Foreign aid

From Free net encyclopedia

Template:Mergewith Foreign aid (also international aid or overseas aid) is a situation in which one country helps another country through some form of donation. The main recipients of foreign aid are developing countries (ie. "the Third World"), and the main contributors are developed countries (ie. "the First World").

One major type of foreign aid, development aid, is aid given by developed countries to support economic development in developing countries. Humanitarian aid, on the other hand, is short-term foreign aid used to alleviate suffering caused by a humanitarian crisis such as genocide, famine, or a natural disaster. Finally, military aid is used to assist an ally in its defense efforts, or to assist a poor country in maintaining control over its own territory.

Other types of foreign aid exist as well, although many could be considered to fall under one of the three categories listed above. Latin American countries, as well as countries on other parts of the world, receive a great deal of aid designed to help them fight drug trafficking and cultivation. Many countries receive military aid to help with counter-insurgency efforts, or to help them fight terrorism. Much of the aid to Africa is used to help combat diseases such as AIDS and malaria. The World Health Organization assists countries in keeping under control possible pandemics such as Avian Flu and (in the recent past) SARS. Other problems poor countries are assisted with include landmines, corruption, democratization, adjustment to trade liberalization, money laundering, and peace building.