No, I don't think everyone is developed countries are stupid, but that doesn't mean that I haven't heard some quite astonishly ill-informed things from friends of mine in the developed world.

Eg, George, the qualified engineer in Uganda who told me you could be cured of AIDS if you were 'saved' (ie were a born again Christian.)

I'm not suggesting that this one example is representative of the whole, but the fact remains that there are a lot of problems faced by people in the developing world, where a bit more knowlege and understanding among the population could go a long way.

Eg, polio is still only really prevalent in India and Nigeria. One of the problems in Nigeria is that people won't allow thier kids to be vaccinated because they think that the vaccine will either give them AIDS or is a sinister ploy to sterilize them. (This is really true, try googling 'polio vaccine Nigeria' if you don't believe me.)

The point is, as much as our post modern guilt about criticising under developed countries makes us unwilling to appear critical, where people are genuinely ignorant of important (and potentially life saving) facts, surely the most respectful way forward is to educate, and them let them make their own decisions, rather than hold off for fear of making them look stupid?

if you're really interested :)

I've learned more about Ghana in the last 24 hours than I knew before <grin> - and I still know less than nothing. However, in terms of organisations offering microfinance, UN-Habitat and Barclays are two. A quick Google on "microfinance Ghana" shows several in-country institutions as well.

Compared with many other African countries, Ghana appears to be doing pretty well - World Bank Ghana Country Director Mats Karlsson says its prospects of becoming a middle-income country in the next decade are “high” (see article).

There is no denying that so-called developed countries' treatment of Africa in the past has been worse than a disgrace. Centuries of what can only be called theft, environmental mismanagement and ignorance of culture and climate have caused horrendous problems. Unfortunately, too many bleeding heart Westerners are wallowing in guilt and seem to think that these issues can and should be resolved overnight.

Most Africans working in international development that I've spoken to take a longer view. To their credit, and it should humble us (it certainly does me), they are grateful for our aid and positive about their futures. The complaint I hear most often is that their successes are not recognised by the media, who revel in doom, gloom and despair. Frankly, constantly harping on about what's wrong and what we're not doing strikes me as just as patronising as some relief efforts.

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... nearly Vlad the Impaler

The case is overstated but it's one you never hear. Yes - who is giving business seed loans, mentoring or real employment?
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"How many people work here?" "About half of them"

Sorry, but I find this article somewhat "fact light". Again Ms Dingle, your perception of NGOs appears to be based on the "norm" of some 20 or more years ago when, agreed, many NGOs were arrogant and paternalistic. Fortunately, most have realised that consultation and empowerment are not only more respectful to those they serve, but more effective in terms of long-lasting positive impact. Please stop tarring every organisation with the same brush. Sources please? - whose awareness campaigns are you objecting to? I'm all for challenging the status quo (no, really?) - but negative opinion expressed as fact, without supporting evidence, really gets up my nose.

If it's George Bush's ABC campaign you're objecting to then I'm right with you. The only word that springs to mind is iniquitous. Fortunately, most NGOs are taking a far more enlightened approach (I was particularly pleased to hear the Gates speak out against their president on that one).

Oxfam, for example, specifically says that poverty alleviation is the answer. Of course this includes education and treatment (http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/issues/hivaids/intro.htm). And awareness raising. I might be being a bit dense here, but how do people get educated - or even recognise the importance of education - if they aren't aware that there's an issue in the first place?

During the 1990s in the UK, condoms became a cultural norm - and non-use was perceived as irresponsibile and "socially unacceptable". Since the awareness campaigns of the 80s and early 90s have sunk into the background of public consciousness, infections of all STDs have risen. The point is that "Awareness raising" works. Viruses don't care about race - if it hadn't been for those awareness campaigns in the UK, then in terms of HIV infections as a proportion of population we'd probably be in a pandemic situation here.

Of course pure awareness raising is arrogant, paternalistic and doomed to fail unless poverty is also addressed. However, poverty alleviation is also doomed to fail if it does not include education and empowerment. And awareness raising is the start of that. As SimonK says, the two go hand in hand.

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... nearly Vlad the Impaler

"It’s as though we suspect living cramped together in appalling circumstances makes people stupid - or they are there because they are stupid."

Of course they're not "stupid" - but they might well be uneducated (or mis-educated), which is not the same thing at all.

I can't speak specifically on the situation in Ghana's shanty towns - I don't know what levels of education are like there. But there's nothing in the least bit stupid about believing (for example) that having sex with a virgin will cure you of HIV, if nobody ever tells you anything different - any more than middle-class westerners are stupid for believing that MMR causes autism when that's what the Daily Mail keeps telling them.

That doesn't mean, of course, that "the real demands for factories, jobs, housing and infrastructure" should be ignored. Of course they shouldn't. Indeed, without meeting those demands, all the education is the world is pointless. It's no good teaching someone the health risks of drinking dirty water if there's nowhere in their neighbourhood to get any that's clean. And of course, the infrastructure demands are probably harder (and more expensive) to meet, and there is a need for more investment in those areas. But that's not to downplay the importance of education. The two go hand in hand, and to suggest that there's no place at all for "awareness programmes" is a massively naive attitude.