Sachs: Moyo’s Confused Attack on Aid for Africa
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Economist Jeff Sachs has issued a substantive response on the Huffington Post to Dambisa Moyo’s recent attempt to undermine his concerns with the lack of facts and policy rigor in Moyo’s book Dead Aid. For those following this debate, it’s worth reading the exchange.
Some excerpts are below, and you can read his full article here. The original critique Jeff wrote is here.
-Josh Lozman
Ms. Dambisa Moyo’s recent Huffington Post article exposes the confusions that underlie her slashing attacks on aid. Most importantly, she seems to believe that sub-Saharan Africa was economically prosperous and then was pushed into poverty by aid. She makes the following statement: “No surprise, then, that Africa is on the whole worse off today than it was 40 years ago. For example in the 1970’s less than 10 percent of Africa’s population lived in dire poverty — today over 70 percent of sub-Saharan Africa lives on less than US$2 a day.”
Let’s parse that statement for a moment. World Bank researchers Shaohua Chen and Martin Ravallion prepare the benchmark under-$2-a-day historical headcount data going back to 1981. According to their figures, headcount poverty under $2 a day was 74 percent of the population in sub-Saharan Africa in 1981 and 73 percent in 2005. Other prominent estimates that go back to 1950 or 1970 also contradict Moyo’s statement, by showing high and persistent poverty. All of the macroeconomic time series by Maddison, Summers and Heston, and others tell the same story: the majority of Africa’s population started out impoverished at the time of national independence in the 1960s and 1970s, and a majority remains impoverished till today….
Moyo now campaigns against the kinds of aid that can keep millions of African children from dying or being maimed for a lifetime through the consequences of serious episodes of disease. She advocates cutting the aid that has allowed more than 2 million Africans access to life-saving AIDS treatment, since governments are involved. Almost unimaginably, she opposes the distribution of anti-malaria bed nets for Africa’s hundreds of millions of young people on the alleged grounds that it has put bed net producers in Africa out of business. In her own words:
“Finally, with respect to Mr. Sachs’ remark that I would see nothing wrong with denying US$10 in aid to an African child for an anti-malarial bed net — even labeling me as cruel; I say, if working towards a sustainable solution where Africans can make their own anti-malaria bed-nets (thereby creating jobs for Africans and a real chance for continents economic prospects) rather than encouraging all and sundry to dump malaria nets across the continent (which incidentally, put Africans out of business), then I am guilty as charged. Don’t forget that the over 60 percent of Africans that are under the age of 24 need jobs not sympathy.”
The confusion underlying this remark is staggering. There are hundreds of millions of Africans at risk of a killer disease, around two hundred million cases of the disease, and around 1 million preventable deaths per year, yet Moyo is opposed to urgent help if nets are not produced in Africa. She seems both unmoved by the massive suffering and unaware that Africa has gone from producing exactly zero long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) a few years ago to several million per year now, with thousands of jobs in the local industry, as a result of the demand for nets created by aid for malaria control.
She takes no note of the fact that global aid for malaria control is also training tens of thousands and soon hundred of thousands of rural Africans as community health workers; and seems to be unaware that unchecked malaria has long devastated Africa’s economy while malaria control is finally emptying the hospitals, putting mothers and fathers back to work and children back to school, and contributing to the boost in Africa’s productivity and economic growth of recent years. She says that if her position against aid for LLINs is deemed to be cruel, then yes, she is “guilty as charged.”
Moyo has proposed cutting off bilateral and multilateral aid. African leaders – like President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, Dr. Awa Coll-Seck of Roll Back Malaria, and Ministers Charity Ngilu and Beth Mugo of Kenya – have fought for Africa’s poor and have used aid to save lives and help economies to prosper. These leaders disagree with Moyo’s drastic proposal to cut off aid. They recommend more aid that is fully accountable and properly targeted to meet urgent needs.
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May 28, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Sach’s ad-hom responses to Dambisa Moyo’s Dead Aid makes him look like a fool who hasn’t read the book.
Here is an ABC News feature which shows that Sachs’ best days have been and gone http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi0KyAvHT1Y
It is amusing how Sachs saw how his initial attacks were received with shock and dismay, so now he has wrote this 2nd piece attempting to sound more educated. Yet he didn’t write it, he had to get his buddy to do so.
