27th June 2005
It was time to write to George W. Bush again, I decided. The fact that I have never had a satisfactory response to all the good advice I give him does not mean I should desist from trying to help him to improve his ways. And as well as that, I felt that Tony Blair needed some support in his efforts with the great man.
I attended the meeting for parliamentarians who had an interest in the G8 Summit shortly to take place in Gleneagles. We were the guests of the Scottish Parliament and the debates took place in the chamber of that institution. A very fine building it is, too, with splendid acoustics. We were frequently told that the place cost ten times the original estimate. Some of the Scottish Parliamentarians were quite cheered up by my attitude that it was well worth the money and we Irish know all about over-runs.
Members from six of the Parliaments of the G8 were there. Affairs of state in Canada and Germany did not allow any one from those countries to attend. There were members from many African countries - Malawi, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia (this man heard he had lost his seat during the meeting), Senegal, South Africa, Mali, Mauritania, Cameroon, The Gambia, Nigeria, Sudan, many from Uganda, and so on. And then there were people like me, helpful, kind, decent or irritating do-gooders, depending on which side of the aid fence one was sitting.
The issues of debt relief and aid were to the fore. Give or take a few million, Africa has been lent 540 billion dollars in the last 30 odd years and has repaid 550 billion dollars. And they still owe nearly 300 billion. Debt repayments means that money which should be going into their health and education services is being sent abroad to service their debts.
Food shortages occur, not just because of drought and war, but because so many people have to work at growing cash crops for export that there is a labour shortage to grow food for home consumption.
There is a population bulge in most African countries and with poor education and poor employment prospects our African colleagues told us unrest can be expected to increase. Without debt relief and increased aid it is hard to see peaceful progress being established.
Our African colleagues spoke openly about their realisation that governance in their countries had to improve. Their constituents, not just our constituents, will have to know how money is being spent. Some years ago I met a Minister of Health who more or less implied I had the cheek of the devil for asking for some sort of a breakdown on the health budget, despite the fact that Ireland was a good contributor to his funds.
We talked at several sessions about the impact of HIV/AIDS on these countries. There does not seem to be any decrease in the infection rate of HIV. It was quite terrifying to listen to the descriptions of the decimation of economies by AIDS. Not only is there the shocking mortality amongst young people but there are the effects of morbidity - absenteeism due to illness or caring for another family member who is ill, attendance at hospitals or clinics and funerals. I had never thought of the number of work days that would be lost due to attendance at funerals.
It was good to hear African men saying that if traditional culture was allowing the HIV virus to spread it must be changed and one man said men's sexual habits would have to take account of risky behaviour, the first time I have heard this view expressed at a meeting.
Uganda is frequently promoted as one of the African countries which has made most progress regarding HIV infection but their representatives warned of increasing HIV rates again. I pointed out that they did have more people surviving with HIV, thanks to generic anti-retroviral drugs, so these would increase the rates, but the parliamentarians felt people had become too sanguine and were looking on HIV/AIDS as a chronic disease as we do in the West. Their sex education programmes I have praised before but queried exactly how effective their sexual abstinence only programmes were. A representative from the World Bank said 80 million condoms had been supplied to Uganda last year!
Teachers, nurses and doctors dying deplete the already sketchy health and education services. One delegate said two registered nurses had carried out 10,000 deliveries in her country last year with no medical help and minimal auxiliary assistance. Pretty fiery words came from another regarding western countries who try to poach the small number of health care workers they have. It was agreed by many that it was better to train health care workers only to a standard below that required by western countries, so long as it did not endanger the lives or health of African patients, because then they would not be recruited for the west.
Aid should not be seen as a charity but as a way of promoting security and stability. Half a million women still die in pregnancy or childbirth every year and two hundred thousand children under five die, too. Over two thirds of the deaths take place in Africa. Appeals for help with family planning were frequently made.
To my great relief, Ireland received great praise from everyone, even the EU Aid Relief Co-ordinator, but I was urged to make sure we fulfilled our promises.
This is how I came around to writing to George W. The United States of America, the richest and most powerful country in the world gives 0.17 of its GDP towards development aid - forget disaster appeals, I am talking about aid that allows people to plan schools, clinics, improvements in agriculture and so on. Even the poorest of the newly joined EU members give as much as that. The USA spends as much on armaments in 9 hours as it does on family planning in a whole year. 80% of the money given by the U.S. in aid is spent in the US, my African colleagues told me. Expensive pharmaceuticals are bought there when cheaper and just as effective generics could be bought elsewhere. Corn is sent from US farmers when local produce could be purchased. It is a great pity that this mighty country does not do more to improve its image. The recipients of aid know what is going on and know, too, that geopolitical considerations come into everything.
Senator Mary Henry, MD
