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Dude, you should see what I got off the torrent last night -
What.
Oh, THAT kind of pirate. Sorry, my bad.
It is quite fashionable to criticize foreign aid as a failure, and there is no doubt that some aid has been wasted and that aid programs can be strengthened considerably. And money alone won’t solve all the problems. But most of the strongest critics get it wrong because they insist on looking at only part of the evidence. There is little doubt that foreign assistance programs have helped saved millions of lives over the last several decades by supporting routine immunization and neonatal health programs, helping to eradicate small pox, nearly eradicating polio and strengthening the fight against river blindness, guinea worm, diarrheal diseases, HIV/AIDS and other deadly diseases.
Go look. I'll wait.
Slow, steady and constant...wins.
For those of you who can't be bothered? Unicef announced this week that the world reached a remarkable milestone in 2006: for the first time since records have been kept, the number of deaths of children under five years old has fallen below 10 million a year, less than half of the 20 million that died in 1960. The percentage of young children dying has fallen even more dramatically, from about 184 per thousand in 1960 to about 72 per thousand today. That means that out of every 1,000 children around the world, an additional 112 who would have died in 1960 are now living beyond age five.
It's good news and I'll take it.
What.
Oh, THAT kind of pirate. Sorry, my bad.
It is quite fashionable to criticize foreign aid as a failure, and there is no doubt that some aid has been wasted and that aid programs can be strengthened considerably. And money alone won’t solve all the problems. But most of the strongest critics get it wrong because they insist on looking at only part of the evidence. There is little doubt that foreign assistance programs have helped saved millions of lives over the last several decades by supporting routine immunization and neonatal health programs, helping to eradicate small pox, nearly eradicating polio and strengthening the fight against river blindness, guinea worm, diarrheal diseases, HIV/AIDS and other deadly diseases.
Go look. I'll wait.
Slow, steady and constant...wins.
For those of you who can't be bothered? Unicef announced this week that the world reached a remarkable milestone in 2006: for the first time since records have been kept, the number of deaths of children under five years old has fallen below 10 million a year, less than half of the 20 million that died in 1960. The percentage of young children dying has fallen even more dramatically, from about 184 per thousand in 1960 to about 72 per thousand today. That means that out of every 1,000 children around the world, an additional 112 who would have died in 1960 are now living beyond age five.
It's good news and I'll take it.