It is also telling that ONE didn’t bother to post Dambisa’s reasoned response in the Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dambisa-moyo/aid-ironies-a-response-to_b_207772.html
May 28, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Funny how ONE has decided to only show a single side of this important argument. Come on ONE, you’re better than that, no? And Dr. Sachs, if Dr. Moyo is such a threat to the African continent, are you going to propose any real solutions for the continent/.
May 28, 2009 at 10:19 pm
Actually Scott Tunde, you have your facts wrong also because Sylvan Mbewe already posted the link to Dambisa’s original response to Jeffrey Sachs in this thread:
http://www.one.org/blog/2009/05/26/jeffrey-sachs-aid-ironies/
AS ONE, debbie
May 29, 2009 at 3:49 am
Debbie, it wasn’t ONE that posted the link, it was a fellow commenter who did so in the same way that I just have and with the same concerns as what I just had.
ONE is only interested in ONE side of the debate and as always are selective in what they post on this blog.
May 29, 2009 at 9:11 am
Scott – let’s all just be honest and stop all the hyperbole on this issue. Each side of this issue will position itself in the best possible light – whether that’s Moyo’s side or Sachs’ side.
So let’s be honest with each other & stop the drama. Dambisa’s media outlets also don’t give “equal time” to those who disagree with her.
The only way that both sides will ever help the People of Africa is when we are willing to stop the war of words & WORK TOGETHER for the betterment of the Continent.
AS ONE, debbie
May 29, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Thanks for the credit Ms. Kreuser, but Scott is right, it seems ONE operate under a veil of neutrality but really perpetuate this vicious cycle of dependence in Africa. Is there anything ONE has done in terms of helping the continent actually develop? Real development, that is, as in jobs etc.
May 29, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Perhaps…working to pass the Education for All Act that allows thousands of African children to attend school? You aren’t going to create too many jobs among an illiterate population dying of HIV/AIDS. There’s a ceiling there that most of Africa is very clsoe to. Education opens up limitless possibilities for jobs. PEPFAR is keeping thousands of working individuals alive in order to feed the children that will be the next generation’s workforce. Let’s not make it sound like all aid programs do is back a truckful of money into African nations and dump it there. Much of aid to Africa isn’t even designed to be “given” to Africans, but to be spent doing things their own governments cannot afford to do that will enable them to develop. Roads, schools, water, education, basic medicine…these aren’t things that Africans are dependant upon. These are things that ALL people are dependant on. We aren’t subjugating Africa, we’re helping them get up-to-speed by giving them the technologies and methods that have made our own development possible.
May 29, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Eric M. the African governments CAN afford to provide to do these things. They have vast resources, they just don’t have any incentive to provide decent healthcare, especially if the US Government, through PEPFAR, will subsidize them? Whats the incentive?
May 29, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Their resources, though, because of trade policies, remain largely un-tappable. Also, their debts are enormous and Big Pharm has no intention of, for example, letting them have access to the amount of ARVs required. And if there is no incentive for a nation to use its resources now, there never was, because oil nor petroleum nor diamonds nor sugar nor coffee are new to Africa, but yet most of the continent fell into its current poverty trap with absolutely no help from America, and was unable to get out. That’s where people like me come in, people who are unwilling to count over 3 million children a year as collateral damage if you’re right and simply wasted life if you’re wrong. People like me see countries like South Africa and Uganda and Ghana making enormous strides, wondering how anyone can claim they’re simply just not willing to move on their resources.
May 29, 2009 at 8:17 pm
Yes, but how are countries like Ghana and SA making it? By weaning themselves off the excess Aid and taking advantage of things like capital markets and bond ratings, just like the rest of the world does. Nobody wants to see 3 million kids die, thats just you being dramatic, but how many people actually want to see African nations rise up, one by one, and become serious players on the global stage? Or do people not even look at the continent that way?
May 30, 2009 at 1:02 am
I fear, while accusing me of being dramatic, you are making the case that the west is giving aid to African nations to keep it dubjugated?
I would ask you this: do you honestly believe Ghana and South Africa would be where they’re at without aid? If so, can you explain why Zimbabwe or Sudan aren’t currently in better position? Or, perhaps we could talk about African nations that receive less aid than the others…still poorer by comparison. I guess their governments are still jusst willing to let the whole country burn while they wait for America to restore their workforce for them so they can start making and ebezzling money again?
