Administrator Henrietta Holsman Fore
Remarks to the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid
Thursday, October 2, 2008, 11:00 a.m
(Remarks as prepared for delivery)
It is a privilege to address this, the final public meeting of 2008 of the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid. I am always grateful for the work of the Committee members and I look forward to your constructive and purposeful recommendations, for the public interest in your work and the work of USAID.
I would like to welcome a new member to the Advisory Committee, Jack Galbraith, who is the President and CEO of the Catholic Medical Mission Board. Having previously served on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, Jack has first-hand knowledge of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief - PEPFAR. This will strengthen the already deep knowledge base of our Subcommittee on infectious diseases, including both their treatment and prevention. I am delighted to have his experience and expertise informing the work of the Committee under the leadership of John Sullivan, the Chair and Carol Adelman, the Vice Chair.
Appreciation for ACVFA Initiatives
I regret that I was not able to attend the Committee's most recent public meeting in June in Atlanta. I have heard glowing reports on the success of that meeting, and of the warm reception that was given by the business and nonprofit communities of Atlanta. Thank you to Helene Gayle and Michael Nyenhuis for their work to make it a success. Since that meeting, I have received the Committee's case studies highlighting the integration of democratic governance and economic growth. These case studies, you will recall, are an outgrowth of the February public meeting and its forum on Democratic Governance and Economic Growth. The studies provide a "real world" examination of projects in 14 countries that have shown the positive and durable results of foreign assistance projects that link governance with economic growth.
One such case study in Egypt highlighted the work of USAID and its partner, the American Development Foundation, to enable small business associations to build effective networks and thus become better advocates for small and medium enterprises with local and national governing authorities.
Now, more than ever, the projects highlighted in the ACVFA's case studies are needed. These key economic principles work in the United States and around the world.
Free markets and free societies are vital to improving the lives of
millions of men, women and children around the world. There are
principles that have stood the test of time in our country and which, if
thoughtfully implemented, will be for the benefit of countless others: 1)
growth begins with competitive firms, 2) economic governance, laws
and environment drives growth, and 3) the availability of finance, of
infrastructure, and of an educated and healthy workforce, for example,
can influence the rate and direction of growth. Other important
principles include the enforcement of anti-corruption measures and an
independent banking system which is fairly regulated.
Last February, I requested the ACVFA to consider establishing a subcommittee that would focus on ways to strengthen the American consensus for foreign assistance. I was pleased that the Committee accepted my suggestion and formed the Public Outreach Subcommittee last May.
I would like to thank the co-chairs, Paul Clark and Sig Rogich (Sig could not be with us today), as well as the subcommittee members -- Deborah Bensen, Craig Charney, Mike Kiernan, Mike McCurry, Bill Reese, Johanna Schneider, Rob Tappan and Ellen Yount. I realize that not all of them could be at today's meeting but I would like to thank them for their ongoing service.
I cannot tell you how important I believe it is that we increase the knowledge and understanding of our foreign assistance activities - the American people need to know how their tax dollars are being used overseas - and need to know the successes with these resources that we are all achieving. Overseas, where we work, the citizens of the countries partnering with us must know that our work in support of their national development plan is "From the American People."
I would like to recognize just a few of the key recommendations that were discussed earlier this morning .
First, the report highlights the fact that knowledge of U.S. foreign assistance is limited - both with Americans domestically, and abroad in the more than 100 countries where USAID and its partners have worked, in some cases, for decades.
Second, the report encourages USAID to "play to its strengths" - including the current and former USAID staff who give "voice" to the agency's work both here in their hometowns, as well as overseas through the public affairs officers of our USAID Missions, known as Development Outreach and Communications specialists.
At the country level, USAID has implemented its public affairs programs, as I mentioned before, with much success in such countries as Indonesia and Lebanon. Within the past few days, we have taken an exciting step forward by starting a new country campaign in Pakistan -- one that is being modeled on the private sector's best practices and with a country-wide reach -- to increase the awareness and understanding of our partnership with the Pakistani people. The campaign will be multi-faceted, using radio, television, billboards and print ads to deliver our message of partnership and our commitment to a better future for all of Pakistan.
However, there are still challenges and opportunities for its continued success. I am urging stronger coordination between our mission's public affairs efforts and the US Embassy public affairs staffs. I also hope to see more aggressiveness among our missions in allocating the needed funds for public outreach - including evaluations to monitor the effectiveness of these efforts.
The new subcommittee's draft report reflects numerous consultations and the best thinking of leaders in public affairs. I look forward to their finalized recommendations next month and their implementation in the months ahead.
