The UNDP has been criticised by members of its staff and the Bush administration of the United States for irregularities in its finances in North Korea. Artjon Shkurtaj claimed that he had found counterfeit US dollars in the Programmes safe while the staff were paid in Euros. The UNDP denied any wrongdoing, and keeping improper accounts.
Criticism
United Nations Development Programme
United Nations Development Programme | Criticism
Irregularities in its finances in North Korea; counterfeit US dollars in the Programmes safe Members of its staff and the Bush administration of the United States criticized it for irregularities in its finances in North Korea. For irregularities in its finances in North Korea. It has been criticised by members of its staff and the Bush administration of the United States for irregularities in its finances in North Korea.
where is chad located?
user
North-central Africa.
assistant
what kind of weather does it have?
user
Tropical
assistant
which ethnic groups are based there?
user
Sara, Arabs, Toubous
assistant
is the first group based in any other country as well?
user
Yes - Central African Republic, Sudan
assistant
what is the status of human rights in the second place?
user
Muslims who convert to Christianity can face the death penalty,  88% of women in Sudan had undergone female genital mutilation, restricting women's rights and allowing child marriage
assistant
which international organizations are trying to help the people there?
user
World Food Program (WFP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS)
assistant
why was the last one formed?
user
April 1989
assistant
what is the purpose of the second organization?
user
Technical and investment cooperation among nations; advocate for change; connect countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life
assistant
what is their contribution towards tackling hiv/aids?
user
To prevent spreading of and reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS
assistant
which criticism has it have to face?
user
When the UN tried to provide humanitarian assistance, they were totally outperformed by NGOs, whose competence and dedication sharply contrasted with the United Nations’ bureaucratic inefficiencies and excessive caution (most UN envoys to Somalia operating from the safety of their desks in Nairobi rather than visiting clan leaders in the field). If sweeping reform was not undertaken, warned Mohamed Sahnoun, then the United Nations would continue to respond to such crisis in a climate of inept improvisation.
Criticism of the United Nations | Effectiveness criticisms
One book which examines the global response, and describes both the positive and negative aspects states that during the first fifteen years of the HIV/AIDS crisis, "most of the world's leaders, in all sectors of society, displayed a staggering indifference to the growing challenge of this new epidemic." It explains that a combination of factors - (1) biases and stereotyped views that those ill were only from stigmatized communities such as sex workers, drug users, migrants, among others, as well as (2) political issues such as countries not wanting to admit there was a crisis and taking steps to block journalists and media reports on the breakout, (3) politicians falsely believing that the disease was limited to lower income countries with less developed medical and healthcare systems, and some politicians fear of associating their own country with sex and death - all led to a slow response, and low levels of funding for research, treatment, and support at a time when greater actions could have been taken.
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS | 1981-1994: The Global Response Prior to UNAIDS
Peter Singer argues that over the last three decades, "aid has added around one percentage point to the annual growth rate of the bottom billion." He argues that this has made the difference between "stagnation and severe cumulative decline." Aid can make progress towards reducing poverty worldwide, or at least help prevent cumulative decline. Despite the intense criticism on aid, there are some promising numbers. In 1990, approximately 43 percent of the world's population was living on less than $1.25 a day and has dropped to about 16 percent in 2008. Maternal deaths have dropped from 543,000 in 1990 to 287,000 in 2010.
Aid | Criticism
In 2004, 35 governments contributed to UNAIDS.
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS | Donors
The Commitment to Development Index has received much media attention over the years and has sparked criticism and discussion among a wide range of audiences. One of the most frequent comments, voiced by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, questions the selection of the seven components. The ministry argues that several categories may be extraneous when measuring contributions to poverty reduction. The equal weighting of components in the Index is also questioned; the CDI fails to take into account different degrees of impact, thus assuming that foreign aid and migration have equal effects on development. To continue the conversation, David Roodman responded in a blog post to such comments.
Commitment to Development Index | Criticism
The report further argues that the CDC's approach, along with partnerships with the US Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health, are the reason that initial recommendations for diagnosis, treatment, and containment were developed, issued and disseminated so quickly (within 1-2 years of first reported case), The report states that the CDC's "excellent surveillance, rapid identification, innovative science, committed persons", among other factors help to "illustrate the power of epidemiologic investigation in understanding and preventing new diseases, even in the absence of an identified cause" and that the “CDC’s reputation and staff accomplishments led to the formation of the Global AIDS program.” Critics of the global response to the HIV/AIDS crisis prior to UNAIDS assert that the initial response was slow, faltering, negligent, and exacerbated the crisis which could have been contained more expeditiously if it were not for failures of leadership, missed opportunities, wasted time, among other factors.
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS | 1981-1994: The Global Response Prior to UNAIDS
Tied aid can increase development aid project costs by up to 20 or 30 percent. There is also criticism because donors may give with one hand, through large amounts of development aid, yet take away with the other, through strict trade or migration policies, or by getting a foothold for foreign corporations. The Commitment to Development Index measures the overall policies of donors and evaluates the quality of their development aid, instead of just comparing the quantity of official development assistance given.
Development aid | Critiques of development aid
Although he wrote the book and lectures in his role as a concerned Canadian citizen, his criticism of the United Nations (UN), international organizations, and other diplomats, including naming specific people, was called undiplomatic and led several reviewers to speculate whether he would be removed from his UN position. In the book and the lectures, Lewis argues that significant changes are required to meet the Millennium Development Goals in Africa by their 2015 deadline. Lewis explains the historical context of Africa since the 1980s, citing a succession of disastrous economic policies by international financial institutions that contributed to, rather than reduced, poverty.
Race Against Time: Searching for Hope in AIDS-Ravaged Africa | Introduction
The 2004 prize went to Wangari Maathai "for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace". Controversially, she was reported by the Kenyan newspaper Standard and Radio Free Europe to have stated that HIV/AIDS was originally developed by Western scientists in order to depopulate Africa. She later denied these claims, although the Standard stood by its reporting. Additionally, in a "Time" magazine interview, she hinted at HIV's non-natural origin, saying that someone knows where it came from and that it "...did not come from monkeys."
