A peculiar trend is taking hold on the continent of Africa that flatters to redefine common perceptions about the Continent.
Traditionally, Africa has been viewed as a constant and chief recipient of humanitarian aid, debt relief and other forms of related charity. Indeed, the International Monetary Fund reports that over a third of global official development aid goes to sub-Saharan Africa.
However, certain developments appear to challenge this viewpoint and present Africa as a generous provider of humanitarian aid in its own right, both within the Continent and outside its borders.
TAC
Attention is drawn in this regard to Africa’s most populated nation: Nigeria epitomises this trend through the operation of a Technical Aid Corps Scheme (TAC). TAC is essentially a volunteer service that seeks to mobilise an army of indigenous volunteers to assist African, Caribbean and Pacific States (CAP) with technical advice and practical hands on service delivery in critical shortage areas.
The Technical Aid Corps Scheme is the brainchild of the 1980’s federal administration in Nigeria, it was conceived as an effectual foreign policy tool to support efforts in cultural diplomacy and cultivate better relations between developing countries in the southern hemisphere. This convergence is commonly referred to as South-South Cooperation.
How TAC Operates
Volunteers are chosen from a pool of citizens who apply through federal government departments and are carefully selected for their skill and knowledge in a particular field. The provision of this manpower is entirely funded through public funds.
A placement normally last from 2 to 4 years and volunteers could be assigned to any number of projects: a typical assignment for a volunteer could be to help with the construction of a school or to provide essential health care services.
TAC Achievements
At its inception, the Technical Aid Corps Scheme comprised a group of twelve nations. TAC now assists a growing list of over 30 recipient nations and has succeeded in mobilising thousands of volunteers throughout African Caribbean and Pacific States.
On 04 March 2007, the African Press Agency reported the deployment of 29 medical professionals from the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps Scheme to the Caribbean nation of Belize. These volunteers were chosen to work as pharmacists, nurses, doctors, and laboratory technicians.
Again, on 06 November 2006, the Jamaican Ministry of Health announced the arrival of 28 Nigerian nurses that were set to fill positions within three of its four Regional Health Authorities. The nurses formed part of a contingent of 110 medical personnel expected to arrive in Jamaica under the Technical Aid Corps Scheme (TAC). They include pharmacists, doctors, physiotherapists and radiographic technicians.
A Growing Trend
This case study represents a nominal part of Africa’s combined provision of personnel and financial aid to internal and external states. Yet, it presents a commendable example of the Continent’s ongoing development and serves to demonstrate the tangible effects that years of accumulated humanitarian aid has had on Africa. If the provision of aid is infectious, Africa can certainly be said to have caught this infection.
Furthermore, this peculiar trend is set to continue as a result of the Abuja based African Summit (4 Nov 2006) on food security. This Summit mooted the establishment a strategic Pan African Technical Aid Corps Scheme that would pool agricultural best practices and deploy technicians to areas where agricultural assistance was most needed.
Prof. Richard Mkandawire, agriculture advisor to the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) was quoted by NEPAD News as saying:
"Let us also start to look at the possibility of establishing some form of technical assistance programmes within the various countries in Africa"
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Source: Nigeria Direct: Official Information Gateway
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