Althought the point has been made before, Foreign Policy has some searing words for the aid industry in a piece called The New Colonialists (subscription required). Money quote:
Many aid organizations will say that their ultimate goal is to ensure their services are no longer needed. But aid organizations and humanitarian groups need dysfunction to maintain their relevance. Indeed, their institutional survival depends on it...it is difficult to find examples where these groups have pulled up stakes because the needs they seek to address are no more.
Join the Conversation