Nobel Prize controversies | 2004
At the 68th Session of the UN General Assembly, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key heavily criticized the UN's inaction on Syria, more than two years after the Syrian Civil War began.
Criticism of the United Nations | Inability to prevent conflicts
Other reasons for delays include some scientists dismissing concerns about HIV/AIDS becoming a global pandemic as unnecessarily alarmist.
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS | 1981-1994: The Global Response Prior to UNAIDS
This journal advocates scientifically discredited viewpoints such as claiming that there is no connection between the HIV virus and AIDS, and is not indexed in PubMed.
Frederick Seitz | Criticism
As the main advocate for global action on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS leads, strengthens and supports an expanded response aimed at preventing the transmission of HIV, providing care and support, reducing the vulnerability of individuals and communities to HIV/AIDS, and alleviating the impact of the epidemic. To fulfil this mandate, UNAIDS is supported by voluntary contributions from governments, foundations, corporations, private groups (for example, students, universities, sporting clubs, etc.) and individuals. In 2003, more than US$118.5 million was received from 30 governments, philanthropic organizations, individuals from around the world and others. The largest donors were the Netherlands followed by Norway, the United States, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Japan.
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS | Donors
UNDP works to help countries prevent further spreading of and reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS, convening The Global Commission on HIV and the Law which reported in 2012.
United Nations Development Programme | HIV/AIDS
Some criticism centres on the assertion that members of G8 do not do enough to help global problems, due to strict patent policy and other issues related to globalization. In "Unraveling Global Apartheid", political analyst Titus Alexander described the G7, as it was in 1996, as the 'cabinet' of global minority rule, with a coordinating role in world affairs. The Heritage Foundation has criticized the G8 for advocating food security without making room for economic freedom.
Group of Eight | Criticism
Canadian professor Peter Hallward, in his book "Damming the Flood", accused Christian Aid of supporting US led violent regime change in Haiti in 2004. The development economist Paul Collier in his book "The Bottom Billion" suggests that Christian Aid "deeply misinformed" the UK electorate in 2004 and 2005 with a campaign against reducing trade barriers in Africa based on a "deeply misleading" study conducted by an economist without the requisite expertise and whose purported review "by a panel of academic experts" who were two people chosen by said economist who were also "not noted for their expertise on international trade".
Christian Aid | Criticism
For example, the organization’s stance on Intellectual property was said to be “far too quick to blame the HIV/AIDS crisis in the developing world on patents and intellectual property regimes. But their concern does not match the facts - patents are not the major barriers preventing access to vital medicines” and that the organization “may need to decide how serious they are about fixing this problem, and perhaps consider a reconciliation with private enterprise.”
Oxfam Australia | Criticism
During Mbeki's presidency, many medical researchers harshly criticized his AIDS policies and predicted that these policies would lead to countless deaths. Another critic of these policies was Harvard University's Robert Rotberg, who, in 2000, said of Mbeki's AIDS policies, "This is very foolish and uncharacteristic of him." In 2002, Mbeki's AIDS policies faced even more criticism, this time from Nelson Mandela, who said in an interview that "This [AIDS] is a war. It has killed more people than has been the case in all previous wars and in all previous natural disasters. We must not continue to be debating, to be arguing, when people are dying." The Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, Njongonkulu Ndungane, also criticized these policies, saying that the government was "sinning" by "withholding truth and maintaining the silence of denial" over AIDS.
HIV/AIDS denialism in South Africa | Criticism
General consensus exists that, as a report UN AIDS: The First 10 years states, "No one could have imagined that a few cases of rare diseases damaging the immune system would herald a pandemic that has killed more than all those who died in battle during the whole of the twentieth century." However, views with respect to the speed and success of the initial response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and crisis are mixed. The global response to the HIV/AIDS crisis was initially led by the US based Center for Disease Control which discovered the first HIV/AIDS case. A 2011 report “AIDS: the Early Years and the CDC’s Response", makes the case that it is due to the CDC's rapid and effective approach, and staff, that the virus was even discovered in the first place.
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS | 1981-1994: The Global Response Prior to UNAIDS
However, Duesberg's paper raised a "red flag" at the journal and was submitted by the editor for non-binding review. All of the reviewers found major flaws in Duesberg's paper; the reviewer specifically chosen by Duesberg noted the presence of "misleading arguments", "nonlogical statements", "misrepresentations", and political overtones. Ultimately, the editor of "PNAS" acquiesced to publication, writing to Duesberg: "If you wish to make these unsupported, vague, and prejudicial statements in print, so be it. But I cannot see how this would be convincing to any scientifically trained reader."
HIV/AIDS denialism | Scientific literature
The conference opened with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon pointing out that funding by rich economies for poor countries fighting HIV/AIDS was reduced to 7.6 billion dollars from 7.7 billion dollars in 2008. The countries cut funding because of the Late-2000s financial crisis. Ki-moon stated that "Some governments are cutting back on their response to AIDS. This should be a cause for great concern to us all. We must ensure that our recent gains are not reversed." In the United States, the political concern was to give aid to save the most number of lives at the least cost, and there was a debate which argued that more people could be saved by diverting money which had formerly been committed to fighting HIV to instead treating diarrhea and respiratory disease.
XVIII International AIDS Conference, 2010 | Protest
The Security Council was concerned that since the beginning of the HIV epidemic 30 years ago, more than 60 million people had been infected, 25 million had died and 16 million children were orphaned by AIDS. It recognised that the issue required an "exceptional and comprehensive global response" as it posed a threat to all societies. Council members emphasised the role of the General Assembly and Economic and Social Council in addressing HIV/AIDS. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) was praised for its response to HIV/AIDS in appropriate forums. The preamble of the resolution recognised the impact HIV/AIDS had in society, particularly in conflict and post-conflict situations through mass movements of people, sexual violence and limited access to medical care.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1983 | Observations
The former South African health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang also attracted heavy criticism, as she often promoted nutritional remedies such as garlic, lemons, beetroot and olive oil, to people suffering from AIDS, while emphasizing possible toxicities of antiretroviral drugs, which she has referred to as "poison". The South African Medical Association has accused Tshabalala-Msimang of "confusing a vulnerable public". In September 2006, a group of over 80 scientists and academics called for "the immediate removal of Dr. Tshabalala-Msimang as minister of health and for an end to the disastrous, pseudoscientific policies that have characterized the South African government's response to HIV/AIDS." In December 2006, deputy health minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge described "denial at the very highest levels" over AIDS.
