Powerful countries often have obligations toward weaker countries to provide military aid in times of need. They have these obligations not only if they are part of a treaty, but also if they need help to fight something that the more powerful country stands against. For example, powerful democracies have obligations to help weaker countries if their democracy is threatened. In such cases powerful countries should provide as much aid as they can give to help solve the problems. Where people's liberties are threatened, powerful countries need to do what they can to ensure that people's rights are protected. Powerful countries also have obligations to help when one country tries to take control of another. One example is World War II, when the Allies eventually stopped Hitler from achieving his goal of controlling large portions of the world. By taking this initiative, they stopped one of the largest crimes seen by humanity: the genocide of the Jewish people.
Wealthy nations have similar obligations to poorer states, especially when it comes to financial aid for health care. When one nation has a health epidemic and does not have the funds or resources to stop it, it is the duty of wealthier countries to help put it to a stop. This will not only save lives in the poorer state but also stop the spread of the disease into other countries. Financial help for health care needs to be given by all wealthy nations as part of helping the progress of the global community. Wealthy nations should also provide food aid and invest time, research and money into programs to help stop poverty. Many of these problems are of world wide concern and will not be stopped merely with the resources of the poorer nations. Both powerful and weak, wealthy and poor nations need to work together to solve global problems.
I agree that when a state has a health epidemic but does not have the funds to stop it, it is the responsibility of other nations with the money and resources to assist the state, for eventually it could affect their state as well. As an example we can look at the work going on today by the U.S. to help the AIDs epidemic in Africa. U.S. foreign assistance provides help to 47 countries in Africa struggling with AIDs, malaria and other diseases. The U.S. also tries to support stable and secure development for the states with “transformational diplomacy” which seeks to help poorer African nations reduce wide-spread poverty, respond to the needs of their people and learn how to conduct themselves responsibly in the international system.
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