Aiding or Abetting? Dilemmas of foreign aid and political instability in Melanesia (IISD, 2005)

Since independence, the self-governing nations of Melanesia – Papua New Guinea (PNG), the Solomon Islands, Fiji and Vanuatu – have been the recipients of a steady flow of foreign aid. Between 1995 and 1999 average per capita aid to Melanesia was US$73, three times that to Sub-Saharan Africa and 35 times aid to India. Yet aid in Melanesia seems to be failing to achieve many of its goals.