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Consequences of cutting aid
If the aim of foreign aid is to boost growth it is not working, you say (“The death of foreign aid”, March 8th). Well it depends. When policy is good, aid contributes significantly to economic growth. And the aim of aid is not always to boost growth. Take the prevention and treatment of malnutrition, where aid has saved the lives of millions of children. My colleagues and I at the Standing Together for Nutrition consortium estimate that if the cutbacks in aid are not compensated for, several hundred thousand children will die every year.
Aid works. We can tell because so many fewer children’s lives are dependent on aid than they were 20 years ago. I agree that the current model of aid is dead. But smaller flows are still needed to encourage the redirection of public and private resources to areas where they are most needed developmentally. In this world of wannabe monarchs, aid is dead, long live aid.
Dr Lawrence HaddadExecutive directorGlobal Alliance for Improved NutritionBrighton
There is plenty of evidence to show that aid works well at the local if not the national level. For instance, aid has been used to create links between small-scale farmers and large-scale agribusinesses that are often funded by development- finance agencies, such as British International Investment and the International Finance Corporation. These success stories run in parallel with big increases to yields in food crops such as cassava and rice. Locally embedded R&D has delivered improved varieties of crops often with voluntary and governmental aid organisations working together. The withdrawal of USAID and the cuts to British and EU aid are acts of gross negligence that will harm Africa’s future.
Laurence CockcroftLondon
Germany’s U-turn on debt
Senior politicians in Germany have woken up to the reality that the country’s “debt brake”, which puts severe limits on government borrowing, has been detrimental to Germany and Europe (“Fantastic, Friedrich”, March 8th). However, the fact that the conservative Christian Democratic Union has made a complete U-turn on this issue since the recent election is not only bad politics, it will hurt all centrist parties. They now have little choice but to follow the CDU’s lead in making a constitutionally defendable but politically grubby deal in creating a “special fund” for defence and infrastructure. In 2023 the CDU brought a legal case against the then governing coalition for creating another special fund, which redirected money from covid-19 to climate-related projects. The CDU lambasted other parties, notably the Greens, on the campaign trail for even suggesting a revision to the rules on the debt brake. Yet the CDU admitted in private that the rules need changing, and are only now committing to it publicly.
Ole Jakob WeberBerlin
The Graphic detail column of February 28th looked at the growing popularity of hard-right parties in Europe. You did not analyse why it is that centrist parties seem unwilling to acknowledge why voters are turning away from them. European electorates have consistently expressed scepticism about expensive environmental policies and unchecked immigration, yet mainstream leaders continue to push these agendas with little regard for public sentiment.
If centrists truly wish to halt the advance of the far right they would do well to remember the pragmatism of post-war moderates in Europe. In the aftermath of the second world war centrist governments embraced large-scale social spending to undercut the appeal of communism. Today, a similar recalibration is needed, one that prioritises economic stability and border security over ideological commitments that alienate voters. Ignoring these concerns will only drive more people into the arms of political extremists.
Jonathan BrookshireReston, Virginia
Trump’s cuts to science
It is not just academic science that is affected by the cuts to funding at the National Institutes of Health under the Trump administration (“Unscientific methods”, February 22nd). The NIH also provides approximately $1bn in small business grants. These competitive grants fund new drugs (such as for rare diseases), medical devices and technologies that are commercialised. Such products would not be developed without this support as they are deemed too risky for venture-capital and foundation investment. This funding system is a sizeable provider of scientific jobs and is now threatened with extinction.
Dr Sean EkinsChief executiveCollaborations PharmaceuticalsRaleigh, North Carolina
When DEI works
I read with sadness that Accenture, a management consultancy, is bowing to a changing American political landscape and is “sunsetting” its diversity goals (“Change management”, February 22nd). Accenture is a great example of how a well-run diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programme can improve a company.
I was with the firm for 30 years. When I started, the partnership was probably made up of 90% white men and there were almost no women or people of colour in senior leadership positions. DEI goals, even if we didn’t always call it that back then, helped open up the partnership, broadening the skill base, fostering creativity through the introduction of new and different perspectives and improving overall employee engagement. This made Accenture a stronger, better and more successful company.
Maybe it is uncomfortable to admit, but without such policies it would be hard to imagine getting to a place where the current chief executive is a woman (and I say that with the utmost respect for what she has accomplished). Without DEI goals, I am sure the Accenture board would have followed precedent and chosen the safer, white male candidate with the stronger résumé on paper.
Derek SteelbergPrinceton, New Jersey
Manager’s walkabout
Bartleby wrote about the importance of management by wandering or walking around, otherwise known as MBWA (February 22nd). Albert Mehrabian, a psychologist known for his work on verbal and non-verbal messaging, broke down the universal communication model into three elements: words (7%), tone of voice (38%) and facial language (55%). By this logic, MBWA is a far more effective way of managing as it engages all three elements. Compared with the approach of many chief executives, who communicate by simply firing off emails, shoe leather remains the ultimate divide between real leadership and just hitting “send”.
Ameer AlmedhychyBoston
Nobody does it better?
The takeover of the James Bond franchise by Amazon exposes one of the main concerns for die-hard fans (“007’s new handler”, March 1st). When it comes to Bond films the beauty is in the subtlety. If Amazon builds a “cinematic universe” then it risks making a Marvel out of Bond. Indeed, the New York Times criticised the most recent Bond movie, “No Time to Die”, as being “more superhero saga than espionage caper”. Amazon should avoid the same mistake.
Gabriel Boutier-DowneyLondon