Last week, Representatives Gary Ackerman (D-NY), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) circulated a “Dear Colleague” letter to the entire House of Representatives calling for the naming of an United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator immediately.
On October 29th, Bread for the World President and MFAN Co-Chair Rev. David Beckmann testified at a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on African and Global Health on “A Call to Action on Food Security: The Administration’s Global Strategy.”
In yesterday’s daily press briefing at the State Department, spokesman Ian Kelly responded to a question about the lack of an administrator for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). He noted the number of “factors” that determine when we will have a USAID administrator and underscored the State Department’s anticipation of a nominee.
Today in the Huffington Post Dean of the Hubert Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, former USAID Administrator and MFAN Principal J. Brian Atwood moves beyond the lack of leadership at USAID to highlight other obstacles the Obama Administration must overcome to modernize foreign assistance, make the most of current reviews like the QDDR and the PSD and enter a new era of U.S. global leadership. Atwood lays out four aspects of the political culture that determine the way the U.S. has come to think about development and its foreign assistance.
This weekly posting includes key news stories and opinion pieces related to foreign assistance reform and the larger development community. What we’re reading: Development creeps into Afghanistan dialogue; food security ahead of a new study. What we can achieve in Afghanistan (Washington Post-Robert Zoellick, October 30)First, we need to “secure development” — that is, create … Continue reading Noteworthy News- 10.30
Save the Children published “Modernizing Foreign Assistance: Insights from Liberia” evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of U.S. aid programs in the country. Oxfam’s Aid Effectiveness team released a Smart Development in Practice report on transparency between local governments and USAID in Indonesia.
MFAN Principal and senior policy analyst at the Center for Global Development (CGD) Sheila Herrling launched a poll today on the Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance blog asking individuals whether they think we will have a much-needed U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator by the end of the year given the Senate confirmation process.
Today the Center for Global Development released its latest Commitment to Development Index (CDI), which ranks 22 of the world’s richest countries based on their dedication to policies that benefit the developing world. The index is unique in that it measures national efforts in seven key policy areas: aid, trade, investment, migration, environment, security and technology.
In a newly published country study – “Modernizing Foreign Assistance: Insights from Bangladesh” – MFAN partner organization Save the Children highlights how our development policies give with one hand, and take with the other. For example, in 2008, for every $1 in aid the USG provided to Bangladesh, Bangladesh paid $3 in tariffs on goods exported to the U.S.
Last Wednesday, the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, an MFAN partner organization, launched its “Putting Smart Power to Work” campaign by hosting Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Jack Lew, State Department Director of Policy and Planning Anne-Marie Slaughter, and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Acting Administrator Alonzo Fulgham for the first public dialogue on the State Department’s Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR). The event featured the three principal architects of the QDDR for a panel discussion of the review process.