HIV/AIDS denialism | Criticism of governmental response
Criticism of the United Nations has encompassed numerous arguments regarding various aspects of the organization, such as policy, ideology, equality of representation, administration, ability to enforce rulings, and ideological bias. Oft-cited points of criticism include a perceived lack of the body's efficacy, rampant anti-Semitism, appeasement, collusion, promotion of globalism, inaction, abuse of power by nations exerting general control over the assembly, a number of legislative decisions seen as abandonment of, among other things, the prevention of armed conflict clause(s) detailed in the Charter of the United Nations, corruption, a total lack of efficacy in both pre-emptive measures and de-escalation of existing conflicts which have ranged from social disputes to all-out wars, and misappropriation of resources.
Criticism of the United Nations | Introduction
T.K.S. Ravindran and A. Kelkar-Khambete criticized the Millennium Development Goals for insufficiently integrating gender into all development goals, instead creating its own development goal, as limiting the level of aid provided to promote gender equality.
Development aid | Criticism of aid for gender equality
Criticism of Western development became an important goal in the late 1980s, after the wake of severe economic crisis brought disease, poverty, and starvation to countries and sectors that were the focus of large Western structural adjustment development projects throughout Latin America, Africa, and other parts of the former colonial world. Despite the failure of many of these development projects, and some 40 years of post World War II funding from the US and Europe, scholars know that development has been the key way that Western post-industrialized countries intervene in non-Western society. Development criticism seeks to discover why, given the funds and best intentions of volunteers and policy makers, do the majority of development projects continue to fail to (1) redistribute economic power and resources in a way that helps the poorest sectors of society, and (2) to create economic growth that is sustainable in the country.
Development anthropology | Development criticism
Such unanimity on the Security Council regarding the authorization of armed UN enforcement actions has not always been reached in time to prevent the outbreak of international wars. In 1962, UN secretary general U Thant provided valuable assistance and took a great deal of time, energy and initiative as the primary negotiator between Nikita Khrushchev and John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis, thus providing a critical link in the prevention of a nuclear war at that time. A 2005 RAND Corporation study found the UN to be successful in two out of three peacekeeping efforts. It compared UN nation-building efforts to those of the United States, and found that seven out of eight UN cases are at peace, as opposed to four out of eight US cases at peace.
Criticism of the United Nations | Effectiveness criticisms
This coincided with the South African government's statement accompanying its 2002 AIDS campaign, that "...in conducting this campaign, government's starting point is based on the premise that HIV causes AIDS". Nonetheless, Mbeki himself continued to promote and defend AIDS-denialist claims. His loyalists attacked former President Nelson Mandela in 2002 when Mandela questioned the government's AIDS policy, and Mbeki attacked Malegapuru William Makgoba, one of South Africa's leading scientists, as a racist defender of "Western science" for opposing HIV/AIDS denialism.
HIV/AIDS denialism | Criticism of governmental response
According to a study by Ilyana Kuziemko and Eric Werker, there is a strong connection between the distribution of foreign aid payments and rotating membership of the United Nations Security Council. Regarding the US foreign aid expenditure, ODA (Official Development Assistance)—receiving countries which hold a rotating seat of the UNSC experience on average a rise of 59% in payments ($16 million); concerning financial support from the United Nations, an increase of 8% ($1 million) is being detected. This rise in payments does however not apply the whole time: Kuziemko and Werker used a “New York Times”-Index to differentiate between important and unimportant years.
Criticism of the United Nations | Corruption in the UN Security Council
The issue played a role in the Bush administration's decision in 2002 to cut off funding for the organization.
Criticism of the United Nations | Debates surrounding population control and abortion
The Commitment to Development Index is one such measure that ranks the largest donors on a broad range of their "development friendly" policies. It takes into account the quality of aid, in addition to the quantity, penalizing countries for tied aid. Aid also does not operate in a vacuum; a country's policies on issues such as trade or migration also have a significant impact on developing countries.
Official development assistance | Criticism
UN aid workers from Nepal were identified as the source of a cholera outbreak which killed over 10,000 Haitians and sickened hundreds of thousands more. Yet the UN claimed diplomatic immunity and refused to provide compensation.
Criticism of the United Nations | Haiti cholera outbreak
In the case of Africa, Asante (1985) gives the following assessment: Summing up the experience of African countries both at the national and at the regional levels it is no exaggeration to suggest that, on balance, foreign assistance, especially foreign capitalism, has been somewhat deleterious to African development. It must be admitted, however, that the pattern of development is complex and the effect upon it of foreign assistance is still not clearly determined. But the limited evidence available suggests that the forms in which foreign resources have been extended to Africa over the past twenty-five years, insofar as they are concerned with economic development, are, to a great extent, counterproductive.
Aid | Criticism
The increase of aid payments is especially high regarding financial support by the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF). During years with a high importance measured by the “New-York-Times”- Index, UNICEF offers 63% more funds to ODA-receiving countries serving on the UNSC than before they had a seat. Kuziemko and Werker argue that since its founding in 1947, the head of UNICEF has always held US citizenship. Therefore, the executive directors may be the long arm of the US government and pursue the interest of the United States through UNICEF. A similar, although not as significant increase can be seen regarding the distribution of aid payments through UNDP.
