Africa, and a report titled ,"H.I.V. and AIDS in Africa: Ten Lessons From the Field" goes a long way in confirming all my fears about what's wrong with the world of international aid. A very long and informative article, it deserves a full read, but I'll quote a bit of it ...

First, and this has to be stated as many times as possible, families and communities battling AIDS in Africa barely receive support from current domestic and international relief efforts. The mismatch between domestic and international intentions or actions on AIDS and the reality on the ground in Africa is unprecedented. We believe that this situation is now the real crisis of AIDS in Africa. It appears that conferences, workshops, media announcements, and sound bites are now replacing the urgent need to develop and implement robust H.I.V./AIDS remedial programs for families infected or affected by AIDS. We suggest that the emphasis on H.I.V./AIDS remedial efforts in the coming years should be on how to meet the preventive needs of at-risk populations and how to provide timely clinical and social support services to families battling the epidemic, in their neighborhoods and communities.

... Second, children affected by AIDS in Africa appear abandoned to their fate. The plight of millions of orphans and other children affected by AIDS in Africa, have disturbingly very little social, economic, or political support. Entire generations of African children who lost one or both parents to AIDS now grow up in abysmal poverty, largely abandoned by local and national governments, and, for all practical purposes, neglected by the international community. These AIDS orphans are often under the care of penniless ailing grandparents or AIDS widows too sick to care for themselves.

... It is not enough in the fight against H.I.V. and AIDS to invite community-based organizations and civil society to participate in "workshops" or "seminars" or have them attend "stakeholder forums." Providing "mini-grants" to local organizations with fanfare and press coverage is also not enough since the needs of families battling AIDS cannot be met by token gestures. We are not aware of any serious effort by national, bilateral, or multilateral agencies to scale up the capacity of proven local organizations actively on H.I.V./AIDS issues.

And so on.

Perhaps it's time for the world to wake up and smell the toast, to stop patting itself on its collective back, and face up to the fact that most of what is happening is very close to useless. As this report points out, "... it is perplexing to note the extravagant fanfare that announces extremely modest antiretroviral programs in Africa. In fact, the overwhelming proportion of those in need may never receive assistance.

Here are some numbers from the World Bank detailing some of the changes in a few African countries over the past quarter of a century. You'll notice, things are NOT better:


Life expectancy

Average life expectancy at birth (years)
(The first number is from 1980. The second is the 2004 figure.)

Botswana 61.84 ... 35.49
C.A.R.. 47.60 ... 39.41
Lesotho 53.20 ... 35.60
Malawi 44.86 ... 40.22
Mozambique 42.77 ... 41.83
Namibia 58.07 ... 47.46
South Africa 57.13 ... 44.64
Swaziland 51.58 ... 42.21
Zambia 51.59 ... 38.08
Zimbabwe 59.33 ... 37.25

Population
Total population, in millions

Botswana 1 ... 1.8
C.A.R. 2.3 ... 4
Lesotho 1.3 ... 1.8
Malawi 6.2 ... 12.6
Mozambique 12 ... 19.4
Namibia 1 ... 2
South Africa 27.6 ... 45.5
Swaziland 0.6 ... 1.1
Zambia 6.1 ... 11.5
Zimbabwe 7.3 ... 12.9


Gross domestic product
Per capita (U.S. dollars*)


Botswana $1,077.48 ... $3,667.53
C.A.R. $313.57 ... $225.29
Lesotho $309.65 ... $539.62
Malawi $161.70 ... $152.98
Mozambique $179.01 ... $274.93
Namibia $2,028.89 ... $2,034.65
South Africa $3,463.25 ... $3,312.22
Swaziland $980.59 ... $1,356.96
Zambia $450.51 ... $336.15
Zimbabwe $598.68 ... $465.69
*constant 2000 U.S. dollars