Beitrag vom 14.07.2014

Health Poverty Action

Honest Accounts? The true story of Africa's billion dollar losses

Health Poverty Action, alongside a number of UK and African NGOs, has released research revealing that Africa is losing $192 billion every year to the rest of the world - almost six and a half times the amount of aid given to the continent.

This research is the first attempt to calculate Africa's losses across a wide range of areas. These include: illicit financial flows; profits taken out of the continent by multinational companies; debt repayments; brain drain of skilled workers; illegal logging and fishing and the costs incurred as a result of climate change.

These figures highlight the huge disparity between aid and the resources leaving Africa. Health Poverty Action, along with our partner organisations, are calling on the UK government to reassess its focus on ‘aid' which paints a misleading picture of the UK's ‘generosity' towards Africa, and take urgent action to address Britain's contribution to Africa's poverty.

Martin Drewry, Director of Health Poverty Action said:"These figures expose the gross misconceptions about aid and ‘charity.' The common understanding is the UK ‘helps' Africa through aid, but in reality this serves as a smokescreen for the billions taken out.  Let's use more accurate language.  It's sustained looting - the opposite of generous giving - and we should recognise that the City of London is at the heart of the global financial system that facilitates this. As the general election approaches all party leaders must step up, and outline how they intend to take real responsibility and stop this plundering of Africa. And NGOs need to change too.  We need to move beyond our focus on aid levels and communicate the bigger truth - exposing the real relationship between rich and poor and holding leaders to account.”