Pandora’s Box

While visiting the toilet at a restaurant in the northern town of Ganta yesterday I observed something which set my mind spinning. It wasn’t the rust-coloured pools of water, the extensive array of insect life or the generally unpleasant smell. Nor was it the fact that there was no lock on the door or, despite getting a lot of practice in, that I still haven’t mastered the art of flushing with a bucket.

Fastened to the wall above the sink was a wooden box. The box was adorned with the logos of various development agencies below which was written “Free condoms. Practice safer sex. Help yourself.”

My initial reaction was one of pleasant surprise. Sub-Saharan Africa has the worst rates of HIV/AIDS of anywhere on the planet. I believe the figure in Liberia is somewhere in the region of 2.5% (although I’m not sure a very thorough survey has been conducted). A lack of access to condoms is one of many factors that have caused HIV to spread with such relentless fervour. In a country where the majority of the population can barely afford to eat every day it would seem like a good idea to give away protection for free.

The box, however, was empty. I later saw an identical one in my hotel bathroom which was in a similarly unfortunate predicament. That’s the problem with uncontrolled freebies. They tend to run out pretty fast and, more often than not, there’s no system to replace them. The same is often said of international aid in general. For the moment let’s leave aside the debate about whose fault it is that certain countries find themselves in such an incredibly tragic state and what moral obligation the richer world may or may not have to help them. What happens when all of us ‘do-gooders’ bugger off back home? Who will ensure that any progress made is sustained in the long-term? In short, who’s going to fill that box back up again and again?

Liberia is enjoying something of a honeymoon period at the moment, at least in comparison to its recent past. Foreign aid is pouring in from all corners of the globe, debt is being written off, 15,000 UN troops are keeping the peace and the main roads into most towns are like Las Vegas-style strips of brightly-painted NGO signs. But it won’t be like this forever. The UN is already starting to pull out and at some point in time emergencies in other parts of the world will force NGOs to focus their resources elsewhere too.

So what’s the answer? Returning once again to our box, an orthodox capitalist might retort that if you charged for the condoms they would be used rationally, rather than being plundered by the first person to find them. What’s more, when they ran out there would be an incentive to replace them because someone could make a profit from doing so. This is all true but is pretty much a moot point. There probably wouldn’t be a need to replace them at all. Nobody in Ganta would be able to pay for them and the sexual act would simply continue unprotected. In the same way, Liberia does not have the money to pay for its own rehabilitation. Without the foreign assistance it is currently receiving there is a high risk that it would simply slide back into civil war.

Instead of leaving the condoms in the box to dispense themselves, and in the absence of a means to pay, it is necessary to develop a strategy to ensure their availability is sustained. Perhaps a locally-staffed clinic or volunteer group could be set up to hand out the condoms together with information on how HIV spreads. This would of course require a sustainable source of funding so it’s important that people don’t come to depend on NGOs to provide such services. The local population must be made to realise that it is their government who is ultimately responsible for their welfare and to whom demands must be directed.

There’s a general tendency in developing countries to accept the sub-standard simply because it has become the norm. I often feel like a whingeing, spoiled foreigner when, for example, I complain that something in my room needs to be fixed. However, if you look at it another way you could say that the act of demanding that my expectations be met will in turn lead to a better provision of services (in this case from my landlord) for future tenants. You could say I'm whingeing for my rights!

Of course it’s not that simple on the national level in reality. People can demand all they like but without the UN and NGOs providing a large proportion of the country’s basic services it would be impossible for the Liberian government to cope with current needs. I am merely raising this point because I think it serves to illustrate the necessity of a rights-based approach to development. When people are made aware of their rights and know who to hold accountable for ensuring their protection there is a much better chance that those rights will be enjoyed in the post-assistance era. After all, there’s no point helping a country rebuild itself if it simply falls apart again when the international community pulls out.

It’s amazing the train of thought that can stem from a visit to the loo.