Afghanistan

Afghanistan is with 50% of its population are living on approximately less than USD $1 per day, is one of the most impoverished countries in the world (Department for International Development, 2010). In addition, the country is also far off from achieving all of its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (Bennett, Alexander, Saltmarshe, Phillipson, & Marsden, 2009).

Afghanistan is a major producer of the opium; it produces 87% of the world’s supply of opium. The production of opium also makes up a large portion of the country’s GDP, rendering the country’s economy dependent on the production of opium (Asian Development Bank, 2005; Department for International Development, 2010). However, despite its contribution to the economy of Afghanistan, the production of opium creates a myriad of social problems which creates challenges to the countries development, such as:

• · Organized Crime
• · Insecurity
• · Corruption
• · Addiction
• · HIV/AIDS (Asian Development Bank, 2005, p. para. 12)

Recommendation

One of the reasons the farmers in Afghanistan cultivates opium is due to the high economic returns as compared to other cash crops (Asian Development Bank, 2005). As such, one of the ways in which to cut-down and subsequently, eliminate opium production is to encourage farmers to stop producing opium by introducing more efficient ways of cultivating other cash crops that would provide them with similar economic returns. For example, farmers could be introduced to more effective and efficient agricultural practices such as crop rotation, so that they could have multiple harvests of different crops through the year while at the same time not sacrificing the fertility of the crop land.

The reduction and gradual shift away from the cultivation of opium may help path the way on which the social ills listed above could be tackled and resolve.

Asian Development Bank. (2005, December). Development challenges. Retrieved June 4, 2010, from Asian Development Bank: http://www.adb.org/Documents/Periodicals/ADB_Review/2005/vol37-6/dev-challenges.asp

Bennett, J., Alexander, J., Saltmarshe, D., Phillipson, R., & Marsden, P. (2009, May). Evaluation of DFID's country programmes: Afghanistan 2002-2007. Retrieved June 4, 2010, from Department fo International Development: ww.dfid.gov.uk/Documents/publications1/evaluation/afghan-eval-summary.pdf

Department for International Development. (2010). Afganistan. Retrieved Jun 4, 2010, from DFID: Department for Internation Development: http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Where-we-work/Asia-South/Afghanistan/

By Zhi Qiang

Shaun's Assignment
International development assistance CHALLENGE or FAILURE due to location or exclusion.
Write a research blog about real challenges or failures in international aid delivery because of reasons related to the organization itself, or because of the conditions of the area in which it is working. You should thoroughly research the problems and provide ideas as to why the challenge or failure occurred.

Unless the United Nations is allowed to expand and convert (“re-hat”) some of the existing AU force of 7,000 troops in Darfur to the 20,000 peacekeepers called for in U.N. Security Council Resolution 1706, passed on August 31, "the people of Darfur will face catastrophe," says the USAID Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance, Michael Hess.

For this assignment I will write about USAID’s challenge to deliver aid to Darfur in Sudan.

Situation
According to change.org, an online hub for social change, Darfur is ranked as the third most difficult place to deliver aid to. The reason being that there have been long lasting clashes occurred in the western region of Darfur in the early 1970s between the pastoral tribes. The rebels accused the central government of neglecting the Darfur region economically, although there is uncertainty regarding the objectives of the rebels and whether they merely seek an improved position for Darfur within Sudan or outright secession. Both the government and the rebels have been accused of atrocities in this war, although most of the blame has fallen on Arab militias known as the Janjaweed, which are armed men appointed by the Al Saddiq Al Mahdi administration to stop the longstanding chaotic disputes between Darfur tribes.



Adeline's Post
Challenges faced by World Food Programme in providing food aids to people in Pakistan.

The United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) has invested more than US$1.5 billion since the 1986, assisting generations of Pakistan’s poorest citizens.
WFP has been involved in the response to the complexity of food security challenges, assistance encompasses emergency and also recovery and developmental components of Pakistan to help the most vulnerable people in the country – women and children. There are a few factors that pose as threats to the food security in Pakistan. These are the (1) earthquakes, (2) poverty, (3) extreme environmental conditions and (4) low education levels.

