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.

MFAN Statement: USAID Offers Evidence of Reform Progress

By: Staff Person
March 20, 2013

This progress could not have come at a better time; budget pressures demand better results, and the Agency will bear greater responsibility at the leading edge of U.S. foreign policy as our military leverage decreases in places like Afghanistan and the greater Middle East.

Public, Private, and Civil Society Partnerships in Action

By: Staff Person
January 14, 2013

The alliance between USAID, Save the Children, and GMCR is intended to maximize the use of resources and help identify new solutions to challenges affecting these communities. Sometimes the alliance organizations face challenges of their own—coordinating work plans, reporting on technical outcomes, and carrying out their separate missions.

Building resilience in the Horn of Africa

By: Staff Person
December 3, 2012

Today USAID will unveil a new resilience strategy to support chronically risk-prone communities in between, before and after the repeat cycles of disaster. Furthermore, the agency will begin to broadly apply instruments, such as the “crisis modifier”, to quicken the pace of disaster response in the Horn of Africa and in other regions.

MFAN Statement: Development Community Declares Support for USAID’s Procurement Reform Initiative

By: Staff Person
September 27, 2012

We are pleased that dozens of development practitioners, foundations, implementers, and scholars have joined together to voice support for USAID’s Implementation and Procurement Reform (IPR) initiative. USAID’s IPR initiative will help to empower local citizens in partner countries to drive the development process, combat corruption, and hold their own governments accountable.

How is USAID Implementing the President’s Global Development Policy?

By: Staff Person
May 31, 2012

The same day the PPD was released, the President, during his speech to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Summit, hammered home the importance of emphasizing economic growth, calling it “the most powerful force the world has ever known for eradicating poverty and creating opportunity….” As USAID’s response to MFAN displays, it appears that the process of converting the President’s priority into the USAID business model remains a work in progress. Four “Partnership for Growth” countries have been designated; a new economic growth strategy paper has been promised; and the USAID Policy Framework mentions economic growth as the fourth of its seven “Core Development Objectives.” Given PPD-6’s powerful endorsement of economic growth, these steps seem modest at best.

Stuck in the bottom of your stocking

By: Staff Person
January 9, 2012

Since Administrator Rajiv Shah came on board, USAID has been trying to rebuild itself so it can build stronger partnerships with poor countries and their people. It’s based in the reality of good development, which is that development isn’t something done by USAID—development is done by poor people and poor countries themselves.

Foreign Assistance is Key to Reinforcing Diplomacy in Sudan

By: Staff Person
April 12, 2011

While much of the aid that the United States sends abroad directly addresses health, food and security needs, a similarly important portion of U.S. assistance benefits the environmental conservation work in developing countries. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Biodiversity Program, Sustainable Landscapes, and Adaptation Program all seek to protect the natural environment in places that, for mostly economic reasons, are under threat.

The United States Institute of Peace: A “Think and Do” Tank

By: Staff Person
April 5, 2011

Click here to read a guest blog post by Col. Greg Hermsmeyer, USAF (ret.) on the important role of the U.S. Institute of Peace. He says, “I have worked on the defense and civilian sides of international affairs and know from firsthand experience that USIP is not just another “think tank.” The Institute and its cadre of dedicated peace-builders provide a critical bridge between the military—where I served for 21 years—and the non-military sectors and is a vital national security resource.”

U.S. Development Firms Lead by Example

By: Staff Person
March 30, 2011

With all the talk about whether foreign assistance is achieving its intended results, recent success stories demonstrate that economic development remains the strongest foundation for advances in all other sectors, such as health, governance, education and the empowerment of minorities and women. These successful projects show how U.S. development firms lead by example, teaching entrepreneurship and efficiency and creating thriving local businesses.