Lancaster gives her definition of development as “the freedom to choose a fulfilling life” and suggest that international development has managed to reduce poverty to some extent but there is going to be a shift in development as different sectors and groups come up with different conclusion of what development is. Though poverty has been reduced in some countries like China and India were there has been economic growth, Cohen argues that some African countries are still in poverty such as Somalia, Iraq and Congo. This maybe because some African leaders are only interested in personal gain. DRC president has been found to spend a lot of money on himself while his country has “a per capita gross domestic product of around $1 700”. Because of such governments who have failed to be responsible for their countries poverty in Africa is going to remain a big issue.

International development was basically formed after the 2nd world war when wealthy countries thought of how to increase growth and reduce poverty in poorer countries. Rich countries started to assist poor countries with their economic growth, though the motive was to acquire some raw materials and to increase their export sales and make sure decolonisation rans smoothly. Assistance came through the government or other institutions, as poorer countries become more dependent on Aid wealthy countries stared to lose interest and the official development assistance started to drop. The 21st century saw the rise of some aid agencies who have filled this breach. Agencies such as Oxfam and humanitarian nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) are now providing health care, welfare directly to the citizens and do not work hand in hand with the governments. These private agencies are what Cohen describes as the “new colonist” and the “glue holding society together in many weak states.

International development was all for promoting growth both private and public investments in order to reduce poverty, But in some countries it is “the slow and steady erosion of the host state’s responsibility and the empowerment of the new colonialists” however with time new ideas have been added such as, “Human development and security”, Political rights, “Sustainable development. These might help tackle the issue of poverty in less developed countries.

Amidst all this development still faces some obstacles such as climate change, the fight against infectious diseases (AIDS), Population growth which will mean more aid requirements. Even though the NGOs are working so hard making poverty history will not be that easy. There is lot that needs to be done especially with the corruption in the poor countries. Countries need to be made sustainable and the mutual dependency need to be broken. While the NGOs are doing a lot to reduce poverty, development faces a new challenge “ensuring a livable, peaceful and prosperous world. A sustainable development that will meet the needs of now and the future. Technology is said to have a big impact in the battle of fighting against poverty. Lancaster is of the view that information technologies will empower the poor.