All poor countries are fragile in some ways – vulnerable to shocks from nature or the global economy, from political instability at home or within neighbouring countries. But a minority of poor countries are especially at risk.

These ‘failed’ or ‘fragile’ states are unable or unwilling to meet the basic needs of their people who find that sufficient food can’t be guaranteed, clean water, health and education are a luxury, and lawlessness maybe the norm. People, especially the very poorest, can feel permanently unsafe. Investment is often too risky and economic growth is just a pipe dream.

While many of the world’s poorest countries have been escaping from poverty in our generation, hundreds of millions of people in fragile countries such as Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo or Sudan remain trapped. If you think of development as chutes and ladders, says Oxford economist Paul Collier, then “in the modern world of globalisation there are some fabulous ladders; most societies are using them. But there are also some chutes and some societies have hit them… they are stuck.”

But globalisation also underlines why we cannot ignore countries which are ‘stuck’ because it is often in just such places some of the world’s most acute problems emerge. It is the absolute poverty and violence in fragile countries that provide opportunities for drug runners, human traffickers and other international criminals to operate.

But a consensus is emerging about effective ‘ladders’ of development in these countries allowing the long process of development to take root: national and regional security and a visible path to peace; basic social services; trustworthy leadership and good governance; support to ignite economic development and create jobs so that the progress is not threatened.

As the following pages illustrate, these are just the first steps in the transformation of fractured countries into effective states, but development will only succeed if it is owned and driven by a country’s own people. Without it, as President Barack Obama put it when accepting the Nobel peace prize last December, hope soon evaporates.

“It is undoubtedly true that development rarely takes root without security; it is also true that security does not exist where human beings do not have access to enough food, or clean water, or the medicine they need to survive. It does not exist where children cannot aspire to a decent education or a job that supports a family. The absence of hope can rot a society from within.”

WHAT IS A ‘FRAGILE’ STATE?

From AFGHANISTAN and BURMA to SUDAN and ZIMBABWE, sometimes a government cannot deliver basic services to its citizens. Not just education or healthcare but perhaps even basic law and security. Some, like SOMALIA, are collapsed states where government has little control. Some, like AFGHANISTAN, are in conflict. Others – like NEPAL, ANGOLA and SIERRA LEONE – are still recovering from conflict. Sometimes, a country’s government maintains strong control of its people but is not committed to ending poverty – as in BURMA or ZIMBABWE. In other cases, like YEMEN, there is a risk of setbacks and an increase in conflict. And even when things are largely positive, one particular region may be beyond government control – as was the case in northern Uganda.

THE POOREST PEOPLE

Fragile states contain 14% of the world’s population but account for nearly 30% of people living on less than $1 a day. One person in three is undernourished – twice as high as in other poor countries. The death rate from malaria is nearly 13 times higher in fragile states than elsewhere in the developing world, and the proportion of people living with HIV and AIDS is four times higher. People in fragile states are less likely to go to school or to receive essential health care.

WALKING AWAY IS NO OPTION

On a joined-up planet ignoring unstable countries is not an option. Trouble gets exported. From piracy off the coast SOMALIA, to terrorist training camps as we saw in AFGHANISTAN and see in YEMEN. Fragile states may be the hardest places to nurture development – but the problems only grow if we walk away. Fragile states pose tricky questions: we should not prop up tyrants but should we penalise the poorest? Supplying humanitarian aid helps meet immediate needs, but how can we address the underlying chronic problems that leave people constantly in crisis?

NEIGHBOURS FROM HELL

Vulnerable states can slip into a spiral of instability, creating opportunities for criminal and terrorist networks. That instability spreads beyond borders in refugee flows, the spread of HIV and AIDS, arms smuggling and the breakdown of trade. Effective government is critical not just to a country’s citizens, but also to its neighbours – growth is reduced by 0.4% a year when a neighbouring country is fragile.

ECONOMIC FLATLINE

Fragile states become ‘stuck’ without the economic growth that could lift their people from poverty. From 1990 to 2002 their gross domestic product per capita broadly flatlined while other developing countries grew.

A RAPID REPAIR IN AFGHANISTAN

The path to stability is long but sometimes immediate results can be gained. In Sangin District of Helmand Province in AFGHANISTAN, the UK’s Stabilisation Unit realised that local young people were particularly susceptible to Taliban influence – old enough to carry communications and parts for improvised explosive devices but may not be mature enough to understand the consequences of their actions. A ‘Quick Impact Project’ involving ‘Youth Shuras’ saw young people engaged in traditional Afghan methods of debate, community dialogue and decision making, opening vital communication lines between young people and representatives of the state, and reducing the likelihood of radicalisation.

