*{Beyond Good Intentions: Building Public Support for Development [http://www.weforum.org/site/knowledgenavigator.nsf/Content/Beyond%20Good%20Intentions%3A%20Building%20Public%20Support%20for%20Development?open&topic_id=300600000&theme_id=300]

            02.02.2002

            Annual Meeting 2002}

            The goals and measures of foreign aid must be revamped to more efficiently address the needs of the world’s poorest citizens, agreed the members of a panel that included Paul H. O’Neill, Secretary of the Treasury of the United States. "How do they become the engines of economic growth and not just objects of our pity?" the Bush administration official asked rhetorically.

            "For too long we have measured foreign assistance by inputs," he said. "I don’t know the right amount because it is the wrong goal. The goal is how fast we are helping people raise their living standards to equal our own."

            "People talk about aid fatigue," said Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon, Senior Economic Consultant; former President of Mexico (1994-2000), "because it has been ineffective. But aid is given to allow domestic countries to sell more abroad. It is given for diplomatic reasons. It is given for security reasons." 

            But increased efficiency and better goals cannot alone meet the challenge, agreed most of the panellists. "We do need additional taxpayer money," said Zedillo. For instance, William H. Gates III, Chairman and Chief Software Architect, Microsoft Corporation, USA, advocates an increase in annual per capita health aid in the United States from the current US$ 6 to US$ 40.

            To get that kind of result, citizens must convince politicians to do the right thing, panellists agreed. "We need grassroots support," said Gates. "It can’t just be a group of enlightened people. We need to get people to vote for the candidate who favours global equity."

            Bono, Composer and Singer, Principal Management, Ireland, discussed the difficulties he found in trying to raise the issue of foreign debt relief for poor nations in Africa. "They don’t want me on Oprah Winfrey to talk about debt relief," he said. "I went to talk to politicians because I couldn’t get on TV." Faith-based communities and students are two key groups that must be brought into any coalition, he added.

            In an intervention from the floor, Patrick J. Leahy, Senator from Vermont (Democrat); Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, USA, challenged participants "to bring pressure on the president, on the Congress, and on parliamentary leaders in other countries." 

            Rich countries can take several important steps that do not require foreign aid, added Zedillo. They include opening their markets to poor country exports and taking the lead to ensure good global economic governance. 

            Some panellists discussed their personal experiences with initiatives designed to address the problems of poverty in poor countries. Gates recalled he only became involved when he was forced to recognise the acute nature of many of the world’s problems. "Like many others, I did not pay attention," he said. "It is the distance. I was completely unaware." 

            Poor African countries are indeed using the windfall from debt relief to improve health and education, said Bono, based on a recent visit to that continent.

            O’Neill recalled his experience as chief executive officer of the multinational Alcoa. Alcoa created thousands of jobs around the world during that period, he said. In visiting his company’s geographically diverse empire, O’Neill noted that all human beings want three things. "They want to be treated with dignity and respect. They want the opportunity and resources that allow them to make a contribution that will give meanings to their lives. And they want somebody to notice that they did it," he said.
                       *{Contributors:       Bono       Gates William H.
                  O'Neill Paul H.
                  Samans Rick
                  Zedillo Ponce de Leon Ernesto}