Noteworthy News – 4.30

By: Staff Person
May 3, 2010

This weekly posting includes key news stories and opinion pieces related to foreign assistance reform and broader global development issues.

State Department Authorization Passes out of SFRC

By: Staff Person
April 30, 2010

On Wednesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed the State Department Authorization Bill, S.2971, by voice vote – the first State authorization bill to pass out of the SFRC in five years. The revised bill focuses on reforms at the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), the State Department, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), among others.

Lew, Shah Outline Obama Administration’s Food Security Plans

By: Staff Person
April 27, 2010

In a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing last week, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Jack Lew and USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah provided an update on the status of the Administration’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative (GHFSI).

MFAN Weighs In: Development Policy Debate Heats Up

By: Staff Person
April 26, 2010

Last week, the White House’s National Security Council convened its Deputies Committee, a gathering of high-level representatives from all the major agencies in government, to pave the way for the Presidential Study Directive on Global Development Policy (PSD) and the interim findings of the State Department’s Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) to be finalized.

Senators Kerry, Durbin, Cardin Introduce Urban Development Bill

By: Staff Person
April 21, 2010

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA), along with Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), yesterday introduced legislation to address the challenges of urbanization in developing countries.

Lew and Shah Brief on Recent AfPak Trip

By: Staff Person
April 19, 2010

“I think that it is an extremely difficult challenge which will come up each time we have a program being put in place that this coordination takes time, it takes effort, it takes flexibility. It’s not the history of the way we’ve provided assistance in the past in other places, so we’re in very difficult environments trying to bring together all of the different instrumentalities to work in a coordinated way. I think we saw some places where that had worked better than others. We also saw some processes that we could improve to make it even more effective.”

Reporter Profile: Josh Rogin, The Cable

By: Staff Person
April 15, 2010

On a regular basis, MFAN will profile reporters who cover issues related to foreign assistance reform and development like global health, trade, and the environment. Today, we start with Josh Rogin who authors ForeignPolicy.com’s The Cable blog and has a regular column on The Washington Post’s The Fed Page.

Brookings, CSIS Issue New Report on Foreign Assistance Reform

By: Staff Person
April 8, 2010

In a new report by co-authors Noam Unger (Fellow, Global Economy and Development, Brookings Institution and MFAN Principal), Margaret Taylor (Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies Post-Conflict Reconstruction Project), and Frederick Barton (former co-director of the CSIS Post-Conflict Reconstruction Project), policymakers are presented with key recommendations to inform a coherent and effective national approach to both stabilization and broader development.

Sec. Clinton’s Remarks on World Health Day

By: Staff Person
April 7, 2010

The United States and our international partners are committed to improving health and strengthening health systems around the world. We understand that addressing global health challenges is not just a humanitarian imperative — it will also bolster global security, foster political stability and promote economic growth and development.