Curiosidade do dia

Interessante no FT de ontem:

"Eritrea was an anomaly in Africa in 2005 when it expelled USAID, closed other development agencies and imposed taxes on aid imports, intentionally hastening an end to most western donor support.

...

As USAID curtails two decades later, the rest of the continent, which campaigns on greater focus on development assistance in 2023, faces the prospect of little or no aid.

...

Eritrea was the only African country to turn its back on aid. The country has been seen as an exemplar, trapped in a state of permanent war mobilisation with a hardened and inflexible political regime and with few personal or business freedoms permitted under Isaias's continuing rule. But, spurred by an almost bloody-minded sense of selfreliance, on some development indicators it has fared as well over the past two decades as other countries that received billions in donor largesse.

According to UN data, life expectancy at 68 is the same as in Rwanda, which has been receiving in excess of $1bn in aid each year. More Eritreans proportionally have access to electricity, according to the World Bank, than people in Uganda which in 2022 received $2.1bn compared with just $55mn, from UN agencies, for Eritrea.

"Eritrea's approach, from the outset, was anchored on avoiding structural dependency," said Yemane Gebremeskel, the long-standing information minister. He said this made Eritrea immune to the vagaries and demands of donors. "More importantly, [aid] stifles local initiative and capacity," he said."

O balanço entre a dependência de ajuda externa e a auto-suficiência económica em África. A Eritreia como um case-study extremo. 

Trechos retirados de "Eritrea offers hope for an Africa cut off from aid" no FT de ontem, 20 de Março.