There was a timely article on yesterday’s Huffington Post about the financial crisis and its potential impact on global development programs. We know that foreign assistance is a critical
part of our foreign policy and following through on our commitments for a stable and secure world is as important now as ever before.

Excerpts below, full piece here

Foreign assistance plays a key role in restoring America’s image abroad, and many experts, including military leaders, have made clear its crucial role in preventing the emergence of failed states.

After years of failed US policies abroad, now is exactly the wrong time to engage in isolationism. Warning against a tendency toward isolationism in the face of the current downturn, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown also appealed to rich countries not to use the crisis as a reason to not help the poor. “This would be the worst time to turn back,” he stated.

Americans should be proud that US assistance programs are saving lives. Take for example, the US global AIDS program (PEPFAR). In July 2008, the United States government reauthorized PEPFAR, the single biggest global public health program in history. In its first five years, PEPFAR supported life-saving treatment for approximately 1.73 million men, women and children, and it has increased countries’ ability to better manage health threats using their own resources.

-Josh Lozman