Humanitarian aid

Humanitarian aid is conflicting, so many people assume there is nothing happening and that it all good. Peoples intentions are seemingly better than what occurs because when something awful happens, most unite to help. The difficulty in the matter is all the money, food and aid doesn't cure the continually arising problems. Linda Polman digs deep into the false pretenses of the idolization of aid. She points out how, some organizations take a big percentage at times, they aid the warlords and not having the right products required for help. The lack of money each country gives for aid is "peanuts" this lack of money is still plenty for the warlords and for the wheel to continue spinning and no one is willing to break the wheel.

When Polman says  “aid organizations are businesses dressed up like Mother Teresa, but that’s not how reporters see them”she means that reporters are to trusting on NGO officials. They don't ask tough questions about the corruptions or even if the facilities are even necessary. NGO's and the UN keep concentrating on the bad, they have to keep reporting about the human suffering because that is their ploy to keep getting money. They continue to focus on the what needs to still be done and not on all the accomplishments. It is easy for reporters to report about the wars, deaths and all the horror that is occurring there. Only way for the organizations to keep their funding from people thinking they are doing good is by showing the re occurrence of the negativity. "Reinforcing the sense of economic misery, between May and September 2010 the ten most-read US newspaper and magazines carried 245 articles mentioning poverty in Africa, but only five mentioning gross domestic product growth." Reports will continue covering the lack of help, because they are getting paid and getting treated like royalty by the leaders. Money always talks and therefore this pattern will continue and the "aid" will only be helping to continue the problem.

Journalist, the public, government have to make some major changes to humanitarian aid in order for it to be successful. I think one major thing that needs to be done is with all this new technology, there should be a camera recording the actions of these officials. There needs to be a report that doesn't lie about where the efforts are actually going, the NGO's and the UN need to report on where every dollar is going. Creating one organization that does it all, would be a lot more efficient, rather a new foundation opening up for a new crisis. Journalists need to be watchdogs report the truth, not the fluff that sells "Journalist are ignorant of chronic problems caused by poverty and disease." The public needs to research these organizations before they give them aid and know what is really happening and what is needed, not wanted. The government needs to stop using the relief effects to gain votes, popularity, if nothing good is coming out if it, no need to discuss.