A Study On Regional Differences In Save The Children's Participation In International Development Aid Mechanism

Global development is facing unprecedented challenges.How China conducts international development cooperation,provides foreign aid,and implements global development initiatives is an important part of major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics.In the field of international development assistance,it is common for Non-Governmental Organizations(NGOs)to participate in international development assistance as a non-governmental force,and their operating mechanism deserves attention.When the same NGO conducts international development assistance in developing countries in different regions,it will inevitably be affected by various factors,so it is necessary to constantly adjust the participation mechanism to adapt to local conditions.Among many NGOs,Save the Children has the highest international reputation and a long history.Save the Children has always been concerned with the development and assistance of children in developing countries.Its mechanism for participating in international development assistance is representative.This study focuses on regional differences in Save the Children’s participation in international development assistance mechanisms.On the one hand,it explores the regional differences in the participation of NGOs in international development assistance and the reasons for the differences from the theoretical level.On the other hand,it also provides a reference for China to cooperate with NGOs in international development cooperation from a practical perspective.This paper selects 35 Save the Children Country Offices in Asia,Africa,Latin America,Eastern Europe and the Middle East as the research objects.Using quantitative and qualitative research methods,it sorts out the history and mechanism of their participation in international development assistance.The study found that Save the Children’s participation in international development assistance is divided into development project operation mechanism,emergency response mechanism and “rescue-development” mechanism,and the three mechanisms differ greatly in different regions,which are reflected in three aspects:The first difference is the development model.In Asia,Save the Children is a collaborative development model,with a more mature overall mechanism and more diversified aid projects.In Eastern Europe,the Middle East,Africa,and Latin America,it belongs to the centralized development model,that is,many resources are invested in a certain mechanism,and the aid projects are relatively single.The second is the level of recognition.This is reflected in the different regional and national project offices’ understanding of the project field and the project itself.Asia and Africa are focusing on both development assistance for children and new issues such as climate change.Eastern Europe and the Middle East focus on traditional development projects such as education,nutrition and health,as well as emergency relief after armed conflict;Latin America focuses on multi-sectoral integration.The third is execution ability.The country offices in Asia and Latin America have strong comprehensive execution capabilities and are more proficient in the use of development projects and emergency rescue toolkits.During implementation,they focus on integration with the education sector;in Eastern Europe and the Middle East,the execution capabilities are average,but they pay more attention to the education sector and the field of climate change.integration;the African region has a weaker implementation capacity.The reasons for this regional difference can be analyzed from two aspects:recipient countries and Save the Children.From the perspective of recipient countries,firstly,the degree of economic development of recipient countries has different needs for aid.Due to the relatively high level of economic development in Asia,the demand for development is greater than the demand for aid.The level of economic development in Africa,Eastern Europe,the Middle East,and Latin America is low,and the need for aid is greater than the need for development.The second is the impact of natural disasters on national emergency response capabilities.Asia and Latin America suffer from natural disasters all year round,and the recipient countries have a certain awareness of risk prevention.The local governments also hope to receive international aid,and their ability to participate in emergency rescue is relatively high.Thirdly,the development level of philanthropy in recipient countries affects their cooperation with NGOs.In the Asian region with a high level of philanthropy,the degree of cooperation of the recipient countries with Save the Children is relatively high;the Middle East has been suffering from wars all year round,and the degree of cooperation is relatively low.From the perspective of Save the Children,one is the impact of the time of entering the recipient country and the process of localization.Although Save the Children entered Africa,Eastern Europe and the Middle East earlier,due to security reasons,the localization process was relatively slow.Although it entered Asia and Latin America late,the localization process is relatively fast,and it has established a good cooperative relationship with local government departments.The second is the degree of integration between the aid concepts promoted by Save the Children and the national strategies of the recipient countries.As countries in Asia,Africa,and Latin America attach great importance to the governance of children’s rights in development projects,Save the Children’s “child-centred” aid concept is easier to get support from recipient countries,and the projects run more smoothly.However,the national development strategies in Eastern Europe and the Middle East do not pay enough attention to children,a vulnerable group,so the degree of cooperation between the two parties is even lower.The same project under the same mechanism of the same NGO has very different landing effects in different developing countries.This regional difference also brings three enlightenments to China’s implementation of international development cooperation and cooperation with NGOs: First,China should adopt measures to local conditions and pay attention to regional differences in aid mechanisms.Do more research about local needs and design development assistance projects by region.The second is to learn from each other’s strengths and identify the entry points for international development assistance,for example,to pay attention to children and other vulnerable groups,and to increase resource input for emergency response and post-disaster reconstruction.The third is strengthening the win-win cooperation,attracting domestic and foreign non-governmental organizations to participate in China’s international development cooperation,and promoting the implementation of global development initiatives.