Seeds & Applesauce: i just gave 13cents to the tim hortons charity change box in the cafeteria, take that Gatesey

Friday, September 09, 2005

i just gave 13cents to the tim hortons charity change box in the cafeteria, take that Gatesey

At what point does one have to throw their criticism of big money, and corporate power out the window in the wake of good deeds and genuine promise for aid.

During my undergrad, I focused a good portion of my last year or so on the political economy of philanthropy and that which is associated in business with getting involved with charity. We focused a lot of private philanthropists in one class, and their involvement and power in aid to foreign nations, coming from either American or British background with a large vested interest in tapping into easy markets like that of developing nations begging for aid even on a take now, pay later scheme.

Non bigger, was a a topic of conversation, then Bill Gates, and his Microsoft philanthropic arm the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. In perusing my daily BBC headlines, I came across a story of Mister Gates individual pledge of $750 million dollars to the Global Alliace for Vaccination and Immunization (Gavi) efforts to give immunization shots to hopefully 5 million children in the next 10 years, saving them from diseases ranging from measels to polio, hepatitis b, tetanus, and diphtheria, which in turn will save their lives.

This donation is in all accounts a great charitable gift by the foundation, headed by the world richest man. To put into perspective just how incredible this sum is for a private citizen let's compare the donations giving to GAVI in the past ten years:

UK : 70 million pound each year for the past ten (750 million equates to roughly 1.3 billion american)
France: 540m pound over 10 years
Italy: 160m pound over ten years
Spain: 65m pound over ten years
Sweden: 150m pound over ten years
Bill Gates alone: 407m pound over ten years.

So the nations of Britain and France are the only COUNTRIES outweighing giving practices of a private citizen to GAVI, a immunization body dedicated to purifying the health systems of 72 of the worlds poorest countries

On the surface this is an incredible gift, one that gives you hope and pride into the efforts of a man who really should be doing as much as he can, even in this world of self-centered wealth and for the sole makeup that modern capitalism gives the global market mentality.

However, the critical bug has me thinking. What is in this for Gates. Gavi supports on a loan basis 72 poor countries in the world. Nations which will need to buy into these programs on a debt mentality, and in many respects take the form of, oh say, tsunami aid which has seen countries like Indonesia and Thailand become dependent on other big donors like Pfizer who have spent millions upon millions into making those nations dependent on Pfizer products for well-being in the wake of the disaster and need for aid.

My wonder is the vested interest Gates has in being a visible force with Gavi, and if in the next ten years, along with immunization promises for the children you also see national governments as developing nations develop technologically, buying solely microsoft product to create a telecommunications infrastructure alongside their all better babies.

Its the "Mcdonaldization" of the third world. Gavi and the nations it supports are now indebted to Gates for 750 million dollars american. A lofty sum, that when time comes to buy a nation's computers who are you going to feel more indebted to, Linux and their open source software, or daddy warbucks with the big windows tattoo on his giving hand? Get em hooked while their young, you they'll be buying big mac's til their sixty or dead.

It really is difficult to continually be cynical about the righteous actions of the private citizen because for all that I know, maybe this gift from Gates' foundation is a heartfilled pure sole action, where ole Bill feels that the children of the world deserve a better shot at life without threat of diseases that never even come into conversation with disasters like Katrina let alone everyday life in the modern world. I mean polio was one of those one I thought we had a handle on.

Nevertheless, its important to always think twice about an action, but if the action results in the well being of 10 million children in the next 20 years or so, who then have the opportunity to click a mouse on their new libraries microsoft computer then I'm all for it. I would rather Gates be embedded in the governments of the future than for those nations not to have any children to grow and take those governments over.