martes, junio 07, 2005
American generosity
So this is what you've been reading in the news . . . the United States is oh so generous with its humanitarian aid -- it provides more aid to lesser developed countries than any other developed country. You hear statements such as the following:
1/ Bush announced that the United States will provide $674 million in additional resources to respond to African humanitarian emergencies.
2/ The United States has already provided $1.4 billion to Africa this year through the United Nations and separately pledged $15 billion to fight AIDS in Africa over the next decade.
What the media fails to mention, however, is that from the per capita global perspective, the amount of aid the United States gives to humanitarian missions is nothing short of pathetic.
In general aid to lesser developed countries, the United States per capita falls second to last.
Oh, and in case you think the statistics will improve because Americans were "incredibly generous" opening their wallets to the tsunami relief . . . think again.
In case you don't want to scroll down the list of countries, I'll just tell you where the United States fell: it is 25th on the list -- 1/45th of what the top donor pledged.
1/ Bush announced that the United States will provide $674 million in additional resources to respond to African humanitarian emergencies.
2/ The United States has already provided $1.4 billion to Africa this year through the United Nations and separately pledged $15 billion to fight AIDS in Africa over the next decade.
What the media fails to mention, however, is that from the per capita global perspective, the amount of aid the United States gives to humanitarian missions is nothing short of pathetic.
In general aid to lesser developed countries, the United States per capita falls second to last.
Oh, and in case you think the statistics will improve because Americans were "incredibly generous" opening their wallets to the tsunami relief . . . think again.
In case you don't want to scroll down the list of countries, I'll just tell you where the United States fell: it is 25th on the list -- 1/45th of what the top donor pledged.
