Jacqueline Novogratz Talks Pakistan And Aid On CNN
Acumen Fund founder and HuffPost blogger Jacqueline Novogratz appeared on CNN International today alongside Pakistani journalist Mosharraf Zaidi and Roshaneh Zafar, founder of the Kashf Foundation, to discuss Pakistan and the efficiency of international aid and microfinancing in preventing terrorism.
Host Christiane Amanpour asked the panel if a more equitable class system in the Middle East could prevent future terrorist attacks. Zaidi argued that most of the 9/11 attackers actually came from more affluent families. Zafar disagreed with this assessment, and argued in favor of aid.
"We have evidence to the contrary," she said. "The household, if they're earning 45 dollars more a month, they're able to put their children through school. What that marginal value brings is a better life.
"I personally think that addressing poverty, which is Pakistan's biggest problem today, is going to come back in some ways."
Novogratz chimed in about the value of microfinancing and how formerly lower class Pakistanis, once they are helped and encouraged into the middle class, will aspire to educate their children and transform their lives.
Though Zaidi praised Zafar and Novogratz for their work, he argued that the scale of the problem must be remembered. Kashf and Acumen Fund work so well, he says, because they can experiment in a small segment of the population. In the long run and to a wider population, he suggests, the aid programs are not sustainable.
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First Posted: 5/18/10 Updated: 5/25/11