effects of war and peace on foreign aid in South Sudan

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Introduction

Foreign aid plays an important role in peace building and restoring order in the developing countries. Aid has been used in Africa to deal with post war challenges. War and conflict in these nations are normally caused by struggle for power and resources. Others include tribal conflicts and religion differences. Foreign aid helps in rebuilding these nations, South Sudan in particular.

In south Sudan, food aid that is very crucial to the displaced persons affected by war is normally given by the non-governmental institutions established in those nations. Southern Sudan was recently affected by ethnic war, again in 2014 after the 2005 end of a two-decade civil war. Presence of peace in these developing countries attracts foreign aid attracts foreign aid that is used in the development of all sectors in these countries (McCrummen, 2009).

Context

Foreign aid has various positive effects in the developing nations. This includes the following:

Humanitarian aid in form of food aid plays helps to reduce famine, diseases and drought.

In most cases, people normally flee their homes and settle in camps where they believe they are safe. This makes them need aid as they lack food and clean water for survival. Non-governmental organizations established in these areas plays an important role in ensuring that the affected people in these areas (Poole, 2009). According to Hoefler (2008), US Centers for Disease control and Prevention greatly helped to eradicate dracunculiasis or Guinea worm disease in South Sudan. Hence, foreign aid is equally important in saving the lives of the affected persons in these nations.

Foreign aid helps in rebuilding the nations affected by war.

The financial aid given to the governments helps them in rebuilding all its programmes after effects of war. This financial aid help in starting up programmes that aim at poverty reduction and solving issues on employment in the developing nations. This plays an important role in establishing collapsed government in these nations. The governments in these nations are encouraged to invest in development programmes and sustainable growth (Peraino, 2010). Proper use of the funds and grants provided by the foreign aid could highly improve the lives of citizens in these countries.

Presence of peace in the developing countries promotes political goodwill and stability.

This attracts potential investors and foreign aid whose main aim is to improve lives in these nations. In most cases, the non-governmental organizations established in these nations provide aid to support various programmes. Development projects that include infrastructure development, mostly in establishing new industries are mostly emphasized. This helps to solve issues of poverty and unemployment, thus improving the living standards of people. Further, the foreign aid is also used in establishing projects that aim at sustainable growth. This leads to long-term benefits that enable these nations to depend on themselves in the future.

Negative effects

Foreign aid maybe misused in the nations where it is being availed. This leads to these nations withdrawing as the resources provided are not used for the right purpose. This includes the following:

Corruption

For instance, during the civil war in Southern Sudan, food aid that was donated by foreign nations to be used in saving the lives of people who were affected by war provided a lucrative business opportunity for the warlords in the country (Keo, 2013). Food that was meant to save the lives of people who were suffering in the camps was sold to people instead. The finances generated are used to support war that leads to political instability in these nations.

Foreign aid dependence

The communities in the countries affected by war largely depend on the foreign aid given by the developed nations in the world. However, the warlords in these countries depend on this aid to finance their activities (Ahmad, 2012). Hence, the nations that receive foreign aid should be accountable and invest in development programmes.

Withdrawal of foreign aid due to political instability

In nations where there is political instability like Southern Sudan, insecurity prevails. Most non-governmental organizations established in the areas affected by war close all their activities for their safety. In South Sudan, war between 1983 and 2002 led to death of 2 million people, a war that had colonial history and proxy wars of donor countries (Hoeffler, 2008). This also leads to withdrawal of potential investors and government grants from the developed countries meant for development and sustainable growth in these nations. This is a major disadvantage to the developing nations.

The government of Southern Sudan has created a good relationship with the donors to start and implement development projects that aim at marinating sustainable growth in future. Further, the government has vowed to promote political stability and goodwill in order to create a conducive and lucrative environment to initiate development projects in different parts of the country. This will play a great role in poverty reductions as employment opportunities will be available when these projects are implemented. Extension of foreign aid has enabled the country in poverty reduction as the projects started are now fully implemented, and new ones have been established to steer economic growth.

Conclusion

From the above impacts, it is evident that the foreign aid plays an important role in the development and sustainable growth in developing nations. However, the government of these nations should be accountable and ensure that there is development for sustainable growth.

References

Ahmad, A. (2012). Agenda For Peace Or Budget For War: International Journal.

Keo, T. P. (2013). The Dark Side of Foreign Aid: retrieved from www.lstmliverpool.ac.uk , The

Diplomat.1-4.

Hoeffler, A. (2008). Dealing with the Consequences of Violent Conflicts in Africa. Centre for the

Study of African Economies. University of OxforD

McCrummen, S. (2009). The Washington Post. Sudan Ousts Aid After Court Pursues President ,

116-36.

Peraino, K. (2010). United States Department of State. Standard Foreign Assistance Indicators ,

3.

Poole, L. (2009). Global Humanitarian Assistance. Sudan Aid Factsheet 1995-2010 , 44-63.