Criticism of the United Nations | Corruption in the UN Security Council
The contributions of Jacques Leibowitch have marked the history of HIV and AIDS and their treatment:
Jacques Leibowitch | Scientific and medical contributions
In 1991, Wells and his mentor Phillip E. Johnson signed an open letter which said in full: Wells and Johnson have been criticized, along with others, for their questioning of the scientific and medical consensus that HIV causes AIDS. In the "Washington University Law Review", Matthew J. Brauer, Barbara Forrest, and Steven G. Gey faulted Wells, Johnson, and others for denying the HIV/AIDS connection and promoting denialism via a petition designed to garner publicity but which did not have any scientific support.
Jonathan Wells (intelligent design advocate) | AIDS denialism
There has been criticism that the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States), who are all nuclear powers, have created an exclusive nuclear club whose powers are unchecked. Unlike the General Assembly, the United Nations Security Council does not have true international representation. This has led to accusations that the UNSC only addresses the strategic interests and political motives of the permanent members, especially in humanitarian interventions: for example, protecting the oil-rich Kuwaitis in 1991 but poorly protecting resource-poor Rwandans in 1997.
Criticism of the United Nations | Role of elite countries
One reason attributed with the slow progress is that there are no methods to hold the UN accountable to its proposed changes due to its size and the different approaches taken within the different subsidiaries of the organization.
Criticism of the United Nations | Fait accompli
As is the case with most health initiatives, the GCGH have been subject to a fair degree of criticism. A very widely circulated critique was published in 2005 in The Lancet. In the column, Anne-Emanuelle Birn, Sc.D., an associate professor of Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto, described the initiate's role as "weak" for focusing too narrowly on the power of science and neglecting the importance of economic, social, and political factors. She cites the 20th century cultural obsession with technological advancement as one that cannot ignore the need to redistribute economic and social resources within impoverished communities.
The Grand Challenges in Global Health | Criticism
Former South African president Thabo Mbeki's government was widely criticized for delaying the rollout of programs to provide antiretroviral drugs to people with advanced HIV disease and to HIV-positive pregnant women. The national treatment program began only after the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) brought a legal case against Government ministers, claiming they were responsible for the deaths of 600 HIV-positive people a day who could not access medication. South Africa was one of the last countries in the region to begin such a treatment program, and roll-out has been much slower than planned. At the XVI International AIDS Conference, Stephen Lewis, UN special envoy for AIDS in Africa, attacked Mbeki's government for its slow response to the AIDS epidemic and reliance on denialist claims: In 2002, Mbeki requested that HIV/AIDS denialists no longer use his name in their literature and stop signing documents with "Member of President Mbeki's AIDS Advisory Panel".
HIV/AIDS denialism | Criticism of governmental response
Pope Benedict XVI has strongly criticized reduction policies with regards to HIV/AIDS, saying that "it is a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems". This position has been widely criticised for misrepresenting and oversimplifying the role of condoms in preventing infections. Other experts, including the Director of Harvard University's AIDS Prevention Research Project, have supported the Pope's position.
Condoms, needles, and negotiation | Criticisms
He also heard praise for progress in Mali and the Democratic Republic of Congo, though there was concern for Guinea-Bissau, Central African Republic, Sudan and the Sahel. On Somalia, he heard words of encouragement and caution. There were also calls for the international community to take action against terrorism in all its forms and a strong condemnation of terrorist incidents in Kenya, Pakistan, and Iraq; though he said that “sadly…add Nigeria.” He also called for a role for women and to eliminate sexual violence in conflict and the role of child soldiers. He further commented on the transition after the Arab Spring and on cyber security requiring a bigger UN role.
General debate of the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly | <a href="Closing%20remarks">Closing remarks</a>
In English, "A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy" is available in an edition edited by Maurice Dobb, published in London in 1979; and from Progress Publishers, Moscow (translation by S. W. Ryazanskaya). Lawrence and Wishart (London), and International Publishers (New York) cooperate in the publication of the Progress Publishers edition. It is also available free online.
A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy | Editions
Over time, the United Nations have come to more generally support the developing nations' point of view, and have requested significant offsetting "foreign aid" contributions so that a developing nation losing human capital does not lose the capacity to continue to train new people in trades, professions, and the arts.
Human resources | Concerns about the terminology
Some critics charge that U.S. government aid should be higher given the high levels of gross domestic product. They claim other countries give more money on a per capita basis, including both government and charitable contributions. By one index which ranked charitable giving as a percentage of GDP, the U.S. ranked 21 of 22 OECD countries by giving 0.17% of GDP to overseas aid, and compared the U.S. to Sweden which gave 1.03% of its GDP, according to different estimates. The U.S. pledged 0.7% of GDP at a global conference in Mexico. According to one estimate, U.S. overseas aid fell 16% from 2005 to 2006.
Criticism of United States foreign policy | Commitment to foreign aid
Furthermore, it also took note of the Secretary-General Kofi Annan's call to reduce HIV/AIDS infection rates in 15- to 24-year-olds by 25% by 2010.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1308 | Observations
The Council noted, therefore, that it was important to end conflict-related violence and empowering women to reduce their risk of exposure to HIV. There was also concern at the rise in health-related issues by United Nations personnel. Furthermore, the protection of civilians by United Nations peacekeeping operations could contribute towards fighting HIV/AIDS, and welcomed initiatives by countries to implement HIV treatment, care, prevention and support.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1983 | Observations
As a result of these numerous criticisms, other proposals for supporting developing economies and poverty stricken societies. Some analysts, such as researchers at the Overseas Development Institute, argue that current support for the developing world suffers from a policy incoherence and that while some policies are designed to support the third world, other domestic policies undermine its impact, examples include: One measure of this policy incoherence is the Commitment to Development Index (CDI) published by the Center for Global Development . The index measures and evaluates 22 of the world's richest countries on policies that affect developing countries, in addition to simply aid.
Aid | Beyond aid
In September 2000, Mbeki told the South African Parliament that "The programme of the government in this country is based on this thesis that HIV causes Aids and everything in the programme says that." However, he later stated that he still did not think HIV caused AIDS, and that it could, in his view, only be a contributing factor, not a sole cause.
