When Humanitarian Aid is Counter Productive

Riz Khan video on when Humanitarian Aid is counter productive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC7M_g0foJk&feature=related

The video is approx 22 minutes in duration. It is quite educational about the problems, many of which we here were familiar with, but it is a good roundup. 

There is a major disconnect between the stated goals of organizations, and their results. They know about this, know what to do to fix it, do not seem willing to do so. 

In Haiti, NGOs have been running the country for maybe 10 years, and they compete with each other for money. This competition is more important to them than helping the people of Haiti. In this regard they are like consultants in capitalism, where the stated goal is to aid some company, but the way it is done is often a rigged game to maximize income to the consultants. The best results are a failed project, where the company will then have to pay consultants again and again for another failed project. Another analogy is politicians promise stuff to get elected, but best for them is the legislation to be broken, so that they continue to get elected by promising the same stuff. 

In turn, the donors and donor nations run the NGOs. 
How fast to spend what money on what purposes, in keeping with the agendas of the donors and donor nations. 

Different donor nations have different agendas. 
Foreign Policy, Military, Diplomacy, Religion. 
They also compete with each other. 

The NGOs have to do their missions according to their donor demands, if they are to get that money. 

The people, of the nation getting the aid, have the least say in what is to be done. 

To get the aid into the country requires permission of local authority, which can include rebels and warlords. In Somalia, approx 80% of the aid has to go to these interests, in taxes and permissions.