The Development Leadership Initiative
Since the Committee's last meeting in June, USAID has graduated its first two classes of new Foreign Service officers under the Development Leadership Initiative (DLI) - and we have begun training our third class. I am pleased that both John Sullivan and Ted Weihe have been able to address the classes -- educating them on the work of the ACVFA and the important role it plays in providing advice on behalf of the larger partner community it represents.
When we welcomed the first class of DLI officers I often heard them say, "I've always wanted a job with USAID because it's great to mix serving my country, to help the people of the world."
Our Human Resources office has told me that our new officers are brimming with enthusiasm and idealism. Again and again, I hear how many of the new officers describe USAID as a special calling, even as "a dream job."
I am proud that our new recruits represent talent and diversity. They include an Eagle Scout, military servicemen, former Capitol Hill aides, a former aide to a U.S. Supreme Court Justice, journalists, lawyers, social workers, and business executives and entrepreneurs. Many speak a wide range of languages and have performed service already in dozens of developing countries. About one half are former Peace Corps volunteers. Half are women. Half have business experience and there is more diversity. I have great confidence in them, and I believe you will be very pleased to interact with them during the years to come.
United Nations General Assembly
Last week, the United Nations General Assembly opened in New York. Immediately after the President addressed the General Assembly, he joined a USAID event, celebrating public-private partnerships as the next wave, the strongest wave in meeting the challenge of world hunger. This is a subject about which the President is passionate, and he spoke of the need to address the twin devastations of poverty and hunger.
This was a working meeting of CEO's from business, NGOs and land-grant universities (and our own BIFAD), leaders from foundations and multilateral organizations. "We're a strong enough nation to help people in our own country who are having trouble, but we're also strong enough to help others as well." Here, he is making the case for the continued need for a U.S. foreign assistance program. As a public-private group we will meet the challenge of hunger in the world.
We also hosted a working lunch for African heads of state during which we shared ideas to help small shareholders, farmers and move agribusiness development. We sponsored an opportunity called MarketPlace for our private sector partners to showcase public-private partnerships that was visible to thousands of attendees at events within the UN headquarters. We were part of the creation of a fund for literacy with the First Lady. We participated in dozens of bilateral meetings with heads of state and senior government officials. We spoke about malaria, HIV/Aids, nutrition, science, education, environment, elections, democracy laws, women, economic growth and all our development subjects.
The Accra Agenda for Action
A month ago I represented the United States in Accra, Ghana, at the High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, the mid-point review of progress on the Paris Declaration. At the end of three days of intense discussions, our delegation joined in endorsing the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA). We welcome it as a realistically ambitious agenda to accelerate progress on the Paris Declaration. The AAA seeks to change the landscape of poverty and help developing nations to manage aid more effectively.
I want to emphasize a few key points about the agreement that we reached, as they have implications for all of us.
First, the AAA reflects important U.S. values - it deepens democratic ownership, recognizes civil society organizations as actors in their own right, and strengthens transparency and mutual accountability for development results.
Second, the agreement was founded on broad and deep consultations. The developing partner countries were well prepared and highly organized to achieve their own priorities. This created a new and different dynamic of partnership that we hope to see continued and expanded.
Third, the U.S. Government and U.S. civil society involved in delivering assistance are going to have to change in order to meet our commitments and make our aid effective. The thrust of the AAA is to increase democratic ownership and put the host countries in the drivers' seat of their own development.
Update on Global Development Commons
We continue to make progress advancing our vision of a Global Development Commons for the broader international development community. During the Commons' pilot phase, we have chosen to focus on demonstrating the potential of information and communication technology to transform the way the development community does business.
Through the Commons, we are developing partnerships with other development community actors, governments, and companies to apply Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology to enable tracking, reporting, coordination, and information sharing around complex development challenges.
The first pilot program of the Commons involves a GIS partnership in West Africa. This program supports the African Union's efforts to develop better functioning trade corridors for enhanced prosperity and food security in the region. Our second GIS pilot focuses on disaster management in Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi government is an eager partner, given the frequency of challenges from natural disasters in that country.
Also, we are working to improve our ability to share U.S. Government development information by working with Google to upgrade our search tools. Soon you will be able to more easily and accurately find USAID's information on the World Wide Web, as well as search all USAID program-funded websites, and development information from all U.S. Government agencies and departments.
Conclusion: The USAID Renaissance
To conclude, I want to express my deepest gratitude to all of the ACVFA members, subcommittee members, and other stakeholders. Thanks to your ideas and energy, this past year we have made a stunning, historic change to revitalize foreign assistance.
Day by day, we are expanding the quantity and quality of our professional staff, we are forging new partnerships with the private and nonprofit sector, and we are improving the coordination of foreign assistance under the national security framework of our government. In no small part because of your support, we are in the midst of the USAID renaissance and I thank you.
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