HIV/AIDS denialism in South Africa | September
He connects the structural adjustment loans, with conditions of limited public spending on health and education infrastructure, to the uncontrolled spread of AIDS and subsequent food shortages as the disease infected much of the working-age population. Lewis also addresses such issues as discrimination against women and primary education for children. To help alleviate problems, he ends with potential solutions which mainly require increased funding by G8 countries to levels beyond what they promise. Book reviewers found the criticisms constructive and the writing sincere. His style focuses less on numbers and statistics, and more on connecting decisions by UN officials and western diplomats to consequences on the ground in Africa.
Race Against Time: Searching for Hope in AIDS-Ravaged Africa | Introduction
New Zealand’s second major contribution occurred in relation to a draft Declaration sent to UN member governments by The United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 1947. A special Human Rights Committee composed of the Solicitor-General, the Director of Education, the Director of the New Zealand Council of Educational Research, and four academics at Victoria University College (now Victoria University of Wellington), was formed to comment on the draft. Subject to a few minor changes, its findings were sent to the Commission as the New Zealand Government’s views. New Zealand was one of the only countries to make such a submission.
New Zealand contributions to human rights instruments | Commission on Human Rights
The Human Development Index has been criticized on a number of grounds, including alleged lack of consideration of technological development or contributions to the human civilization, focusing exclusively on national performance and ranking, lack of attention to development from a global perspective, measurement error of the underlying statistics, and on the UNDP's changes in formula which can lead to severe misclassification in the categorisation of "low", "medium", "high" or "very high" human development countries.
Human Development Index | Criticism
Other critics and even proponents of the United Nations question its effectiveness and relevance because in most high-profile cases, there are essentially no consequences for violating a Security Council resolution. An early example of this was the Bangladesh Liberation War and the 1971 Bangladesh genocide committed by the Pakistan Army on Bangladeshis. Critics of the UN argued that the UN was completely ineffective in preventing the genocide, and that military intervention by India was the only thing to stop the mass murder. Another such case occurred in the Srebrenica massacre where Serbian troops committed genocide against Bosnian Muslims in the largest case of mass murder on the European continent since World War II.
Criticism of the United Nations | Inability to prevent conflicts
"Condoms alone have limited impact in generalised epidemics [as in Africa]," Shelton wrote. Critics have also claimed that large families are caused by lack of contraception and exacerbate Third World poverty and problems such as street children in South America. The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development published a paper stating, "Any strategy that enables a person to move from a higher-risk towards the lower end of the continuum, [we] believe, is a valid risk reduction strategy."
Criticism of Pope John Paul II | Religion and AIDS
The article was not revised in response to these criticisms. In the article, Duesberg questioned research reporting that drugs policies implemented by the South African government on the advice of Duesberg, Rasnick and others had led to excess AIDS deaths. Observing that the overall population of South Africa has increased, Duesberg claimed that HIV must be a harmless "passenger virus" that has not caused deaths in South Africa or elsewhere. Duesberg stated that HIV does not replicate in the body and that antiviral drugs, which he calls "inevitably toxic," do not inhibit HIV. In addition, Duesberg wrote that neither he nor his co-authors had financial conflicts of interest.
Peter Duesberg | Academic misconduct investigation
I'm very sorry for Robert Gallo." Dr Levy's contribution to the discovery of HIV was also cited in the Nobel Prize ceremony.
History of HIV/AIDS | Nobel
Objectives of the grant are to train peer leaders within IDU communities; create harm-reduction centers; educate health care providers, police, prison staff, and policymakers; and provide peer-based outreach, education, counseling, referral services, and HIV testing support. The US Government provides one-third of the Global Fund's contributions.
HIV/AIDS in Thailand | National response
Official development assistance has been criticized by several economists for being an inappropriate way of helping poor countries. The Hungarian economist Peter Thomas Bauer has been one of the most vocal of them. Another notable economist arguing against ODA is Dambisa Moyo in her book Dead Aid. She contends that a country accustomed to receiving ODA may become perpetually dependent on such aid. Donor countries are most commonly compared by the amount of Official Development Assistance given and their quantity of aid as a percent of GDP. However, there is an increasing focus placed on the quality of aid, rather than simply the quantity.
Official development assistance | Criticism
He has also acted as a consultant for the Economic Commission for Africa, UNICEF, WHO and the African Union. He served, as well, as volunteer chair of the International Advisory Board for the University of Toronto Centre for International Health's HIV/AIDS Initiative, and is part of the small team that supports Stephen Lewis in his work as UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa. Caplan has denounced the Roman Catholic Church on what he says is the notorious role of the institution in setting the stage for, enabling and ultimately participating in the genocide in Rwanda.
Gerald Caplan | Africa
In 2000 South Africa's Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang received criticism for distributing the chapter from Cooper's book discussing this theory to senior South African government officials. Nicoli Nattrass, a longtime critic of AIDS denialists, criticized Tshabalala-Msimang for lending legitimacy to Cooper's theories and disseminating them in Africa.
Discredited HIV/AIDS origins theories | Manto Tshabalala-Msimang
The act was criticised by the civil society and HIV/affected persons on certain legal language issues concerning provision of services by state to HIV/AIDS affected persons. The provisions mandate the state to provide HIV/AIDS affected persons with medical services "as far as possible" without taking into account the overall lack of HIV/AIDS medicines in the domestic market and the budget cuts of NACO, giving the state an escape-route from liability. This aspect of the act was absent from the draft bill submitted by Lawyers Collective to NACO. India reportedly came to become the first country in south Asia to statutorily prohibit discrimination against people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control) Act, 2017 | Response and criticism
In 2008, the Office of the Controller and Auditor-General and Audit New Zealand released critical reports on NZAID procedures and systems, leading to negative comments in New Zealand Parliament and critical media coverage. NZAID has responded with a programme to "strengthen internal systems and processes". NGOs in New Zealand have defended the performance of NZAID. The most significant NGO criticism of the New Zealand aid programme is that it should be larger. The New Zealand National Party have claimed that overseas aid needs "fresh thinking" and that "Over many years and various Governments, New Zealand aid has encouraged the growth of political structures and bureaucracy that are not sustainable." and that "there is no evidence that the major problems identified in the 2005 report by Professor Marilyn Waring have been rectified."
