Food Aid
Geography: Cambridge International GCSE (2027 Exams), topic 10.3.5
Food Aid
Food aid can be used to combat food shortages. There are three types of food aid - relief aid, programme food aid and project food aid.
Types of food aid
- Relief Aid
- Immediate, short-term aid following a natural disaster can be dropped via airlift. It can arrive on a very short time scale to a lot of places.
- Programme Food Aid
- Governments give countries a larger amount of food for sale.
- LICs are usually required to do something for HICs in return for the food.
- Project Food Aid
- This is a longer term solution that specifically targets groups within a country that need food.
Live Aid
- The global problem of starvation was publicised by pop stars who released the Band Aid single and created the ‘Live Aid’ charity concert.
- The images of starving people in sub-Saharan Africa were broadcast around the world to highlight the scale of the problem.
Short-term or long-term?
- Food aid is often seen as a short-term solution to a problem that is actually long-term, and is not really related to a country’s development.
- The long-term solution for poverty is development and education.
Problem with food aid
- Providing food aid is not always an act of charity.
- HICs have been accused in the past of using food aid to make sure they have political power.
- By giving out food rather than spending on healthcare or education, the LIC stays dependent on the HIC.
- This means that the LIC cannot become economically (financially) stable by themselves.
Test yourself on Food Aid
Which type of food aid is a longer term solution that specifically targets groups within a country that need food?