On November 22, Bread for the World Institute released its 2011 Hunger Report, which focuses on the global response to the 2007-2008 food price crisis that led to a dramatic rise in hunger and poverty, and U.S. leadership in galvanizing the international community. Read further for USAID Administrator Shah’s comments on the Hunger Report.
On Wednesday November 17th, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) held a nomination hearing for Jack Lew’s replacement as Deputy Secretary of State – Thomas Nides. In his opening remarks, SFRC Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) underscored the work that will continue as the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) is rolled out. Ranking Member Richard Lugar (R-IN) pointed out the importance of the position and reminded Nides that the committee has drafted and passed legislation to advance the objective of a balanced foreign policy with the help of Secretary Gates and Secretary Clinton.
On November 18, 2010, The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) held a discussion of Jerry Hyman’s article “Foreign Policy and Development: Structure, Process, Policy and the Drip-by-Drip Erosion of USAID.” Panelists included Jerry Hyman, President of the Hills Program on Governance at CSIS; MFAN Principal Jim Kolbe, Senior Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund and former Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State/Foreign Operations; and Larry Garber, USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator for Africa. The discussion, which was moderated by Dan Runde, Director of the Project on Prosperity and Development at CSIS, focused on the inherent tensions between foreign policy and development policy. Runde said when the question is asked, “Who is in charge of U.S. development policy?” the answer is often times: “It depends.”
Sixteen months after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced that the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) would conduct the first-ever Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR), a draft summary has been presented to Congress as reported by The Washington Post, and gives us a first glimpse of changes we can expect to see at both agencies.
Statement delivered on behalf of MFAN by Co-Chairs David Beckmann and George Ingram:The leaked summary of Secretary Clinton’s QDDR shows positive movement towards a more streamlined, coherent, and coordinated approach to development by the State Department and USAID.
On November 17, the Academy for Education Development hosted the UNDP Washington Roundtable event “The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development,” a discussion on the UNDP’s 20th anniversary of the Human Development Report. To see the complete findings of the 2010 Human Development Report, click here.
As the first non-G8 member to host a G20 summit, South Korea has made development a central part of the agenda, with a focus on boosting the growth of poor countries. And in September, President Obama released a Global Development Policy at the MDG Summit that hit similar notes, like going beyond aid and harmonizing policies on trade, food security, and climate change that affect millions of poor people. But did these two policies meet in Seoul?
The Brookings Institution held a discussion of Delivering Aid Differently: Lessons from the Field with editors Homi Kharas, Senior Fellow and Deputy Director of Global Economy and Development at Brookings; and Wolfgang Fengler, lead economist in the Nairobi office of the World Bank. The discussion focused on the fragmented delivery of aid and possible solutions for a new operating system. Ezra Suruma, Visiting Fellow at Brookings and Senior Presidential Advisor on Finance and Planning in Uganda, added to the discussion by providing the perspective of aid delivery from an aid-recipient country.
The different gaps in USAID’s leadership have different consequences for the Agency’s clout in Washington and for offices in the field. Within our own conversations, we’ve heard reasons for why certain AA positions are more critical to fill than others; the health community, for example, has a valid point when it says that the missing AA for Global Health means that the Agency lacks the ability to coordinate strategy with the President’s new Global Health Initiative. But does that make it the most important AA position to fill? Or should the priority be on a particular regional bureau, on Legislative and Public Affairs or on something else?
“For the emerging economies, development is about more than just aid. It’s a package of policies connected to trade, finance, and investment – not charity. China, Brazil, and India view development through the lens of partnerships (South-South cooperation) and investment opportunities. These perspectives are shaping the G20 agenda. The current communiqué draft states that the level of aid is important, but economic growth is the primary driver of poverty reduction. The G20 “Seoul consensus for shared growth” agreement under consideration consists of a broad set of pillars: infrastructure, private investment, financial inclusion, social protection, good governance, and food security.”