New Zealand Agency for International Development | Controversy and criticism
During the 2001 Special Session of the United Nations on HIV/AIDS, John Paul II raised special concern about the transmission of the virus from mother to child and access to medical care and life-saving medications. Cláudio Hummes, then-Archbishop of São Paulo, speaking at the 2003 Plenary Session of the United Nations on the Implementation of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, criticized pharmaceutical companies for making medications prohibitively expensive for many of the world's poorest.
Catholic Church and HIV/AIDS | Social justice
However, since the U.S. grants tax breaks to nonprofits, it subsidizes relief efforts abroad, although other nations also subsidize charitable activity abroad. Most foreign aid (79%) came not from government sources but from private foundations, corporations, voluntary organizations, universities, religious organizations and individuals. According to the Index of Global Philanthropy, the United States is the top donor in absolute amounts. The U.S. has been criticized for failure to support the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.
Criticism of United States foreign policy | Commitment to foreign aid
Also in 2005, the Human Security Report documented a decline in the number of wars, genocides and human rights abuses since the end of the Cold War, and presented evidence, albeit circumstantial, that international activism – mostly spearheaded by the UN – has been the main cause of the decline in armed conflict since the end of the Cold War or due to the fact the US and USSR were no longer pumping up oppressive governments after the Cold war ended. The bureaucratic dimension of the UN has been a cause for frustration with the organization. In 1994, former Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the UN to Somalia Mohamed Sahnoun published "Somalia: The Missed Opportunities", a book in which he analyses the reasons for the failure of the 1992 UN intervention in Somalia; he shows in particular that, between the start of the Somali Civil War in 1988 and the fall of the Siad Barre regime in January 1991, the United Nations missed at least three opportunities to prevent major human tragedies.
Criticism of the United Nations | Effectiveness criticisms
Betinho's contribution in the fight against the HIV/AIDS is considered to be immense. In an article, the general former-coordinator of the Abia, Jane Galvão, remembers some of the actions of the sociologist in this front: the creation of the Abia, a multidiscipline and multi-sectoral reply to HIV/AIDS; the pressure against the commerce of blood and its derivatives; and the fight for access to medicines. According to some who appreciate his role, the eyes of Betinho were as "lighthouses that guided and illuminated ways to be trod". In a 1994 article, for example, Betinho anticipated one of the main trends of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Brazil: its pauperisation.
Herbert de Souza | Contribution over HIV/AIDS issue
The March 2006 issue contained Celia Farber's article, "Out of Control: AIDS and the Corruption of Medical Science", presenting Peter Duesberg's theory that HIV does not cause AIDS. It was strongly criticized by AIDS activists, scientists and physicians, the "Columbia Journalism Review", and others as inaccurate and promoting a scientifically discredited theory. The Treatment Action Campaign, a South African organization working for greater popular access to HIV treatments, posted a response by eight researchers documenting more than fifty errors in the article.
Harper's Magazine | Controversies
In a subsequent exchange of letters with Duesberg, Horton wrote that while the central role of HIV in the development of immunodeficiency was established by epidemiological and laboratory evidence, Duesberg was correct to predict that "the virus alone is not enough to explain all aspects of the immunodeficiency process."
Inventing the AIDS Virus | Media commentary
Overseas Development Institute (ODI) research undertaken in 1980 included criticisms of the IMF which support the analysis that it is a pillar of what activist Titus Alexander calls global apartheid. ODI conclusions were that the IMF's very nature of promoting market-oriented approaches attracted unavoidable criticism. On the other hand, the IMF could serve as a scapegoat while allowing governments to blame international bankers. The ODI conceded that the IMF was insensitive to political aspirations of LDCs while its policy conditions were inflexible. Argentina, which had been considered by the IMF to be a model country in its compliance to policy proposals by the Bretton Woods institutions, experienced a catastrophic economic crisis in 2001, which some believe to have been caused by IMF-induced budget restrictions—which undercut the government's ability to sustain national infrastructure even in crucial areas such as health, education, and security—and privatisation of strategically vital national resources.
International Monetary Fund | Criticisms
The publication has been criticized for having a political agenda to combat harm-reduction policies. It is funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention which is part of the U.S. Department of Justice. The president of the Canadian Health Libraries Association has also said it appears to be driven more by a political agenda than by science: ""That journal, which looks legitimate, which is being used by the Canadian government to back up various decisions, is supported by groups that believe enforcement is the route to reducing drug use."" Also referring to this journal, authors in the "Canadian Medical Association Journal" wrote, "Efforts to undermine the science specific to HIV prevention for injection drug users are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
Journal of Global Drug Policy and Practice | Criticism
Had HIV not been such an emerging health crisis, Schechter likely would have continued in the field of breast cancer. In 1989, he helped organize the Fifth International Conference on AIDS in Montreal as a member of its steering committee. In 1990, he was invited by the World Health Organization to participate on its 10-member Steering Committee on Epidemiology, Forecasting and Surveillance that was monitoring the scale of the AIDS epidemic and advising on prevention programs in the early period of the epidemic.
Martin Schechter | Contributions to health research
In engaging non-state entities in an expanded response to the epidemic, the UNAIDS Secretariat:
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS | From policy to action
AIDS-denialist claims have failed to attract support in the scientific community, where the evidence for the causative role of HIV in AIDS is considered conclusive. However, the movement has had a significant impact in the political sphere, culminating with former South African President Thabo Mbeki's embrace of AIDS-denialist claims. The resulting governmental refusal to provide effective anti-HIV treatment in South Africa has been blamed for hundreds of thousands of premature AIDS-related deaths in South Africa.
HIV/AIDS denialism | Impact beyond the scientific community
Since three of the five permanent members are also European, and four are predominantly white Western nations, the Security Council has been described as a pillar of global apartheid by Titus Alexander, former Chair of Westminster United Nations Association.
