THE Archbishop of
Canterbury has defended government aid-spending, particularly in
areas of conflict-resolution.
Archbishop Welby made his
comments in a blog, in response to criticisms of a letter
signed by 80 religious leaders urging the G8 group of world leaders
not to delay funding the Millennium Development Goals (
News, 12 April).
Archbishop Welby said
that he did not dispute claims that "most aid money gets wasted or
sucked up by corruption, and that developing countries are much
better helped by growing trade", but he said that critics often
"ignore the many instances where aid truly works, especially in
vulnerable conflict and post-conflict situations".
"I, too, object to any
wastage of taxpayers' money," he said. "When our troops were sent
into Sierra Leone in 2000, they were, of course, enormously
effective in helping sort out a crisis. But a military initiative
of that kind costs millions of taxpayers' money. Far smaller sums,
invested earlier, have enabled nations to avoid conflict, and hence
avoid the costs and dangers of sending in our armed forces."
He likened conflict resolution to vaccination: "Skipping the
injection may save you £3 per person, but the moment they start
getting rushed through the hospital doors, that amount starts
multiplying."