There are several emergency programmes such as “Food Assistance to Internally Displaced and Conflict-Affected Persons in NWFP and FATA”, “Assistance to Vulnerable Populations Affected by High Food Prices” and other country programmes by the WFP that aims to improve access to food that can enable women and girls to take advantage of developmental opportunities and also contribute to an improvement of household food security, while addressing the health and nutrition needs of women and children, and promoting basic education.

Although these programmes have been successful so far, there are still difficulties in providing food aids to the citizens of Pakistan, especially to women. This is because the country is of strong Muslim religious background and the men dominate the society. Giving food to women and focusing on women and girls rather than boys will not be effective as it may lead to men’s opposition and resentment. This is challenge for WFP when it comes to providing food aids to the most vulnerable in Pakistan.

Since this involves food security, perhaps by bringing men into the process will lessen the challenges that WFP may face. Targeting the family as a unit can better reinforce food security for the household and really benefit the citizens of Pakistan as a whole.
On the other hand, Pakistan is greatly affected by earthquakes and extreme environmental conditions. In 2005, a deadly earthquake struck Pakistan and 3 million people were left homeless. There were also floods in recent years that have killed many people. The citizens of Pakistan needed more help than what was given.

Recently, on 10 March 2010, six aid workers from World Vision International were murdered while working in the earthquake area to assist survivors. That was followed by a suicide attack in October 2009 on the main office in Islamabad of the WFP that killed five workers.
Pakistan is also facing displacement crisis caused by military incursions. More than 2.2 million people were internally displaced.

The biggest challenge for WFP is not in providing aid, but for its aid to be accepted. The problem lies with the location that aid is being provided. Pakistan is a place that faces many problems due to natural disaster and conflicts that caused hurt to the citizens. It is possible to provide aids to the victims of earthquake, but it is difficult to bring these aids to the citizen, especially when the lives of aid workers are endangered.

It is difficult for WFP’s food aids to reach the Pakistanis as many regions are complicated by danger of guerilla attacks. Although the government tries to help in delivering these aids, they are also vulnerable to attacks by the Taliban. This is because the Taliban’s attitude towards aids was often suspicious and most of the foreign donors and aid workers are non-Muslims. When such violent incidents occur, the food aids that were meant for the citizens do not get transported and it may also be wasted.

It is not an easy to overcome this big challenge that WFP and most international aid agencies face. There are a few recommendations that may help WFP to overcome the challenge. When sending food aids over to Pakistan, the aids can be sent to places in Pakistan where it is much safer even if it does not reach the citizens directly. Perhaps WFP can work with other organizations to later transport the aids directly to the citizens with the help of intermediaries. Another recommendation can be to work with organizations that are already situated in Pakistan and are within the citizens. Food aids can be sent to these organizations or the aid workers can join the organizations that are already providing aids to the citizen. By working with organizations, it can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of food aids reaching the citizens. Lastly, if food aids is unable to reach the citizens, conceivably, WFP can provide monetary support to other organizations that are able to bring aids to the people more effectively.






http://wwwimage.cbsnews.com/images/2010/01/17/image6107797x.jpg

I will be discussing on the challenges faced by US in the provision of aid to Haiti that resulted from a poor organizational practice.

Let me start by giving a background of Haiti. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Over 80 percent of people in Haiti live in abject poverty. Over half the population lives on less than a dollar a day. Over 80 percent of the people do not get the minimum daily ration of food as defined by the World Health Organization. Less than 45 percent have access to potable water. Life expectancy in Haiti is 53 years. Only one in every 100,000 Haitians has access to a physician. Being plagued by political violence all its years, in May 2006, Haiti was finally put under control as it inaugurated a democratically elected president and parliament.
Unfortunately, a massive magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010 which called a catastrophe in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country. An alarming 100,000 people were dead within 60 seconds; this catastrophe is indeed a nightmare for the Haitians. Having such detrimental effects, Haiti required plentiful international aid assistance to help them tide over this nightmare.

