Friday Links. Including, Of Course, Generator Wars

by Michael Bear · 2009-07-10 07:41:00 UTC
Topics:

- William Easterly at Aid Watch on the Tragedy of the Millennium Development Goals.  According to Easterly:

"Let’s face it: it’s over. The MDGs will not be met...The MDGs will go down in history as a success in global consciousness-raising, but a failure in using that consciousness for its stated objectives."

- John Boonstra at UN Dispatch responded to Easterly, noting:

"[T]he MDGs have not been utter failures.  They have achieved tangible benefits for millions of human beings, in alleviating poverty, reducing disease, increasing access to education, improving women's health.  That they have not reached their intended milestones, or that the global economic crisis has put a further damper in their prospects, is not a reason to abandon them."

- Another fascinating piece from Aid Watch, on an attempt to track global health spending:

"Nearly one-third of the global health money spent by the very largest donor by far—the US government—is untraceable...Dr. Ravishankar put it better than we could: 'If no one knows how exactly this money is being spent, then we will never know if it is making a difference.'"

- My global health co-blogger Alanna then responded, noting:

"I am not convinced that a global health regulatory body would make things better. It would have to be huge to actually track and monitor the enormous amount of money that goes into global health. Huge bureaucracies do not have a good track record for efficiency, responsiveness, or good knowledge sharing."

- UNHCR and Google Earth offer a unique look at refugee camps around the world.

- Harry Rud in Kabul on Afghanistan: my part in its downfall.

- And, finally, the blog Chad on generator wars in N'Djamena - think chaos, and a scramble for the conch shell:

"After several frantic weeks of night-time wanderings, tepid showers, insomnia, madness, generators being turned on and off, screaming matches and hapless guards caught in the cross-fire, we have been brought to the conclusion that we cannot sort this out. We’re all looking for new houses, with the massive self-deception that in a different neighbourhood there may not be so many power cuts."

[Generators at the 1893 Chicago Exposition]

Michael Bear
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