United Nations Security Council | Criticism and evaluations
The more the UN and the UNSC were mentioned in the New York Times, the more important the year was considered. The Korean War in the early 1950s, the Congo War in the early 1960s, and the numerous peacekeeping missions in the 1990s were decisive events. During unimportant and medium important years, ODA-receiving countries with a seat in the UNSC did not experience a significant rise in aid payments. During important years however, an increase of 170% could be detected ($16 million more). Regarding UN payments, the difference also exists, but is not as high (53% more financial support or $8 million during important years).
Criticism of the United Nations | Corruption in the UN Security Council
He has criticized the U.S. PEPFAR initiative for canceling funding for NGOs working with groups at high risk of HIV infection.
Jorge Saavedra | Introduction
The Nation of Islam endorses the view that governments and pharmaceutical companies have pursued genocidal racist policies including the creation and spread of HIV. Consequently, the group called for a boycott of U.S.-sponsored vaccination programs for children. Leonard Horowitz has been cited as influential in the boycott decision.
Discredited HIV/AIDS origins theories | Nation of Islam
Tearfund welcomed the fact that G8 leaders committed to provide a projected $60 billion for health over the next 5 years. However, they point out that this falls far short of what is required to achieve the health-related MDGs and Universal Access by 2010. Based on current UNAIDS resource estimates, the G8 share of resources needed for HIV alone is US$65 billion for the next three years. Meanwhile, previous commitments, such as universal access to paediatric treatment, as outlined at Heiligendamm in 2007, are conspicuous by their absence. There are no timetables for delivery or measurable action plans attached to the communiqué.
34th G8 summit | Aid for healthcare and education
... It can hardly be said that the 1267 Committee process meets the requirement of independence and impartiality when, as appears may be the case involving Mr. Abdelrazik, the nation requesting the listing is one of the members of the body that decides whether to list or, equally as important, to de-list a person. The accuser is also the judge."
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267 | Criticism
Efforts to improve aid effectiveness have gained significant momentum in the health sector, due in large part to the work of the International Health Partnership (IHP+). Created in 2007, IHP+ is a group of partners committed to improving the health of citizens in developing countries. These partners work together to put international principles for aid effectiveness and development cooperation into practice. IHP+ mobilizes national governments, development agencies, civil society and others to support a single, country-led national strategy in a well-coordinated way. Critiques of the effect of aid have become more vociferous as the global campaigns to increase aid have gained momentum, particularly since 2000.
Aid effectiveness | Improvement and critiques
The techniques of international development aid, especially "participation", came under scrutiny and he set out some of the key features of anthropological investigation of development impacts. A further volume (2000) was the first study of development aid "brokers" situated between local societies and international aid agencies. More recent work concern local powers and decentralization in the context of stratified societies in Africa (Olivier de Sardan and Tidjani Alou, 2009), political corruption among state actors in cash-starved African contexts (Blundo and Olivier de Sardan, 2006) and the ethnography of elections (Olivier de Sardan, 2015). He has also contributed to insert medical anthropology into health policy and system research (HPSR), analyzing health service delivery in West Africa and the interactions between patients and health workers (Jaffré and Olivier de Sardan 2003), and developing an empirical approach of public health policies in Sahelian countries (Olivier de Sardan & Ridde, 2015).
Jean-Pierre Olivier de Sardan | Research contributions
Moyo has pointed out in a number of interviews that this is a misrepresentation of her ideas and that she is not criticizing humanitarian aid, and the "Financial Times" noted that ONE's campaign "at least partially backfired". The economist Jeffrey Sachs said more foreign aid is needed to improve conditions for Africa, but Moyo pointed out that when Sachs was her lecturer at Harvard it was he himself who taught that "the path to long-term development would only be achieved through private sector involvement and free market solutions". In a 2013 interview Bill Gates was asked for his views on "Dead Aid"s illustration that aid to African governments has not alleviated poverty but has instead kept the African economy crippled rather than supporting sustainable African business.
Dambisa Moyo | "Dead Aid"
He has criticised aid agencies and charities for what he says is their ineffectiveness and collusion with corruption. He believes that western aid has been largely unhelpful for African development, since it encourages dependency, sustains wars and fuels corrupt states. He argues that aid goes to the least deserving states, those that have failed their people, rather than those that have reformed. In June 2007, he gave a speech about these issues at the [[TED conference]] in [[Arusha, Tanzania]]. In 2014, Mwenda was among the petitioners for annulling The [[Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2014]].
Andrew Mwenda | Community activism
In 2007, the five largest donors to UNODC's budget in descending order were: European Union, Canada, United States, the UN itself, and Sweden. According to the Transnational Institute this explains why, until recently, UNODC did not promote harm reduction policies like needle exchange and Heroin-assisted treatment. (This despite the actions of United Nations bodies (i.e. WHO and UNAIDS), who support these policies.) UNODC promotes other methods for drug use prevention, treatment and care that UNODC sees as "based on scientific evidence and on ethical standards". The UNODC has been criticized by human rights organizations such as Amnesty international for not promoting the inclusion of adherence to international human rights standards within its project in Iran.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime | Criticism
And a view that is skeptic about the impacts of aid, supported by William Easterly, that points out that aid has not proven to work after 40 years of large investments in Africa. American political scientist and professor Nicolas van de Walle has also argued that despite more than two decades of donor-supported reform in Africa, the continent continues to be plagued by economic crises due to the combination of state generated factors and to the counter productivity of international development aid to Africa. Van de Walle first attributes the failure to implement economic policy reform to factors within the African state:
Development aid | Effectiveness
It is considered one of the main observers of the epidemic in France. Internationally, AIDES has developed strong partnerships with fellow community-based NGOs in Africa, in Europe and in Canada (Quebec) to strengthen the role of civil society by sharing best practices and to jointly advocate for global access to care and prevention. It also developed a partnership with the UN Programme on HIV/AIDS
AIDES | Introduction
Kramer ultimately states that the response to AIDS in America must be defined as a Holocaust because of the large number deaths that resulted from the negligence and apathy that surrounded AIDS in the Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and early Bill Clinton Presidencies. Kramer also describes his frustration with many members of the gay community that do not actively advocate for PWAs and AIDS research, stating that they are complicit in their own deaths.
