Where there is war, conflicts exist characterized by excessive aggression, disorders in the society as well as high rates of deaths. For war to occur there must have been some preplanning. To stop it, different groups of people must come together to change the material or psychological hierarchy that exists among the warring groups. When there is no violence, retribution, hostility and the lack of threats of conflicts, then there is peace. War and peace present important elements in the attraction as well as distribution of foreign aid in developing countries (Anderson, 1999). Foreign aids are meant to help address the needs of the poor. Unfortunately, some of the recipient regimes become complacent and neglect their obligations to improve their people’s welfare. This leads to dissatisfaction of the donors. Before, the disbursement of foreign aid, there has usually been explicit or implicit exchange conditions that the recipients have to fulfill as required by the donor. Breton Wood Institutions base their aids on structural adjustment programs such as privatization, decreasing military expenditure among others (Taylor & Taylor, 2012).
Effects of War and Peace on Foreign Aid Distribution
War and peace play important roles in the effectiveness of foreign aid. Donors intend for the aid to help the recipient countries to alleviate poverty and become self-sufficient, in order to stop depending on help from outside (Taylor & Taylor, 2012). However, only under peaceful conditions will the objectives of donors be achieved. Peace provides the necessary conditions that are required for the distribution of foreign aid. It exists where there is political stability. Since in most sub-Saharan African countries wars are in most cases politically instigated, whenever there is political stability, there will be little reason for wars to occur and thus the existence of peace. Political stability will, therefore, ensure that the foreign aid will be effectively assessed to the point when it reaches its desired destination (Anderson, 1999).
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Proper assessment of foreign aid is vital in ensuring that it is allocated according to plan. Due to the different forms through which the aid is disbursed to the recipient countries, it becomes very difficult to monitor and control it in conditions of war. Foreign aid is provided through various forms such as capital, basic commodities, services, firearms among others (Cox & Pawar, 2012). Stability of government is very important in ensuring that there is proper assessment. The recipient countries are still in their developing stage and this explains their weak and complex social institutions. These institutions cannot provide adequate support to the donors in terms of distribution of foreign aid. As such, donors also rely on the involvement of the local government leaders in ensuring that there is effective distribution (Taylor & Taylor, 2012).
Effect of Al-Shabaab on Foreign Aid in Somalia
The local government can only be effective under peaceful governing environments (Jordan & Jordan, 2009). In Somalia, there is a lot of opposition to the local government characterized by sporadic attacks from rebelling groups particularly the al-Shabaab. Foreign aid distribution in this country is not effective because the government does not have full control of the country. It has lost control over some areas to this militia group. As such, there is no way of aid getting to these areas. In such areas, people get no help from the government and are in serious need of such foreign aid, even more than people in those areas that are being protected by the government. However, due to the looming threat posed by the al-Shabaab, aid cannot be taken to these people (Burke, 2017).
In Somalia, foreign aid distribution is very ineffective due to the presence of al-Shabaab They prevent effective distribution in very many ways. By destroying important transport and communication infrastructure, they make it very difficult for envoys to communicate and transport foreign aid to the needy population. They also engage in sporadic attacks, threatening the lives of foreign aid staff. This makes it an obstacle for envoys to even contemplate reaching such areas. Piracy also forms a big part of their illegal activities. They do piracy as an economic activity to fund their illegal existence. This brings about fears and threatens the failure of foreign aid objectives which leads to the donors to neglect such areas (Burke, 2017).
Conclusion
Most developing countries in the sub-Saharan Africa depend on foreign aid to supplement their national budgets. The aids are in most cases attached with conditions that the foreign donors deem necessary for their objectives to be met. Effective distribution is very important in ensuring that the aid reaches the right destination. This will enable proper assessment by the donors in determining whether their objectives were accomplished or not. War and peace play important roles in facilitating effective distribution. While peace enables proper distribution of foreign aid to the desired recipients war presents a serious obstacle to proper distribution.
References
Anderson, M. B. (1999). Do no harm: How aid can support peace--or war . Boulder, Colo:
Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Burke, J. (2017, July 27). Al-Shabaab militants ban starving Somalis from accessing aid. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/27/al-shabaab-militants-ban-starving-somalis-from-accessing-aid
Cox, D. R., & Pawar, M. (2012). International Social Work: Issues, Strategies, and Programs .
Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
Jordan, A. A., & Jordan, A. A. (2009). American national security . Retrieved from
https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=Lv72lNuLEXYC&pg=PT223&dq=The+local+government+can+only+be+effective+under+peaceful+governing+environments&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi8gJySpoLZAhXF3SwKHdnQChsQ6AEIJzAA#v=onepage&q=The%20local%20government%20can%20only%20be%20effective%20under%20peaceful%20governing%20environments&f=false
Taylor, D. C., Taylor, C. E., & Taylor, J. O. (2012). Empowerment on an unstable planet: From
seeds of human energy to the scale of global change . New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
