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Tag: USAID

 

Foreign Aid in Congress: Five Contradictions

4/29/13
Sarah Jane Staats

I was pleasantly surprised by the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing last week on the FY2014 USAID and MCC budgets. I expected a remix of the partisan spats I watched two years ago. Instead, there was impressive congressional turnout plus serious questions and thorough answers. There was even some friendly competition between USAID and MCC. But five contradictions come up anytime foreign aid is on the Hill and the latest budget hearing was no exception.

Foreign Aid Remix: Yohannes and Shah Head Back to the Hill

4/24/13
Sarah Jane Staats

MCC CEO Daniel Yohannes and USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah are heading back to Capitol Hill Thursday to testify together before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. I expect Yohannes and Shah will sing different parts of the same tune: the United States is prepared to do more with less as it strives to fulfill the administration’s global development vision. But it should also be a remix of their joint hearing two years ago with questions on how Congress should prioritize among US development programs. Shah and Yohannes can hit some new high notes on how their agencies are being selective with aid dollars, sharing more aid data and doing better evaluation. They should also be clear about the differences between USAID and MCC. And let’s hope the committee members can avoid the low notes from two years ago when partisan spats (including some in Latin) marred what could have been an important development policy conversation between the executive branch and Congress.

Not Your Father's USAID

3/25/13
Sarah Jane Staats

This is a joint post with Sarah Rose.

It's not your father's USAID. That's the big message in USAID's first progress report on how the agency, under Administrator Rajiv Shah's leadership, is trying to be smarter about where and how it delivers aid around the world. There's a lot to like in the report: better evaluation, more developing-country partners, mobile technology and an end to some programs. This is all good news for revamping USAID, but our enthusiasm is tempered by the constraints USAID can’t fix alone. 

Spotted: Development in the 2013 SOTU

2/13/13
Jenny Ottenhoff

My (low) expectations for the 2013 State of the Union address were happily exceeded when President Obama delivered an ambitious speech that spanned a myriad of US and foreign policy topics.  Admittedly, most of his remarks on development were cleverly disguised as domestic issues.  But the 100+ wonks gathered at CGD’s annual State of the Union Bingo event weren't fooled, as mentions of climate change, immigration and trade set ink daubers in motion and prompted victorious shouts o

Taliban’s New Weapon: Childhood Vaccination

12/19/12
Amanda Glassman

This week, eight polio vaccination workers in Sindh and Peshawar have been killed in Pakistan during a three day anti-polio drive (see here). Last week in Afghanistan, two polio vaccinators were also killed. Suspicions of CIA involvement in the campaign have been identified as causes of the attacks. “Our teams are getting attacked, and we are having a hard time hiring health workers because they are worried about being called a spy,” said the Head of Medicine in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province earlier this summer.

Forward with USAID Procurement Reform?

11/16/12
Franck Wiebe

President Obama isn't the only government official who promised to deliver change. Two years ago, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah launched USAID Forward, a blueprint for reforming the way America’s largest foreign aid agency does business. Among the changes: Implementation and Procurement Reform (IPR) to triple USAID funding directly to and through developing country governments, businesses and NGOs by 2015. This could be a good thing – less expensive contracts in some cases may deliver good or even better results – but as USAID puts the new policies into practice, the agency’s leadership should keep an eye on  program quality, competition and capacity.

Forget Waiting: Three Foreign Aid Tasks for Three Months

11/13/12
Sarah Jane Staats

President Barack Obama's re-election gives him four more years to carry out his US global development policy vision. While no one expects the lame duck session to produce mighty development policy, my colleagues and I have a few ideas explained in short videos that could  help President Obama and his development team get a running start on his second term.

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