID, 21,000 farm families in Honduras have been trained in improved land cultivation practices which have reduced soil erosion by 70,000 tons.

Agricultural research sponsored by the United States sparked the "Green Revolution" in India. These breakthroughs in agricultural technology and practices resulted in the most dramatic increase in agricultural yields and production in the history of mankind, allowing nations like India and Bangladesh to become nearly food self-sufficient.

After initial USAID start-up support for loans and operating costs, Banco Solidario (BancoSol) became the first full-fledged commercial bank in Latin America dedicated to microbusiness. BancoSol serves about 44,000 small Bolivian businesses, with loans averaging $200 each. The bank now is a self-sustaining commercial lender that needs no further USAID assistance.

More than 50 million couples worldwide use family planning as a direct result of USAID's population program.

In the past 50 years, infant and child death rates in the developing world have been reduced by 50 percent, and health conditions around the world have improved more during this period than in all previous human history.

Since 1987, USAID has initiated HIV/AIDS prevention programs in 32 countries, and is the recognized technical leader in the design and development of these programs in the developing world. Over 850,000 people have been reached with USAID HIV prevention education, and 40,000 people have been trained to support HIV/AIDS programs in their own countries.

Early USAID action in southern Africa in 1992 prevented massive famine in the region, saving millions of lives.

USAID-sponsored energy efficiency experts working in Almaty, Kazakhstan helped local officials put in place improved systems that drastically reduced pollution and led to more than a million barrels of fuel oil being saved in just a three month period.

Literacy rates are up 33 percent worldwide in the last 25 years, and primary school enrollment has tripled in that period.

U.S. exports of food processing and packaging machinery have increased from about $100 million in 1986, to an estimated $680 million in 1994. This huge increase is due partly to USAID-funded projects that have increased supplies of agricultural raw materials for processing and have given potential processors the information, technical assistance and training they needed to start or expand their businesses.

USAID child survival programs have made a major contribution to a 10 percent reduction in infant mortality rates worldwide in just the past eight years.

Millions of entrepreneurs around the world (many of them women) have started or improved small businesses through USAID assistance.

Investments by the U.S. and other donors in better seeds and agricultural techniques over the past two decades have helped make it possible to feed an extra billion people in the world.

[Diana]

Now, as for Africa, the following information is for those who haven't been keeping up with current events.
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(text taken from the FY 2003 Congressional Budget Justification)


FY 2003 Program
The United States is committed to supporting strategies that address the most pressing challenges facing Africa today. USAID strongly endorses the bold new African-led approach represented by the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD). NEPAD is a significant step toward the creation of an African-initiated strategy that offers concrete approaches to address some of the continent's fundamental development issues. The core of USAID's program in support of NEPAD will focus on enhancing the effectiveness of economic and natural resource utilization, combating infectious diseases, strengthening democratic governance, improving food security, promoting greater access to quality education and creating an environment more conducive to increased trade and investment.

In FY 2003, USAID will increase funding for its core programs in agriculture, child survival and health, democracy and conflict mitigation in Africa. It will work to improve Africa's trade and investment environment by continuing the Trade for African Development and Enterprise (TRADE) initiative begun in FY 2002, and will launch new initiatives to improve education, increase agricultural productivity and address corruption.

Economic Growth and Agriculture and Trade Broad-based economic growth is critical if Africans are to enjoy higher standards of living and if the continent is not to be marginalized in the new global economy. Studies show that agriculture is the most cost-effective engine of economic growth in Africa. USAID expects to inaugurate a major new region-wide initiative called Cutting Hunger in Africa and increase its funding for agricultural programs by over 23% from FY 2002 to FY 2003. USAID will direct its assistance to countries where food insecurity is greatest and where governments are committed to improving the conditions for increasing growth and reducing poverty. Increased emphasis will be placed on programs to improve the use of modern technologies, expand credit to farmers, strengthen producer/cooperative associations, improve the functioning of markets and encourage policy change to provide economic incentives for farmers and small scale entrepreneurs. Related efforts will be made to promote private sector-led diversification of the economic base, such as agro-processing, and to increase exports. The TRADE Initiative will continue to focus on six broad areas: (1) promotion of U.S.-African business linkages; (2) enhanced competitiveness of African products; (3) mainstreaming of trade into the development agenda; (4) improved delivery of public services supporting trade (e.g. customs); (5) building capacity for trade policy analysis (e.g. WTO training); and (6) strengthening the business environment. The initiative will seek to mobilize a coalition of U.S. and host country partners drawing from both the government and the private sector around a field-driven, trade capacity building agenda. Selected field Missions will develop five-year trade and investment program proposals. USAID will establish three regional "Hubs for Global Competitiveness" in west, east and southern Africa that will coordinate the initiative and support country-based activities to facilitate national competitiveness in global markets.

