On Tuesday, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Dr. Rajiv Shah spoke at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) regarding the president’s Global Health Initiative (GHI), and the steps that USAID is taking to provide effective, long-term assistance.
MFAN’s members have been out in force reacting to the House of Representatives decision to cut $4 billion from President Obama’s request for the International Affairs Budget, which funds the civilian instruments of U.S. global engagement, particularly foreign aid.
“What would they do with the extra income if they had it? I asked. They told me that they would first buy some land as a group sothey are not always worried about losing it to men in the community, or discouraged from improving it (because it could be taken away from them at any moment). Next, they said, they would dig communal wells, so they could access better water and avoid the hours of travel that take away from time farming or caring for their children.”
Read Ambassador Mark Green’s next blog post in a series discussing why conservatives should care about foreign assistance reform. Like most Conservatives, he believes that while foreign assistance should help those in need, it must also help America’s image and interests on the world stage. We support foreign assistance because it is the right thing to do, but also because – done right – it is the smart thing to do. But again, how “smart” can a project be if its funding source is hidden by bureaucratic branding and self-promotion?
Nearly one year out, it’s hard to see whether we’re any closer to agreement. Eighteen months into this administration, the delay means President Obama and his team are running out of time not just to issue strategies, but to implement any reforms. The less time there is for the reforms to get traction, the less likely they’ll create any lasting legacy.”
InterAction is a coalition of U.S.-based nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) advocating greater coherence of U.S. foreign aid and development programs. InterAction has called for development to be elevated as a national priority, emphasizing its significance if our nation seeks greater engagement with the rest of the world.
One partner, Oxfam America has developed an Aid Reform program dedicated to bringing the voices and priorities of people living in poverty to the center of policy and practice. Oxfam believes that improving poverty-focused aid, rather than aid for security or strategic purposes, is the only way to make the U.S. a truly effective provider of foreign aid, by saving lives and helping nearly half of the world’s population to overcome poverty.
St. Louis talked about the lack of political will and misconceptions about foreign aid spending that have slowed progress on commitments. With the G8 and G20 summits in Canada this weekend, the report is a great resource to measure what still needs to be done.
“Both will be released to the public, and in both cases, as soon as possible. I believe the Presidential Study Directive which is one of the things to which you referred, will perhaps be public sooner. The QDDR, which is the Quadrennial Development and Diplomacy Review which was launched by Secretary Clinton, will be publicly available this fall.”
Mark Green served in Congress from 1999 to 2007, and was a proud member of the unprecedented bipartisan coalition which launched foreign assistance initiatives that have lifted America’s role in the developing world. From President Bush’s HIV/AIDS initiative (PEPFAR) to the Millennium Challenge Act (MCA) to the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), these historic programs have changed the course of human history in some of the world’s most impoverished lands. None of these would have been possible without the leadership of conservative members of Congress and the George W. Bush Administration.
