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Book Review: Damned Nations
 

This is guest blog by Tom Murphy from A View From The Cave. With his permission we have republished the book review below. You can read the original article here.

The timing of the Kony 2012 campaign is quite apt in light of the recent release of Dr Samantha Nutt's memoir-cum-aid commentary Damned Nations: Greed, Guns, Armies & Aid. Dr Nutt, a physician and the founder and Executive Director of War Child Canada, shares her experiences as an aid worker in conflict zones for the past 15 years.

Dr. Nutt's first exposure to conflict was while working as a UNICEF field volunteer in Somalia in 1995. There, she made the mistake of surveying a resettlement camp alone. Little did she know that the landowner was watching over her movements. He was charging the people money to access the UNICEF-built water source in the camp. Dr. Nutt was not aware of this when she took a picture of a child taking water from the reservoir.

Security guards were dispatched when the landowner thought Dr. Nutt was recording evidence of his fee for water access. In this experience, Dr. Nutt was exposed to the many layers that are at work when there is a humanitarian response to a conflict. People in the camp were traveling further to gather water because of the fees. The book continues to cover a career path in conflict zones like eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Her writing is most compelling when describing her first-hand experiences. Writers who have worked in aid, and especially in conflict zones, have to establish some level of credibility by narrating a particularly dangerous event. Striking a balance is often hard and can come across like an exercise in saying "look at how bad ass I am."

The strength of Dr. Nutt's book is her restraint in telling these stories. She has experienced attacks and lost friends to assassinations. The focus largely tends to be away from herself. Her inclusion in the stories is a matter of being the witness, not the central player. It is a subtle, but important mechanism that appears to be deliberately employed. In doing so, Dr. Nutt profiles the accomplishments of individuals in their own right, rather than through her help or benevolence.

Mariam, a Somali midwife who worked with UNICEF to curb female genital mutilation, is one example. Dr Nutt narrates a section where she observed Mariam take the lead during a meeting with village elders to explain why ending FGM is important to women's health. Mariam convinced the men to allow her to speak with the village women.

Dr Nutt follows up the story saying, "To be present for these conversations - these moments of education, revelation, and sisterhood - is to confront our assumptions. The entire humanitarian movement and cacophony of NGOs it has spawned are, to melancholic effect, anchored to the myth of the poor nebulous "Other" (in deference to Ryszard Kapuscinski): Hurry, we must save them."

The book progresses in this manner. A self-reflection or personal event is connected to aid - how it is operated and how it is perceived. The final section sheds the stories, transitioning to criticism and ultimately advice. She touches on the challenges and shortcomings of voluntourism, NGO communication tactics to elicit donations, and the myth of low overheads.

For aid workers and people already working in the humanitarian space, these conversations are not groundbreaking. Some may disagree on her points, but have already been exposed to these views. For young people and anyone with little understanding of aid, Dr. Nutt begins to shed light on the many competing ideas that impact aid and development.

The lesson she imparts is that aid is imperfect and has the potential to reduce suffering. As an introduction to international aid, Damned Nations is excellent. The writing style is free from NGO jargon and Dr Nutt's storytelling is engaging. Given the rise in popularity of conflict in aid over the past two weeks, this is a good place for people who are just starting to learn about the subjects.

If Kony 2012 was an introduction to the impact conflict has on the lives of people in Uganda, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Central African Republic, this is a book that will illuminate the continuity of conflict and poverty. It will describe the many contributing factors to conflict and its both direct and indirect consequences.


Personal disclosure: I was provided a review copy by the author. The opinion of this book is entirely my own. I was not provided compensation or any gifts in exchange for this review. 
Posted by Tom Murphy in Aid for column Issue Analysis on Mar 14th 2012, 14:34
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Catchy graphics and hard facts- USAID is back...

 

Guest Blogger Tom Murphy discusses the exciting new project from USAID and why focussing on the Horn of Africa Crisis is as crucial now as it was a month ago. What do you think? Is this transparency in action or a distraction from the severe gravity of the situation?  See the original article by Tom Murphy at A View from the Cave here.