Being less than a 100miles away from Haiti, US failed to deliver the food, water, medical supplies, and rescue teams and medical personnel that Haiti needed desperately during the first few days after the earthquake struck Haiti. It was only a week after the earthquake, on January 18, that the first US airdrop of food and water were made. Also, it was reported that the tons of supplies were stacked up at the airports, not moving after three days since the earthquake happened.
Why did US experience delay in giving aid to Haiti? The cause of the delay can be mapped up by a few factors such as Haiti’s main demolished seaport, a congested one-runway airport, road congestions and a shattered communication system.


http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/img/news/2010/800px-Haitian_Port_Damage1.jpg
With a demolished seaport, there were no land points for ships which were carrying supplies for Haiti such as humanitarian aid, food, water, rice, beans, oil, MREs (Meals, Ready to Eat), USAID food packages, construction materials and tents.


http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/01/201011531716311291.html


The downfall of the seaport has made aid bottleneck at Haiti airport as it was an impossible task for such a small airport to coordinate such large numbers of aircrafts. The arriving aircraft have been hampered a lack of staircases used to access the planes and allow crews to disembark. Moreover doctors, sniffer dogs, troops and rescue workers had to contend with airport congestion, limited jet fuel for return flights and an airport without an air traffic control tower or working radar as the tower had collapsed when the massive earthquake struck Haiti.





http://sydsvenskan-img.se/archive/00337/sxe32426_337906a.jpg

Even after the relief teams have managed to unload the supplies from the aircraft, the road posed created another problem for them as it was filled with debris or quake survivors seeking shelter. Adding to this set of problems will be the shattered communication system. Because of the earthquake, communications were disrupted as electricity supplies were cut off at certain parts of Haiti; this made it impossible to determine the number of casualties. Therefore, relief teams were unable to get a clear picture of what is going on in Haiti. In a nutshell, we can see that Haiti’s air, road and sea were all affected badly by the earthquake.

Now, I will like to provide a few recommendations on how these problems may be curbed. First of all, I think that there should be an expansion of the airport in Haiti. By doing so, it will not only assist Haiti in handling emergencies but also create economic opportunities in the long run, as a new airport will facilitate travel and boost business opportunities too. Secondly, sophisticated military vehicles can be deployed to facilitate aid provision in the rough roads of Haiti. These military vehicles can be used for defense purposes too. Thirdly, wireless network can be installed at all parts of Haiti to speed up communications and information will then be conveyed efficiently. Furthermore, local disaster workers in Haiti should all be equipped with emergency preparedness skills such as emergency teamwork. This is because during a rescue mission, you can never work alone. Rescue workers have to depend on each other and listen to instructions promptly in order for coordination to go smoothly. Besides, crisis coaching is essential too. Crisis coaches are practiced when you are instructed to lead a group of refugees to a safe location. This is not an easy task at all as most of the Haitian survivors have been traumatized by the earthquake; hence rescue workers are required to cope with the emotional side of disaster victims too. I believe that emergency preparedness is essential especially in disaster-stricken areas like Haiti.

In conclusion, I feel that US can increase their organizational practice efficiency by creating contingency plans as you will never know when disaster will strike again, but will never be afraid if you are prepared for it.

Resources

• https://www.cia.gov/library/publications//the-world-factbook/geos/ha.html

• http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/01/14/haiti-earthquake-left-100-000-dead-in-60-seconds-and-toll-could-reach-500-000-115875-21965474/

• http://www.rwor.org/a/189online/Haiti-en.html
• http://www.informationdissemination.net/2010/01/calm-before-storm-in-haiti.html

• http://www.soulwork.net/emergency.htm

• http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/01/201011531716311291.html



Chengxi's
International development assistance CHALLENGE or FAILURE due to location or exclusion

In the past decades, the Gaza Strip has been in conflict and unrest. Here is an overview of events.