I am in no way “just being dramatic.” What you are suggesting is nothing less than condemning thousands of children to death. Because that’s how many are saved by aid every day. And if it took every nation as long to get with the program as it’s taking some of them, the number would undoubtedly reach millions. This isn’t your way of saving lives vs. my way. This is my way saves lives and your way condemns thousands of people under the age of twelve to death.
June 1, 2009 at 3:42 pm
Again, the excessive dramatics you are bringing are not helping the debate. Africa for me is my home, my continent. This is not some hobby for me or some ‘calling’. These children under 12 you are referring to are my family, not a ’cause’. God put me on this earth to be the best human being I can and with all my strength I will do that. my education has allowed me to see how things can be better, and I will strive to make things that way. Have you recently how much aid Zimbabwe and Sudan were getting recently? And those are extreme cases where there is no peace. How about the countries with peace and stability and the young farmer tying to make it, but unfortuantely he can’t compete with the ‘yellow maize’ from USAID. If you have no idea what ‘yellow maize’ is it the maize for livestock whcih USAID shoved down our throat during a drought, even though the government had reserves. By the way, yellow maize is used to fatten livestock in America. Whats my point? Africa needs to be allowed to stand on its own two feet.
October 13, 2009 at 7:13 pm
R. Kibaya asks how countries like SA is making it. As a South African who left the country because of rising crime, increasing mismanagement, corruption and political arrogance of the ruling elite, I can tell you first hand that SA`s position of strenght is a remnant of the decades of first world governance it enjoyed, despite the admitted fact that its former policies were injust. SA has never received aid and they never needed it. This will change. Lets discuss SA again in ten years` time. Its locked on the same path of self-destruction followed by all African regimes after independance. Anybody who denies this, has not been paying attention, or doesnt know whats happening there. To return to the debate: The key lies in the words: ” ..well directed and fully accountable”. There can be no argument against aid to assist African people with AIDS and Malaria, and even infrastucture, and it can and will be of great benefit and will assist in the process to try and make Africa independant of aid. But there can also be no argument: African politicians and officebearers have proven that no aid can be entrusted to them to manage. Aid has to be managed by independant entities and kept away from the kleptomaniacs who call themselves leaders in Africa.
November 16, 2009 at 4:24 am
I have been following with interest the following arguements going on about Aid in Africa. As a Ghanaian, I find it quite humbling when I hear Ghana’s name mentioned as a shining example of the progress in Africa, even likened to South Africa, a country that gained so much from the good policies of a stable democratic government albeit it’s dark apartied history. Let me just say this; to the average man on the streets of Accra, or the village of Yamfo, the reality is daily hardships and a constant struggle to put food on the table, forget about being able to provide for the needs of their kids, things we take for granted here in America or europe like medical care, dental care, quality education and so forth. Has it even crossed your mind how many kids in Ghana have seen a dentist in their lifetime? I bet it’s no more than 2 percent of Ghana’s child population. Thank God for the unique genes he has given Africans, sometimes I wonder how people survive. Why am I saying this; judging by international economic/democratic yardsticks Ghana and SA are doing very well, but do you really believe the poor feels the same way? Ghana and SA still have a long way to go to ensure that basic needs are met, that people have food, water, basic health, etc, etc. While the big picture looks promising, let’s not foget the reality on the ground, I hope that is what ONE is about.
On another note, Ghana’s ex-president Kuffuor was highly criticized for advocating for aid and bashing Dr. Moyo’s stance on Aid. Now, this is a highly rated former president, who’s been there and seen the effects of aid. Let’s not forget that much of Ghana’s politcal and socio-economic “transformation,” (progress may be a better word) occured during the last decade and reached its peak during Kuffuor’s presidency. He has seen first hand, how aid helped Ghana on the path of progress, that given a real boost, coupled with committed leadership and a progressive mindset Africa can reach great heights. It is no secret that failure of aid to reach it’s full impact has been due to mismanagement and lack of real commitment on the part of African govenments to see to its effectiveness. To say that Africa should not be given aid is like telling your child, “I can pay for you to go to school but I will not, because you can go find a job and take care of yourself- Maybe the child will get by, but are you really helping the child reach his full potential? A word to the wise!!!