London
Only about 20 percent of all international aid actually goes to the people it is meant to help, two major aid agencies said this week. Oxfam and Action Aid, both based in the U.K., said that bureaucratic costs ate up most of the money donated by Western governments. Much of the money actually ends up back in the rich donor nations, because the aid agencies are required to buy products and services from donor-country companies at inflated prices. The U.S. and Italy are the worst offenders, the groups said, effectively taking back 70 percent of the aid they supposedly donate.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Can Texas redistricting save the US House for the GOP?Today's Big Question Trump pushes a 'ruthless' new plan, but it could backfire
-
'No one should be surprised by this cynical strategy'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Intellectual property: AI gains at creators' expenseFeature Two federal judges ruled that it is fair use for AI firms to use copyrighted media to train bots
