"The White Man's Burden,' by William Easterly

The New York Times/ Book Review

March 19, 2006

The Poverty Puzzle

Review by VIRGINIA POSTREL

MALARIA infects 300 million to 500 million people a year, causing severe pain and debilitation. A million of those taken ill die, mostly infants and young children. Of the deaths, which amount to a child every 30 seconds, more than 80 percent occur in the poor countries of Africa. Insecticide-treated mosquito nets, which cost $5 or less, could prevent most infections. A mere $2.50 in medicine can treat the deadliest form of the disease, the World Health Organization reports.

So why don't we just buy the nets and medicines? If we cared as much about the poor as Bono does, couldn't the rich countries wipe out malaria and also eliminate the world's worst poverty?

It's not that simple, William Easterly argues in "The White Man's Burden." Take those mosquito nets. When aid agencies hand them out in poor countries, he writes, "nets are often diverted to the black market . . . or wind up being used as fishing nets or wedding veils." Free nets don't get to the people who need them.

But in rural Malawi, clinics serving new mothers sell insecticide-treated bed nets for 50 cents each. The nets come from a program developed by local Malawians working for Population Services International, a Washington-based nonprofit organization. In Malawi's cities, the group sells nets for $5 each, using the profits to subsidize sales in the countryside.

More:http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/19/books/review/19postrel.html