Good and Bad Aspects of NGOs According to an Article Published by the Economist (Essay Sample)

NGO’s: The good and the bad
NGO’s had during their inception been aggrandized as the magic bullet for development. However, fast track six decades down the line, development still remains an elusive concept despite the fact that NGO’s have sprouted into the size of a small nation and billions have been channeled into funding NGO’s ‘development’ activities. These grim projections ultimately beg question as to the validity and effectiveness of NGO’s in the development realm. Are NGO’s doing more harm than good or simply doing nothing?
NGO’s have been described as the conscience of humanity. On one end of the spectrum, NGO’s are the champions, primary helpers and conduits of human rights and development. NGO’s like Red Cross, Save the Children and WHO work relentlessly to feed and heal the poor, provide protection, relief and assistance for vulnerable individuals, uncover corrupt regimes; clear land mines and negotiate peace.
On the other end of the spectrums, NGO’s have been marred by accusation of profligacy, corruption, short sightedness, impartiality and serving as conduits of imperialism and elitism. Perhaps one of the gravest criticisms leveled against NGO’s is that a growing number of NGOs have been set up for profit instead of altruistic motives.
In India, many sprouting NGO’s are being set up as money making entities with some NGO’s have nothing more than their business cards. NGO’s in this unscrupulous context are managed by relatives, inherited and even presented as dowry payments. Funds disbursed for development are used in personal asset building, buying vehicles, vacations and air travel at the expense of the needs of poor and marginalized community.
In the case of Haiti, which is commonly referred to as the republic of NGO’s, non-profits have been notorious for cashing out on the calamity they were entrusted to fight. A huge portion of the money disbursed for aid relief has been used to service the salaries of NGO partners, build lavish offices and fund numerous workshops and ‘ development and aid’ conferences. However, the situation on the ground is quite grim. Haitians continue to live in despondence since many of NGO’s intervention have failed to reflect and address their needs.
However, in the same breadth NGO’s have been accused of running parallel states sometimes more powerful than the government therefore undermining the sovereignty of states and promoting lackluster participation and involvement of the government in development initiatives. Haitian NGO’s for example have built alternative frameworks for the provision of social services creating little impetus for the government to build its capacity to deliver services.
Many NGO’s are increasingly using the principles of social marketing and public relations in the domain of development in order to increase their effectiveness and saliency. Polished marketing campaign, media relations, eye-catching banner and logos and branding strategies have become a trademark for some of the most prominent NGO’s. However, despite the fact that marketing and communication strategies are effective means of disseminating information and making issues salience, NGO’s have been accused of increasingly becoming more focused on competition rather than on cooperation and solving coherent issues. While it is true that many Ngo’s look for photo-ops and scurry to get media coverage, some NGO’s like Red Cross have learnt to strike a balance between promotion and practical development in which they continually employ marketing tactics to advance the causes of the marginalized community.
Another accusation leveled against NGO’s is that they at times seek to impose despotic and draconian solutions and ideologies to the states and the people. Just like the missionaries and colonialist who imposed Christian ideologies in the minds of respective colonial states, modern NGOs are also accused of serving neo-liberal imperialistic, capitalistic and elitist ideals without little regard to the culture, identity and norms. Knowingly or unknowingly, NGOs transfer Western notions of style, behavior, religion and education to sovereign system and this at times fosters resentment or leads to the total disintegration of culture. Some NGO’s have also been accused of working as political puppets to spy on populations, fund dissid...