Foreign Assistance: Argument for Building Strong Inner-Resilience

By Kristi Pelzel

January 21, 2020, the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus or COVID-19 was reported in the United States. The World Health Organization declared a public health emergency on January 30, 2020. The U.S. currently has more than 6 million confirmed cases and more than 190,000 deaths from the coronavirus.

This major event hasn’t necessarily stopped foreign aid flow into Nigeria, but the significant compounding disasters striking the West, such as fires and hurricanes, make foreign investment and global-giving more complicated.

Currently, parallel to the COVID-19 global crisis, the U.S. is experiencing their annual wildfires; only this year, they’re more dangerous, deadly, and expansive than they’ve ever been with no end in sight. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, from January 1 to mid-September 2020, there have been more than 42,000 wildfires compared with 35,000 wildfires in the same period in 2019. And so far, more than 4.7 million acres have burned.

Meanwhile, West Africa has its own set of issues requiring funding, aid, and skilled support in the region. A review of ForeignAssistance.gov outlines the breakdown. In 2020 the Nigerian government requested $380 million in heath assistance, $21 million for economic development, $11 million for human rights initiatives, $10 million for education, $4 million for peace and security, and $3 million for multi-sector projects. Although these numbers only reflect the United States’ financial assistance, all projected global assistance combined still isn’t enough.

In the September 2020 report published by OCHA, urgent assistance in north-east Nigeria rose from 7.9 million to 10.6 million since the onset of COVID-19, and 7 million people may become food insecure, up from pre-COVID-19 figures of 3.7 million.

Every country should take the opportunity to become resilient, looking inward to find ways to innovate solutions where foreign financial support lacks.

Foreign aid directly links to how well the “giving” country is doing, except for political, economic, and national security strategic goals and interests. Former Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, once said, “I think Americans are the most generous people in the world with the shortest attention span.” What she means by that is that international relationships matter. They’re not created by sitting on the side and making suggestions, but getting involved and being a consistent and reliable partner.

It can be a fine line between adequately caring for a country’s citizens and managing to support partner countries abroad. When a country is in duress, they tend to focus inward.

An excellent example of the effects of global giving is reflected in Nigeria’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) trends before January 2000 and then after January 2000. The GDP also includes money received from abroad, such as foreign investment and economic development aid.

Nigeria expects its GDP to reach 250 billion (USD) by the end of 2020 compared to 2019 when it was 448 billion (USD).

Federally, the United States government is most likely not lowering or discontinuing its financial support for Nigeria, effecting its GDP, because U.S. foreign assistance is less than one percent of the federal budget. However, NGOs, churches, and non-profits impacted by donor-loss from COVID-19, experiencing more significant needs in their own home countries, might have a real financial impact on Nigeria.

The outbreak of COVID-19, combined with global climate change, major disaster, terror, and natural events, should inspire Africans to start thinking about resiliency and self-reliance.

Ghana has just launched a campaign that caught my eye on LinkedIn, “Made in Ghana for Ghana.” Becoming resourceful from within makes a country more robust and able to withstand these unforeseen events.

Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa, projected to have the world’s largest working-age population by 2050. There is work to be done in getting industry, infrastructure, and education right.

Nigeria only allocated 6.7% of the 2020 budget (1.7 billion (USD) to education, “20% below the recommended minimum level for developing countries by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization” (UNESCO). And yet, Nigerian citizens are spending 50% of the total annual education budget, from their own pockets, to fund their education in the United States – not including millions spent on education in other countries.

There is also work to be done hosting an environment where businesses and entrepreneurs in Nigeria invest in Nigeria. Infrastructure, particularly power, still hurts Nigeria’s appeal as a place to conduct business. And more Nigerian government contracts could be going to Nigerian companies.

These problems parallel great opportunity for the future, positioning Nigeria to become the most advanced and most powerful economy in Africa. Despite global pandemics, terror, natural disasters, and politics, there is strength in numbers and building a strong inner-resilience to withstand whatever lies ahead.

Bio: Kristi Pelzel is an international communications consultant and advisor working across U.S. and African markets. She is a global news correspondent for KAFTAN TV. Her industry experience spans 10 years in broadcast, digital, and social media communication, emphasizing strategic planning, and creative design. Kristi holds a B.A. from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco, California, and an M.A. from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.