How to decolonize aid? A new report shares 158 perspectives on the way forward.
Peace Direct, Adeso, the Alliance for Peacebuilding, and Women of Color Advancing Peace and Security released a report yesterday that breaks down how systemic racism persists in the global development, humanitarian, and peace-building spheres — and what a decolonized aid system might look like. The report draws on global consultations with “158 activists, decision-makers, academics, journalists and practitioners.” It includes some stark reflections on how the aid industry has failed to match its rhetoric about equality, inclusion, and shifting power to local organizations with real action.
• Peace Direct takes aim at the organizational structure of international headquarters and country offices, writing that “at its worst, the INGO country office operates like a neo-colonialist outpost, staffed by White Western expatriates, dominating the funding for development, humanitarian and peace-building work while implementing programmes with little local input, thereby competing with — and displacing — local organisations.”
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• Western-derived theories of change, proposals that are divorced from local needs, and capacity building — which presupposes a lack of local capacity — all come under fire.
• The report points to some ways forward. Catherine Martha Agwang, one of the commenters, urges donors to “fund courageously” and to “have the courage to accept uncertainty and messiness in humanitarian response.”
Writing for Devex, Abdirashid Duale, CEO at Dahabshiil, Africa’s largest money transfer company, and Nimco Ali, CEO at The Five Foundation, a global partnership for ending female genital mutilation, call for an aid culture revolution that prioritizes funding to women.
Opinion: It’s time to revolutionize aid culture and fund African women
ICYMI: The post-pandemic NGO
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK
The J.P. Morgan Development Finance Institution raised eyebrows when it launched in January 2020. Most other DFIs are publicly funded, and some experts wonder about the development impact of the new institution’s investments. One year in, Adva Saldinger reports on what the DFI has accomplished so far — and where it plans to go next.
Read: How JP Morgan’s DFI invested and defined its impact in its first year
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BRIDGING THE GAP
“Our research has shown that over 70% of the people first seek help from faith or traditional healers ... before turning to mental health practitioners.”
— Thara Srinivasan, director of India’s Schizophrenia Research FoundationIndia currently suffers from a shortage of mental health practitioners, and faith healers are often trusted and available where other options are not, Mahima Jain reports for Devex. That reality has opened up a debate about what role traditional healers should play in the provision of mental health services — and how their practices should be regulated.
Read: How can India’s faith healers play a role in mental health care?
KEEP THE FAITH
In parts of Africa’s Sahel region, religious leaders are playing key roles in development and peace building, using their positions as trusted local figures to increase interreligious understanding and cohesion amid broader societal collapse, Teresa Welsh reports.
Read: Faith leaders promote peace in the Sahel
JUDICIAL REVIEW
A key pillar of the current U.S. Central America policy is running up against recent moves by regional leaders to sideline independent judges known for cracking down on corruption, the Washington Post reports. U.S. President Joe Biden’s anti-corruption emphasis marks a sharp break from that of his predecessor, Donald Trump, who often looked the other way as long as political leaders did their part to prevent migration across the southern U.S. border. Now those same leaders appear to be testing the Biden team’s resolve.
ICYMI: US VP Harris outlines dual approach to stop Central American migration
TOO SOON
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declined to confirm reports that he will seek a second term Monday, telling reporters that his focus is currently on the global pandemic, “with my colleagues working day and night.”
IN OTHER NEWS
WHO has updated the classification of the B.1.617 mutation of COVID-19, first identified in India, to “variant of concern.” [Wall Street Journal]
Ethiopian U.N. peacekeepers who served in the recently ended Darfur mission have requested asylum in Sudan for fear of persecution in their country. [BBC]
Families of Black Americans who died at the hands of U.S. police forces on Monday wrote to Michelle Bachelet, U.N. high commissioner for human rights, urging an investigation into the killings. [The Guardian]
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About the author
Michael Igoe@AlterIgoe
Michael Igoe is a Senior Reporter with Devex, based in Washington, D.C. He covers U.S. foreign aid, global health, climate change, and development finance. Prior to joining Devex, Michael researched water management and climate change adaptation in post-Soviet Central Asia, where he also wrote for EurasiaNet. Michael earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, where he majored in Russian, and his master’s degree from the University of Montana, where he studied international conservation and development.
