When Aid is No Help: How projects fail, and how they could succeed

by John Madeley

Examines how aid from rich to poor countries often fails to reach those most in need, and how the global aid effort falls short in its most crucial task. It also discusses how changes may be made and offers twelve guidelines to assist aid policymakers. Much development assistance from rich to poor countries has failed to get through to the poorest peoples, the ones in need of assistance. Much official aid has not even tried, but what about the aid projects that have genuinely tried to reach the poorest? This book shows that despite such attempts, most of the poorest are still losing out – which means that the global aid effort is failing in perhaps its most crucial helping the neediest. The book looks closely at projects in Mali, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Nepal and India. It probes the reasons for the failure of well-intentioned projects to try to pinpoint the exact nature of the problem and the implications for policy. The author takes the view that if the lessons are learned from what is going wrong, then aid projects could benefit the poorest. The poorest often lose out in aid projects because they are not aware of their possibilities, and this is where non-governmental organizations can play a role. The official aid effort has the potential to help the poorest – but it needs to change and become more appropriate to their needs. The book suggests what changes are needed and ends with twelve guidelines for aid policymakers.

144 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1991

About the author

John Madeley has been a writer and broadcaster specializing in Third World development and environmental issues for the past twenty years. From 1983 to 1998, he was Editor of the renowned magazine, International Agricultural Development. A contributor to leading British papers including the Observer, the Guardian, and the Financial Times, he has also written for many voluntary organizations including Christian Aid, CAFOD, the Catholic Institute for International Relations, the Panos Institute, and the Swedish-based Forum Syd. He is the author of several books:

* When Aid is No Help: How Projects Fail and How They Could Succeed
* Trade and the Poor: The Impact of International Trade on Developing Countries
* Land is Life: Land Reform and Sustainable Agriculture (co-editor)
* Big Business, Poor Peoples: The Impact of Transnational Corporations on the World's Poor
* Hungry for Trade: How the Poor Pay for Free Trade.