Better, Smarter USAID

Sep 29th, 2009 5:21 PM UTC
By Emily Stivers

Over the past two weeks, more than 1,000 ONE members have made phone calls to their senators to support an upgrade to U.S. foreign aid — in the form of S. 1524, the Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act.

But with the committee deliberation on this bill pushed back a second time, until October 6, we’re stepping up our game. In addition to phone calls, we’re now asking ONE members to sign a petition on this critical legislation. We’ll deliver that petition to your senators next week, before the October 6 committee mark-up.

Tell your senators to cosponsor S. 1524..

S. 1524 gives the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) the tools and people to keep fighting hunger and poverty around the world, and do it even better. And it gives us new mechanisms to know what works and doesn’t, so we can make sure our investments are making a difference.

That means better, smarter USAID programs to help the most difficult-to-reach farmers grow crops and feed more of Africa’s 265 million hungry people. It means more support for treating 6.6 billion liters of water in Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, and Zambia. And it also means better immunization, polio eradication, nutrition, diarrhea and pneumonia care, and maternal and neonatal healthcare through USAID programs across the African continent.

The bipartisan the Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act is a key first step towards better, smarter U.S. foreign aid. Tell your senators that upgrading aid is a priority for you, and don’t forget to share the petition with your friends.

-Emily Stivers

TAGS: From ONE Members, Upgrade Aid