USGLC Report Finds Consensus on U.S. Development Policy

By: Staff Person
June 5, 2013

The elevation of development alongside diplomacy and defense, the continuing implementation of the USAID Forward agenda, the introduction of legislation like the Rep. Gerry Connolly’s (D-VA) Global Partnerships Act and the Rep. Ted Poe’s (R-TX) Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act, and President Obama’s proposal to reform U.S. food aid are all positive signs that the reform agenda is making headway. However, the Administration and Congress must work together to institutionalize these important reforms so that progress is not lost as political winds shift in Washington.

High Level Panel Releases Report on Post-2015 Development Agenda

By: Staff Person
June 4, 2013

Achieving this lofty—and vital—goal will require agreement not only on a new round of MDGs, but also a much more coordinated and collaborative approach to development among nations rich and poor around the world, an approach that recognizes the value that each stakeholder adds to the effort and uses resources to maximum effect and with maximum accountability. We at MFAN look forward to working with the Administration and Congress to ensure that U.S. policy supports this aligned and collaborative approach.

Foreign Assistance Dashboard Adds Treasury and Defense Data

By: Staff Person
May 28, 2013

Five US agencies that have a role in US foreign aid now have some—but not all—data on the Foreign Assistance Dashboard. These five agencies accounted for roughly eighty-six percent of aid spending in 2011. The Foreign Assistance Dashboard expects twenty-two separate US federal agencies and departments to report data.

President Notes Value of Foreign Aid in Major Speech

By: Staff Person
May 24, 2013

“I know that foreign aid is one of the least popular expenditures – even though it amounts to less than one percent of the federal budget. But foreign assistance cannot be viewed as charity. It is fundamental to our national security, and any sensible long-term strategy to battle extremism.”

The Bar on Food Aid Reform has been Raised: The Senate and House Must Act.

By: Staff Person
May 13, 2013

We urge Senate leaders to work with the Administration to achieve stronger reforms in food aid programs so that American tax dollars can go farther and American compassion can reach more people in need. On the House side, we remain disappointed that the House Agriculture Committee draft once again fails to incorporate any reforms.

Get the Facts on Food Aid Reform

By: Staff Person
May 1, 2013

vPresident Obama’s FY2014 budget request proposal to reform food aid has sparked renewed debate on whether the current system could provide food to those in need more effectively and efficiently. The President’s proposal aims to improve the Food for Peace program that distributes emergency food assistance by providing more flexibility to purchase food locally and regionally in addition to shipping commodities from the U.S. Moreover, the proposal would eliminate inefficient practices such as the “monetization” of food aid that occurs when NGOs are provided commodities to sell in local markets in order to fund development projects, rather than funding these projects directly.

Why Congress Should Care About the International Aid Transparency Initiative

By: Staff Person
April 18, 2013

Congress needs to understand that the dashboard and IATI are the tools it has been searching for. Members continuously complain about the opaqueness of foreign assistance – how much assistance is the U.S. providing, to what countries, for what purposes, in cooperation with whom, to what effect? Where is the information to explain to constituents how their tax dollars are being spent? Together the dashboard and IATI will provide this information.

Transforming foreign assistance

By: Staff Person
April 15, 2013

ompleting the transformation of U.S. foreign assistance will reposition the U.S. as not just the most generous, but also the most strategic, innovative, and effective player in global development. We have saved and improved millions of lives over the last ten years and our efforts have helped strengthen our image abroad: a new field survey of aid recipient countries by Oxfam America finds that 83 percent of respondents believe the U.S. is a better development partner now than five years ago. The opportunity at hand for the next ten years is to turn progress into lasting change by helping those people take control of their own lives.

From day one: Transparency at the heart

By: Staff Person
April 8, 2013

The principles the President championed the first day of his Presidency are reflected in the reform and evaluation processes undertaken by key US development agencies – new and better data enables citizens to hold their governments to account, and transparency helps to make programs more efficient. But the commitments the US has made to aid transparency are stifled by the approach it has chosen to meet them. US development agencies need to be encouraged to publish what they can, as soon as they can.

From Better “Stuff” To More “Power”: Why transparency matters

By: Staff Person
March 27, 2013

Please see below for a post from Paul O’Brien, Vice President for Policy and Campaigns at Oxfam America. This piece originally appeared on Oxfam’s blog, Politics of Poverty. Will Raj Shah commit USAID to joining the top 10% most transparent donors by the time he leaves his USAID Administrator post? He might do so, but looking at his … Continue reading From Better “Stuff” To More “Power”: Why transparency matters