 

 

 

The numbers are big when talking about the crisis in the Horn of Africa. Recent estimates say that 750,000 lives are at risk largely due to the drought in Somalia with sum of 13 million people impacted by the drought in some way.

The need is clear, the response it happening, but the buzz is low. The earthquakes in Haiti and Japan showed how quickly people can act in response to a crisis, but the same enthusiasm and financial support has not come to the Pakistani flood victims the past two years and people in the Horn of Africa.

USAID is trying to change that. On Monday, USAID Administrator Shah announced that USAID would be launching the FWD (Famine, War, and Drought) campaign to focus on the Horn of Africa Crisis. The site features quick hitting infographics and maps of the Horn of Africa. Ranging from rainfall to staple prices, people can be informed with what is happening in the region.


Shah, in his talk and later comments, reiterated the importance of providing this information. Coupling that with the ability to make a text donation, he believes that this can be a way to grow support. This is also seen as a step in the direction of providing more open data. When going to the site, you can click around the map to pull up constantly updated information. Explaining part of his motivation, Shah said: 

 

                “If I am seeing this information on my desk, why am I not sharing it with all of you?”


This got some excitement from the crowd and the administrator was clearly pleased with the effort, but the discussion of what USAID was actually doing in the Horn of Africa was missing from the conversation. Transparency efforts had been tried before and are still a work in progress from USAID.

 “We have to really get good at what we are doing on the Horn. If we can use GIS to map where the programs, projects, vulnerabilities, key issues and learn how to do that and learn how to get people to engage on that data platform and see how we can get people to engage in that.”

Shah acknowledged that some of the information was not completely ready and can be accessed through more traditional means such as PDF documents. The decision was made to put together the site sooner and without all of the data filled out rather than later.

When I followed up with how they were partnering with other organizations to pull data, it became clear that transparency is something that Shah hopes to be a USAID leadership opportunity.

 

“What we have tried to do is make our data systems more transparent. I think we are just on the cusp on this. There is no reason why we can’t have a Google maps platform that shows where the problems are, where the solutions are, and what we are doing as a global community. Not just have the United States government but have it be everyone working together. There is no reason why it can’t be one systematic presentation.”


The promise of greater transparency is certainly exciting, but it will be important to see if the data is updated and what is shared. Right now, the FWD site only lists bubbles of where projects exist and what kind of projects are being implemented based on a series of categories. That is a far cry from transparency and the mapping integration that Shah hopes to accomplish. However, it was evident in the way that he spoke about the potential for the tool that Shah aspires to push forward.

Posted by Tom Murphy in Hunger for column Issue Analysis on Sep 28th 2011, 20:41
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OECD to US: Buy Local

 

This article was originally published by Tom Murphy on 17/08/11 here.


 

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has released the 2011 peer review of the United States development programs and implementation.

 

The full report offers a complete review with recommendations for making improvements. A summary of the findings can be found here. The document includes several findings that will help the United States meet recommendations provided by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC), on improving overseas aid quality, effectiveness and policy.

 

      source: http://www.oecd.org/document/2/0,3746,en_2649_34603_48366978_1_1_1_1,00.html

 

 

To provide better value-for-money and comply with the OECD recommendation on untying aid, the US should:

 


    - Fully untie its aid to least developed countries (LDCs) and to heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs), consistent with the 2001 DAC   recommendation on untying aid as amended on 25 July 2008.


    - Continue to carry the message to Congress that US co-operation would yield better value for money for partners if it were not tied to the provision of US goods and services.

 

    - Give USAID a stronger voice in the US National Security Council and re-enforce its role in the finalisation of the foreign aid budget.

 

Buying local (instead of tying aid) will inject money directly into local economies and is a more effective use of funds since it will rely on much cheaper shipping costs, import tariffs and logistical challenges.

 



As a bonus, the OECD provides this nice little graphic to help visualize where US ODA is going:

 

 

 
Posted by Tom Murphy in Aid for column Issue Analysis on Aug 23rd 2011, 03:52
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