Women, Poverty, Cell Phones and Aid
By Frances Forde Plude
Along with the explosion of mobile phone growth, there has been an evolution – even a revolution – in the field of foreign aid. Most of us are familiar with the work of entertainment figures like Bono, dramatic global “Live Aid” concerts, and philanthropic work like that of Bill and Melinda Gates.
Less dramatic perhaps, but very effective, is the argument put forth in the book Dead Aid, by Dambisa Moyo. Moyo’s background includes a Ph.D. in economics at Oxford, a master’s degree from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and work at Goldman Sachs and the World Bank. Born and raised in Zambia, Moyo notes: “Social capital, by which is meant the invisible glue of relationships that holds business, economy and political life together, is at the core of any country’s development” (Moyo, 58). She continues: “Foreign aid does not strengthen the social capital – it weakens it. By thwarting accountability mechanisms … aid guarantees that in the most aid-dependent regimes social capital remains weak and the countries themselves poor.”
What we have known as “aid” has often been squandered by despotic local rulers. In contrast China invested $900 million in Africa in 2004 into roads in Ethiopia, pipelines in Sudan, railways in Nigeria, and electric power in Ghana. All this is part of a well-orchestrated plan for China to be the dominant foreign investment force in twenty-first-century Africa. Business investment and trade rather than handouts; that’s Dambisa Moyo’s prescription.
Jeffrey Sachs (2005) parses poverty for us. One sixth of humanity lives in extreme poverty and struggles daily for survival. “We need to ensure that all of the world’s poor, including those in moderate poverty, have a chance to climb the ladder of development.” A bold set of commitments exist known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), signed by all 191 UN member states.
We maintain here that there are two key components to a global campaign to eradicate poverty: the education of women and the expansion of mobile phone business use among the poor, including women.
What are the payoffs when women are educated and can start up their own businesses? Barbara Herz and Gene Sperling report in their study for the Council on Foreign Relations:
60 million girls are not in school each year and 100 million girls currently enrolled in school will drop out before completing primary school.
At least one in three girls completing primary school in Africa and South Asia cannot effectively read, write, or do simple arithmetic.
The benefits of girls’ education include higher wages, faster national economic growth, more productive farming, families that are smaller, healthier and better educated, less risky HIV/Aids behavior, less domestic violence and more political participation.