Intended for healthcare professionals

  1. Student
  2. Are we really helping?
  3. Are we really helping?
Student Careers

Are we really helping?

BMJ 2006; 332 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/sbmj.0604156 (Published 01 April 2006) Cite this as: BMJ 2006;332:0604156
  1. Andrew Bastawrous, preregistration house officer in general surgery1,
  2. Jonathan Norris, senior house officer in ophthalmology2,
  3. Richard Gale, registrar in medical ophthalmology2
  1. 1Upper Colwyn Bay, Wales
  2. 2Leeds General Infirmary

Aid workers in developing countries may think they are helping the local population, but can giving aid actually hinder progress? Andrew Bastawrous and coauthors explain why they think that short sighted good intentions can often do more harm than good

By the time you have finished reading this, 200 children will have died from extreme poverty. Each year 10.6 million children die from preventable disease, one every three seconds.1 Six per cent of the earth's population possesses 60% of its resources; the rich die from diseases of overeating and the poor die from diseases of undereating. Something here isn't as it should be. We are three young doctors who have recently returned from Madagascar in Africa. We went with the purpose of completing a scientific research project and attempted to teach the local doctors transferable skills. On our return, we reflected, “Did we really help?”

Vincetn thian/pa/empics

Are we helping?

There are many people who believe that not only are our efforts not helping, they are actually making things worse. Michael Maren, author of The Road to Hell: The Ravaging Effects of Foreign Aid and International Charity2 has spent almost 30 years working in the developing world. When questioned in an interview, “Is there any role for non-governmental organisations or charitable organisations in the developing world at all?” his astonishing answer was, “No.” Good intentioned, but short sighted, organisations and individuals are too frequently going to a place of need and doing what “we” think the people there need, instead of fully understanding what it is that “they” are asking for and …

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