nextThis doesn’t apply in my country.
My country can be Nicaragua, Kazakhstan, Iran, Kenya, a big country in
Asia, or a small one in Africa, or any country anywhere. Take your pick.
I am sure any advisor in a Regional Office or any Headquarter Division has heard
this before. And perhaps we have said it ourselves.
For many programmers – as for economists - the real world is often a special
case. The country in question is too poor, too small, too big, too isolated, too
dependent, too centralized, too disorganized, too traditionalist or too
unstable; it has poor data, has too little institutional capacity, too little
community spirit, or too little political will. The country has too much or too
little of something and therefore the usual programming guidelines cannot
apply.
And because their country is a special case - so the programmers argue - the
analysis cannot be done accurately, the human rights approach doesn’t work, one
cannot formulate or predict results, the work plans take six months or never to
be sorted out, the funds cannot be found, the cash not liquidated and the
lessons cannot be learned.
Ok, I added the last one.
Because: if a country were able to conduct an in-depth analysis of the situation
of children and women; if it would apply a human rights approach to development;
if it would have a vibrant civil society able to dialogue with the politicians;
if it could draw up realistic plans; if it would be able to turn these plans
into action; if it could manage its resources well – well, then we would not
need to be there. And this would really be a special case.
(5 December 2003)
previous
next