Foreign aid has and will always be a two-sided argument.
There isn’t a grey area that people can agree on; either Americans are for it or they aren’t. Foreign aid is such a broad topic, and it’s easy to get confused and misled when politicians are discussing the matter. No one mentions the big picture. They only talk about America’s part of the puzzle. People all around the world are suffering and need outside help to get through the basic needs of life.
There should be guidelines to foreign aid. Corrupted governments shouldn’t receive help because then it becomes a morally hazardous risk. The donor country bares the risk but doesn’t make the final decision. Money that doesn’t come in the form of grants can pay for anything, even private goods. Why be careful with money that’s just being given to you? Why fix a country that’s so underdeveloped that will eventually spiral back to poverty? Foreign aid should be given in the form of grants with distinct guidelines. The military doesn’t have a problem thriving. It’s the civilians who can’t survive without outside help.
Every little dollar goes towards helping someone. Without the World Health Organization, there wouldn’t be a cure for small pox. Deaths due to diseases like malaria have drastically decreased because of monetary contributions to provide mosquito nets. Charities are a form of foreign aid that do not have to deal with government permission to help but are still foreign aid. If a lot of people help a little, so many lives can benefit. People get blindsided by the term foreign aid because they don’t get to see how much good it serves a person, a village or even a country.
Many people believe in fixing their own backyard before they can help anyone else. Yes, people struggle in developed countries, but they have different daily troubles than an underdeveloped country. There are villages in Africa that don’t have a source of clean water and villagers that have to hike miles for a few gallons. When people have the basic necessities, any struggling after that is self-induced.
Countries need financial help. There’s no denying that. Even the wealthiest countries in the world will need help at some point. When a country is suffering, the people are suffering. No human deserves to suffer and await help that will never come. That’s why foreign aid is a must-have. Civilians bare the consequences of their leader without having a choice.