IELTS writing topic: Rich countries often give money to poorer countries, but it does not solve poverty. Therefore, developed countries should give other types of help to the poor countries rather than financial aid.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
In order to solve poverty in poor countries, some wealthy nations tend to donate money to them. However, due to the ineffectiveness of financial aid, some people believe that other measures should be implemented. I firmly agree with this view, as corruption never allows such resources to be spent wisely.
Some might argue that financial aid gives local governments more power to resolve issues like poverty. Since they know their country and people better, they might be more suitable to decide where the money should be spent. Indeed, a true government will always prioritize its people’s welfare, but unfortunately, it usually is not the case in many third-world countries. For instance, the USA supported the local government of Afghanistan for decades by providing billions of dollars. However, the latter did not prosper as it should have because of its systematic corruption at the government level. As a result, it collapsed once again with its people still being one of the poorest in the world.
Therefore, powerful countries need to identify the needs of disadvantaged nations and send experts to train locals to be able to become economically independent. For instance, Afghanistan is known for its rich sources of minerals and raw materials. If the US had sent industry experts and built factories to help locals increase their domestic production levels and earn money through exports, the country would have become industrialized within a decade and stopped needing foreign aid. Additionally, building schools and training local teachers to take charge of a standard education system would have had far-reaching benefits, as each well-trained student could bring fresh ideas and start a business, creating jobs for others. Eventually, all these measures would have improved the economic health of the country and eradicated poverty by eliminating nationwide unemployment.
In conclusion, providing financial resources to local authorities might seem an easy way of fighting poverty in the world, but not every government is trustworthy enough to spend money wisely. Instead, investing that aid in the nation’s infrastructure is a more sensible solution, as it targets education and unemployment to resolve the problem.