PREVENTION CHEAPER THAN CURE

Working to fix failed states makes economic sense. The average cost of a civil war in a low-income fragile state is around $54bn. It’s much cheaper to prevent states from falling into conflict or collapse than to repair it later. It’s estimated that each £1 spent on conflict prevention saves the international community £4.

RESTORING STABILITY

With 82,000 troops and military observers worldwide, UN peacekeeping missions provide essential security in countries like LIBERIA, COTE D’IVOIRE and HAITI. But achieving a national sense of security and regional stability is essential in the transition from breakdown to recovery. For example, in SIERRA LEONE, a security and justice programme led by DFID helped boost people’s perceptions of security. Support from the UK funded a programme in the Great Lakes region (which includes BURUNDI, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, RWANDA and UGANDA) which has demobilised around 300,000 combatants and reintegrated around 200,000 people, improving peace and security in the region.

NEPAL CLIMBING OUT OF TROUBLE

NEPAL is the 14th poorest country in the world and the poverty of some of its excluded ethnic groups is double the national average. Poor governance has been a key cause of poverty and conflict but rapid political and social change is underway since a 2006 deal between the government and Maoists rebels, ending a ten year civil war that claimed 13,000 lives. Following elections in 2008, the ‘Enabling State Programme’, backed by DFID, is helping fight corruption, improve participation of formerly excluded groups and create ways of resolving disputes. A DFID-supported fund backs Nepali institutions working to sustain democracy through education, helping communities to help themselves, and to speed institutional reform. The situation remains vulnerable but the more people get a say in their future, the stronger it gets.

FAIR COP IN SIERRA LEONE

Despite dazzling mineral wealth, more than a quarter of Sierra Leonians live in extreme poverty. But things are looking up. Following 10 years of civil war, the country has made strides in consolidating peace and rebuilding infrastructure. In 2007, just five years after the end of the civil war free and fair elections took place. Countries emerging from fragility must be able to trust in the local government and the institutions, like the police force and judicial system, that support it. Prior to the election, the Sierra Leonian police – under a DFID-backed scheme – received intensive training on everything from non-violent crowd-control to identifying potential trouble spots.

PICKING UP THE PIECES IN SUDAN

Conflict in Darfur, in western Sudan, has taken 200,000 lives and displaced 2.5 million people since 2003. Investing in education both boosts eventual economic development and helps reconciliation. For example, across Southern Sudan, girls enrolment is up 20% yearon- year, the majority of whom are from disadvantaged groups and children of displaced people.

GRASS ROOTS JUSTICE IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (DRC)

The DRC – home to extraordinary mineral wealth – could be the most prosperous country on the continent. But decades of misrule and two civil wars have left most people desperately poor. There are hopeful signs after the 2006 democratic elections, the first for 40 years, but corruption has been a barrier on the road to stability. The pass that farmer Mwanso Walimbwa wears is one emblem of hope. Wearing it lets corrupt officials know that he knows his rights, and will not be taken advantage of. Mwanso and his neighbours have been taught how to tackle corruption by a farmers’ movement which DFID funds through Christian Aid. “If one of the civil servants asks for money, we say ‘no papa – we know all about what is legal and not legal’ and he runs away.” Members now know how much they should be paying and some have even had paralegal training to defend their claims. As a result, communities are gaining the confidence to have their say in public life, a vital step in the journey towards democracy.

RWANDA ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY

At the end of 1994 almost a million Rwandans were dead and nearly 3 million were refugees, following years of decline and conflict capped by a cataclysmic genocide. The UK was the first country to provide direct support to RWANDA to support them to rebuild state institutions, national infrastructure and individual lives. As a result schools and hospitals have been rebuilt, equal numbers of boys and girls are in school, HIV rates are under control, and an effective taxation system, gathers revenues for a growing national budget. Land ownership – an issue that helped fuel the genocide, is being addressed through practical reforms. Democracy has been boosted by a strengthened electoral system. RWANDA is the first country in the world with a predominantly female parliament. RWANDA has a long way to go but it is rapidly leaving behind the status of ‘fragile state’.

RECOVERY IN SIGHT

Peacebuilding and Statebuilding is the Department for International Development’s main objective in helping fix failed states. This means:

• Supporting an inclusive political settlement.
  
• Addressing the root causes of conflict.
  
• Developing state survival functions (security, justice and revenue management).
  
• Helping the state respond to public expectations (from basic services like healthcare and education to effective governance or democratisation).