INTRODUCTION
The formation of the foreign aid kitties to assist countries in turmoil is due to the continuous aspects or war and peace especially in the late twentieth century. Most countries in Africa were and are still experiencing these effects. Such a country is Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone is a country on the West side of the African continent. The Sierra Leone civil war can be traced back to the late twentieth century and most specifically 1991 and came to an end in 2002. The cause of the war was an attempt to overthrow the Joseph Momoh government. The Revolutionary United Front and National Patriotic Front of Liberia led by Charles Taylor were the leading players in the Momoh's government. The cost of the war was the lives of over fifty thousand people and another million displaced up to date. The civil war in Sierra Leone sent the country into a turmoil. As a result, foreign intervention was required to restore sanity in the West African State (Anderson, 1999).
THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF WAR AND PEACE ON FOREIGN AID
Sierra Leone as a nation faces a continuous struggle to support itself and the breaking out of the war in 1991 was just jumping from the frying pan into the fire. It is prudent to note that even prior to wars and instability in the nation, the country was dependent on foreign donations to enable it to run. With the 1991-2002 war, the destruction of the country's infrastructure and the population is evident, and it was even more important to have foreign donations to enable the state to build new roads, health care facilities among other things (Quartey, 2013).
The dependence on foreign aid in this country, allow the government of the day to steal openly from the public coffers in anticipation of help from foreign countries. The looting of some of the donations is evident, and since there is no single record of how the donations are used, there is no one to blame. As such, the propagation of war by the incumbents was ensured to make sure that the foreign money kept flowing and hence enriching the chosen, high and mighty few (Breher, 2012).
CONDITIONS IMPOSED BY THE FOREIGN DONORS
Some of the donor countries did not have the warring country's interests at heart (Quartey, 2013). Some of the donor countries are said to have heavily benefited from the diamonds in Sierra Leone commonly referred to as the blood diamonds. It was not until the involvement of the British government and the United Nations peacekeeping forces that scared away the primary benefactors in such trades (Pickering, 2009).
IMPACT OF FOREIGN DONATIONS
Foreign aid, however, is not a total failure in Sierra Leone. The donor countries were able to clearly put forward their conditions for Sierra Leone to receive the donations. With the expected stoppage of running the government in mind due to lack of funds, the war gradually came to an end. The aid from the United States also had a condition whereby the leaders of the army involved to be interdicted and prosecuted which saw the arrest of warlords such as Charles Taylor who face charges against humanity, children soldiers among others in the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands (Pickering, 2009).
With the help of the foreign aid and loans from international financial institutions, Sierra Leone has been able to build some of the necessary infrastructures such as roads and health care systems. Although these kind of resources are not world class, they are better than none. The enforcing of proper taxation has been possible with the help of donors who have been able to balance the prices and, therefore, not hurting the citizens. The country has been able to carry out two successful general elections. By the year 2005, the last United Nations peacekeepers withdrew leaving behind a fully functional security system in the country, thereby, showing results of the foreign aid. The country has been able to increase the number of children being enrolled in primary school especially the girls. In the health care sector, the country has been able to curb the menace of tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. Post-conflict recovery programs have also been in place to help heal the wounds of the war. All these successes are traceable to the success of foreign aid (Breher, 2012).
CONCLUSION
Rome was not built in one day; and so is the recovery process. It is sequential and stepwise. Post-conflict recovery programs put in place are essential to ensure the country does not fall into the same pit hole again. In conclusion, as much as Sierra Leone is on its two feet, it does not mean that foreign nations need to withdraw their funding in totality. Sierra Leone might be standing on its two feet but the legs are totally weak and abandoning the country at this stage will be disastrous.
Reference
Anderson, M. B. (1999). Do no harm: how aid can support peace-or war. Lynne Rienner Publishers - See more at: http://www.premiumessays.net/articles/sample-essay-the-effects-of-war-and-peace-on-foreign-aid/#sthash.2Syt6J69.dpuf
Breher S. (2012) Sierra Leone After the Civil War retrieved on 15 January 2017 from http://www.fairobserver.com/region/africa/sierra-leone-after-civil-war/
Gberie L. (2002) War and Peace in Sierra Leone: Diamonds, Corruption and the Lebanese Connection
Pickering J. (2009) Policy Coherence in International Responses to State Failure: The role of the United Kingdom in Sierra Leone Destin Studies Institute ISSN 1470-2320
Quartey K. (2013) Economics by Other Means: War, Poverty and Conflict Minerals in Africa, retrieved on 15 January 2017 from http://fpif.org/economics-means-war-poverty-conflict-minerals-africa/
