When the Poor Ask the Rich : G8 & World Problems

G8 can't alone solve the world problems, especially for African

Rich countries in G8 like the US are providing constant help to poor countries, especially those with scarce materials. There are humanitarian organisations like Oxfam. But such help seems to bear little fruits. It is based essentially on food donation and the like. Such help isn’t the infrastructure needed by poor countries. They need the adequate human resources who have adequate education and full integrity. Politically, there must be full democracy so government at the local and central level coordinate steps to reform and progress.

Instead of asking for generous help from rich countries without being able to use it to good effect because of corruption, countries in need should take the example of G8 and EU to form an economic block to become rich. After all EU started with small and relatively not very rich countries then called Benelux. Now it is a very powerful economic block.
In conclusion, Poor countries should learn to be efficient and self-sufficient.

countries with inefficient governments. Writing off debts for poor countries can be a good start. But such countries should get rid of their ills like corruption. If China, India and Brazil join G8, there will be a new Security Council in disguise. Other third world countries will be faced with a giant block that will set the agenda for them rather than treating them as partners. China, Brazil and India still have huge problems to cater for their own people. So they won’t give priority to other countries whose economy is ailing because of mismanagement. Rich countries like US have their political agenda. They have their economy to sustain in face of international competition and energy rising cost. There are troubled regions in the Middle East. There is the issue of nuclear programmes in North Korea. All this makes poor countries, especially those in Africa, put in the second rank when it comes to solving world problems.Transcript of participation on Haveyoursay about G8 Summit on Sunday, July 16th, 2006 ( see the video link under the title: Is the G8 fit for the purpose)

The role that G8 can play to help poor countries I don’t think that G8 that can solve the problem of poor counties. It is them who should set the basis for that. They should have good government at the local and the central level. They should deal with the problem of corruption. And of course even if they depend on rich countries like the United States this has to do with its foreign policy. If you take, For example, the case of the Middle East, we have three countries that benefit from large aid from the USA, we have Egypt, Israel and Jordan. And this has to do with the peace agreement.

But if you take for example Africa, it is not at the focus of the interest of the United States because up to now, it doesn’t threaten its interests. So it doesn’t care if these countries are plunged in problems or not. Ands let’s remember that former French President François Mitterrand asked that G7 should devote 1% of its gross national product to help poor countries, but this didn’t take place. So if poor countries want to help themselves, of course they should lay the basis through education, through good management. Otherwise of course, all the aid can be just momentary if it doesn’t help these countries to have the basic infrastructure to get a good start.