A look at dates and events in the recent history of the Gaza Strip, home today to 1.5 million Palestinians:
_1967: Israel seizes control of the Gaza Strip from Egypt during the 1967 Mideast war and begins to establish settlements there.

_1971: Israel's military conducts harsh campaign to pacify Gaza and defeat armed militants.

_1987: The first Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation, known as the intifada, erupts.

_1994: Under the interim Israel-Palestinian peace accords, Israel transfers some power in Gaza to the newly formed Palestinian Authority. The Israeli military withdraws from population centers but retains control of borders and settlements.

_2000: The second Palestinian uprising erupts. Palestinian militants begin firing rockets from Gaza into Israel.

_2005: Israel evacuates all its settlements in Gaza and unilaterally withdraws its forces.

_2006: The Islamic militant group Hamas wins Palestinian parliamentary elections. Western powers declare Hamas a terrorist group. Internal Palestinian violence worsens and rocket fire into Israel increases.

_2007: Hamas wrests control of Gaza from the Western-backed Fatah movement in bloody street battles. Israel closes its border with Gaza and, along with Egypt, imposes a blockade.

_August 2008: The first boat sponsored by a pro-Palestinian group called Free Gaza reaches the territory. Five more boats follow before Israeli forces began to intervene.

_December 2008: Israel invades Gaza to try to halt years of rocket fire at Israeli towns. About 1,400 Palestinians are killed, many of them civilians.

_April 2009: An Israeli navy vessel collides with a Free Gaza boat steaming toward Gaza, then tows the boat to an Israeli port. Two more flotillas fail to reach Gaza in 2009.

_May 30, 2010: Israel intercepts six boats sponsored by Free Gaza and a Turkish NGO in an attempt to break the Israeli blockade. Clashes between naval commandos and activists result in dozens of casualties.



I'll talk about the International aid to Palestinians.

Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip receive on of the highest level of aid in the world. Aid has been offered to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and other Palestinian Non-governmental Organizations (PNGOs) by the international community, including International Non-governmental Organizations (INGOs). The entities that provide aid to the Palestinians are categorized into seven groups: the Arab nations, the European Union, the United States, Japan, international institutions (including agencies of the UN system), European countries, and other nations.

In the history of events, it became obvious why aid was different to deliver to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

War between the Israeli and Palestinians caused much problems within the Gaza Strip.

Due to the violence and military level in these areas, aid that was allowed was limited.

On June 1, 2010, Israel launched a deadly attack on a convoy of ships carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. This caused a casualty of 16 deaths.



Acts of violence made it nearly impossible to bring humanitarian aid within the Gaza Strip itself.

Through the decades of unrest, the area has become unstable for any form of sustainable development.


RECOMMENDATIONS
Although talks have been arranged with the UN, European Union, and representatives from Israel, they have not been effective in negotiating a leeway for humanitarian aid to be available in the Gaza War.

As such, I would recommend that UN utilises its peacekeeping forces to put a stop to the crossfires, and arrange for a treaty meeting amongst the nations within the Gaza Strip.

Organisations should arrange talks with the government of Israel and come to a compromise so that humanitarian aid can be brought into the war zones to help the innocent civilians.

The issue of the highest priority would be getting Israel to open up and allow humanitarian aid to the war zones.

Proper connections with their local support groups are needed to prevent any miscommunication in the land foreign to many.

Cheryl - 10 January
Shumin - 15 January
Chuan Yu - 3 February
Jonathan - 24 February
Grace - 2 March
Alison - 31 March
Adeline - 20 April
Halena - 23 April
Julinda - 9 May
Sheryl - 29 May
Billy - 31 May
Amanda - 4 October
Bernice - 22 July
Francine - 30 July
Bryan - 31 July
Matthew - 31 July
Joshua - 15 August
Janell - 21 August
Sin Yee - 6 September
Ronny - 14 September
Shine - 15 October
Marcus - 5th November
Pei Qing - 10 December
Sheena - 27 December