The argument involving Comic Relief and MP David Lammy in the run-up to this year’s Red Nose Day made me reflect on my own involvement, and on charity in general. Comic Relief has raised over £1bn for many incredibly deserving causes, something I wholeheartedly support and feel proud to be associated with. I am, however, writing this before the show, so it’s possible I will make a career-ending error, in which case; goodbye.

My take on the Stacey Dooley incident, if anybody needs another one, is this: it was naive. Dooley has made some excellent and challenging television, and went to Africa with the best of intentions. The photograph of her holding a young boy was, however, taken without proper consideration of what that imagery signifies for people of African descent. It can’t be denied that fundraising and televised charity have led to the stereotyping of African countries as disease-ridden poverty zones. Swooping in and picking up kids for photo opportunities is, at best, insensitive. I may not completely agree with David Lammy, because the direct result could well be that fewer people made donations. But his central argument – that these photos promote a stereotype that has been reinforced by charity work of this nature – echoes concerns that many people have had for a long time.

I went to Ethiopia last year and was shown around by a local, Mike, who found it simultaneously amusing and frustrating that a three-year famine that had occurred before his lifetime had led to his country for ever being defined as a charity case. Nearly 35 years after Band Aid, visitors still commented in surprise at the level of infrastructure and abundance of food. Nobody is denying parts of Africa need help; but if this publicity is not balanced with coverage of the continent’s more successful side, can you blame the British public for having a skewed perspective?

Social media is not a great place for debate, but even for the internet, some of the arguments defending Comic Relief were depressing: “Saying a white person can’t pick up a black child and take a photo is racist. You wouldn’t say that if it was the other way round.” I am not of the school of belief that racism cannot be experienced by white people, but the argument that the reversal of ethnicities is an equivalence is so flawed I cannot bring myself to engage with it.

The obvious question is: why does it have to be this way? Part of the answer is that we are desensitised to the needs of those less fortunate. We are only motivated to donate money by simple, unnuanced images and causes. Of course Comic Relief doesn’t just give money to that kid with flies all over him. There are many complex issues they engage with, but these are not easily explained and do not encourage the public to reach into their pockets and help. Think I’m being harsh? Remember there are people in the UK who dismissed the Syrian refugee crisis because they saw photos of some of them with mobile phones. Comic Relief has the difficult job of motivating an increasingly indifferent nation, and that means losing a bit of nuance.

I myself introduced a video about a family describing their son’s suicide, particularly poignant for me as a close friend took his own life last year. I found it challenging to watch, but it certainly inspires you to do what you can to help. I’m not saying this excuses the “white saviour” phenomenon, or the “African poverty” narrative. What I am saying is that Comic Relief needs to improve, but that it has done an incredible job when it comes to helping many people lead better lives. Perhaps we should force change in a more collaborative manner.