Reports from the Holocaust | Use of the Term Holocaust and Criticism of the Response to AIDS
Furthermore, there is no guarantee that investing in an individual's rehabilitation will result in substantial change in their agency. Lastly is the proposition of priorities. It is argued that most countries in need of extensive development must focus on health ails such as infant mortality, diarrhea, and malaria that are widespread killers not limited to a specific population.
Disability and poverty | Criticisms
The Security Council was concerned about the HIV/AIDS pandemic worldwide, and especially the severity of the crisis in Africa. The UN General Assembly and the UN Economic and Social Council had an important role and there was a need for a co-ordinated effort to address the diseases. The spread of HIV/AIDS had a heavy impact on society, was exacerbated by violence, and could lead to instability and emergency situations if left unchecked. Therefore, a co-ordinated international response was important. The Council also recognised the need to include HIV/AIDS prevention and advice in United Nations peacekeeping missions. It welcomed the 13th International AIDS Conference held in South Africa, the first event of its type to be held in a developing country.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1308 | Observations
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) is the main advocate for accelerated, comprehensive and coordinated global action on the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The mission of UNAIDS is to lead, strengthen and support an expanded response to HIV and AIDS that includes preventing transmission of HIV, providing care and support to those already living with the virus, reducing the vulnerability of individuals and communities to HIV and alleviating the impact of the epidemic. UNAIDS seeks to prevent the HIV/AIDS epidemic from becoming a severe pandemic. UNAIDS is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, where it shares some site facilities with the World Health Organization.
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS | Introduction
Issues relating to the state of Israel, Palestinians and other aspects of the Arab–Israeli conflict occupy a large amount of debate time, resolutions and resources at the United Nations. The former Secretary of State of the United States, John Kerry, has accused the U.N. Human Rights Council of focusing disproportionately on allegations of abuses by Israel, and Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, admitted that there is a biased attitude against Israel at the UN, although he retracted later. Other critics such as Dore Gold, Alan Dershowitz, Mark Dreyfus, Robert S. Wistrich, Alan Keyes, and the Anti-Defamation League also consider UN attention on Israel's treatment of Palestinians to be excessive.
Criticism of the United Nations | Attention given to the Arab-Israeli conflict
The United Nations Security Council has been criticized over the lack of a coordinated response to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially regarding the time it took to agree on a resolution demanding a global ceasefire.
United Nations response to the COVID-19 pandemic | Criticism
In July 2008, Myers wrote an article arguing that providing aid to Africa only results in increasing its population, and its problems. This produced strong reactions, with the Immigrant Council of Ireland making an official complaint to the Garda Síochána alleging incitement to hatred. Hans Zomer of Dóchas, an association of NGOs, and another complainant, took a complaint to the Press Council on the grounds that it breached four principles of the Council's Code of Practice: 1) Accuracy, 3) Fairness and Honesty, 4) Respect for Rights, and 8) Incitement to Hatred. In their case details the Press Council said:
Kevin Myers | Aid to Africa
Development aid is often provided by means of supporting local development aid projects. In these projects, it sometimes occurs that no strict code of conduct is in force. In some projects, the development aid workers do not respect the local code of conduct. For example, the local dress code as well as social interaction. In developing countries, these matters are regarded highly important and not respecting it may cause severe offense, and thus significant problems and delay of the projects. There is also much debate about evaluating the quality of development aid, rather than simply the quantity. For instance, tied aid is often criticized as the aid given must be spent in the donor country or in a group of selected countries.
Development aid | Critiques of development aid
One official with ties to senior management at the UNAIDS Geneva secretariat also noted, under Sidibe's leadership, that "UNAids mirrors the whole UN as a ‘boys club’ with hierarchical and patriarchal culture of discrimination, lack of transparency and accountability that enables harassment."
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS | Sexual harassment scandal
The cosponsors and the UNAIDS Secretariat comprise the Committee of Cosponsoring Organizations, which meets twice each year.
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS | Cosponsors
One of the most common criticisms of the model is that Mahalanobis pays hardly any attention to the savings constraint, which he assumes comes from the industrial sector. Developing countries however do not have this tendency, as the first stages of saving usually come from the agricultural sector. He also does not mention taxation, an important potential source of capital. A more serious criticism is the limitation of the assumptions under which this model holds, an example being the limitation of foreign trade. This cannot be justifiable to developing countries today. Also another criticism is that a country to use this model would have to be large enough to contain all the raw resources needed to be sustainable, so therefore this would not apply to smaller countries.
Feldman–Mahalanobis model | Criticisms
In contrast, the scientific consensus is that HIV infection causes AIDS; Duesberg's HIV/AIDS claims have been addressed and rejected as erroneous by the scientific community. Reviews of his opinions in "Nature" and "Science" asserted that they were unpersuasive and based on selective reading of the literature, and that although Duesberg had a right to a dissenting opinion, his failure to fairly review evidence that HIV causes AIDS meant that his opinion lacked credibility.
Peter Duesberg | Introduction
Commentators and critics including AIDS activists such as Edwin Cameron have criticised Mandela for his government's ineffectiveness in stemming the AIDS crisis. After his retirement, Mandela admitted that he may have failed his country by not paying more attention to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. After that Mandela spoke out on several occasions against the AIDS epidemic.
Presidency of Nelson Mandela | AIDS/HIV policy
By doing so, these actions can sustain health related spending and result in growth in the long run. The OECD has explored—through peer reviews and other work by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC)—the reasons why aid has and has not worked. This has resulted in a body of best practices and principles that can be applied globally to make aid work better. The ultimate aim of aid effectiveness efforts today is to help developing countries build well functioning local structures and systems so that they are able to manage their own development and reduce their dependency on aid.
Aid effectiveness | Improvement and critiques