Since 1961 through the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA), the US government has given development assistance to other countries to enhance our national security, reduce poverty, and promote our values. The FAA also established the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to administer programs outlined in the act. Over time the FAA has been expanded, with now more than fifty US agencies and departments administering foreign assistance, creating numerous conflicting programs, and a fragmented organizational structure.
MSH is engaged in foreign assistance reform through its membership in the InterAction coalition and the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network. We believe that in order to save lives and improve the health of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people there must be a supportive policy environment and increased US and global resources for health. Through our foreign assistance reform activities we bring forth our technical expertise and almost 40 years of experience.
US elected officials and international NGOs have called for a review of the goals for US foreign assistance and the FAA many times over the years with few substantial changes. In 2008 there was a renewed interest and momentum for foreign assistance reform in the US House of Representatives, US Senate, and with then Candidate Barack Obama. In 2009 that momentum turned into action with leadership in the Congress and in the Administration. Although the measures vary in scope, the overall goal of all of the bills and initiatives is to reform current US development and foreign assistance practices to increase efficiency, efficacy, and sustainability.
Measures initiated by the Obama administration include:
- Presidential Study Directive (PSD)
President Obama signed a Presidential Study Directive (PSD-7) on August 31, 2009, calling for a government-wide review of US global development policy. The review will include all US government agencies involved in global development as well as Congress and constituents. As of June, the Administration said that the PSD-7 would become public.
- Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR)
In July 2009 the State Department announced it would undertake the QDDR, modeled on the Pentagon’s Quadrennial Defense Review. The QDDR’s goal is to create a more coherent and coordinated whole-of-government approach to achieving US development objectives, encompassing everything from foreign assistance to trade, defense, agriculture, and economic policy. The QDDR is scheduled for release in fall 2010. For more information
- Feed the Future
In April 2009, President Barack Obama announced a new program to end world hunger, mainly by strengthening agriculture in poor countries. Details of the new global hunger and food security initiative, now called Feed the Future, were publicly released on May 20, 2010, in Washington, DC.