USAID will continue to focus its efforts in the environmental area on policy changes and capacity building in support of community-based approaches to natural resources management. USAID will also contribute substantively to broader donor efforts to reduce long term threats to the global environment, particularly climate change and the loss of bio-diversity. Finally, USAID will develop new approaches to respond to the environmental issues caused by the growing urbanization of much of the region.

In accordance with President Bush's announcement that USAID will take measures to address the critical need to increase educational levels for the economic and social development of the region, in FY 2003 USAID will launch a new education initiative and will increase its funding for the education sector by 28% over its FY 2001 levels. The initiative will target improved access and quality of education through increased funding of scholarships, especially for girls, improved teacher training, enhanced use of new learning technologies, and increased community involvement in education. USAID will also continue to support bilateral programs that address country-level education system reform.

Global Health and Population USAID's efforts to improve the health of sub-Saharan Africans focus on increasing the availability, effectiveness and access to quality health care. USAID will continue to combat the leading causes of maternal and child mortality and morbidity including malaria, TB, malnutrition, respiratory diseases, diarrhea and vaccine-preventable illnesses. USAID programs will increase immunization coverage, strengthen surveillance, enhance the skills of health care professionals, improve community and household practices for prevention and management of childhood illnesses, and develop innovative health care financing strategies. USAID will continue to support a range of family planning programs, including public education and behavior change communications, advocacy and outreach through traditional community structures, community-based distribution and social marketing of contraceptives and encouragement of child spacing practices.

HIV/AIDS has moved beyond being just a health problem in many countries in the region, particularly in southern Africa. It is now a major development issue that threatens economic and social progress across a broad front. USAID plans a major 36% increase in its funding for HIV/AIDS in Africa from FY 2002 to FY 2003. Programs will build on earlier successful efforts in Uganda, Zambia and Senegal, which include voluntary counseling and testing, social marketing of condoms, and behavior change communications strategies. USAID will continue to enlist the support of community-based partners, including faith-based organizations. Programs to prevent maternal-to-child transmission of HIV and care and support activities for persons affected by AIDS will be expanded. USAID will work closely with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) which is placing field staff in many countries in the region.

Democracy, Conflict Prevention and Humanitarian Response It is now widely recognized by the donor community and by African leaders themselves that good governance, political stability and economic development are closely intertwined. Africa's better-managed economies have also made the greatest gains in political rights and civil liberties. USAID supports the application of democratic principles and good governance by promoting representative political processes and institutions, the rule of law, the growth of civil society and respect for human rights. Particularly promising are efforts to build principles of participation and good governance into programs in other sectors, such as environment and natural resources, education, and health care in ways that reinforce both work in those sectors and progress in democracy and governance as a whole. In countries undertaking decentralization of governmental functions, USAID will promote policy dialogue between citizens and public officials at the local level.

USAID will increase its funding of democracy and conflict prevention programs in Africa by 53% in FY 2003 and leverage greater impact through linkages with other sectors. USAID will launch a new initiative to address one of the region's most insidious development challenges, corruption. USAID will also expand its efforts to research and disseminate the tools to help countries prevent and address conflict by better understanding its root causes and to assist them with post-conflict confidence building measures.

Humanitarian crises, whether man-made or natural disasters, continue to buffet Africa and show no signs of abating. These emergencies threaten lives, economic growth, democratic progress and regional stability. USAID will continue to support efforts to build African capacity to better cope with the effects of these humanitarian crises.