Blog Contributor:
Sara.Rogge
Jan 26th, 2009 12:58 PM UTC
By Sara.Rogge
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For the last several months, a number of global development-focused NGOs across the United States have been advocating to update the way the U.S. administers its development programs. ONE is asking Congress and the Obama Administration to elevate development as a national priority and update the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (the legislation that governs how foreign assistance works). By streamlining and updating the channels through which US contributions are distributed, we can ensure that U.S dollars are put to use more quickly and more expansively.
For an overview of why modernizing foreign assistance is necessary, check out this Reuters article. The authors draw from the perspectives of Howard Berman, a senior Democrat who heads the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, World Bank President Robert Zoellick, Steve Radelet, a senior fellow at Washington’s Center for Global Development, and the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN – of which ONE is a member).
For more information on MFAN, please see www.modernizingforeignassistance.net.
-Sara Rogge
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Oct 9th, 2008 12:52 PM UTC
By Sara.Rogge
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Today the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meetings begin with press conferences by IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, and World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick. All of the World Bank agencies, the IMF, and a broad range of NGOs are holding discussions and events on development issues this week. Many of the events are focused on complex challenges such as the global food crisis and climate change, and others provide an opportunity to discuss how these institutions are working with recipient countries and civil society.
The current climate of global economic uncertainty not only impacts Wall Street and global financial capitals, but will begin to create an additional burden for the poorest countries in the world, many of whom are already being adversely impacted by high food and fuel prices. Both Zoellick and Strauss-Kahn emphasized this point in the lead-up to this week’s meetings. The challenge facing finance ministers, central bankers, and World Bank and IMF officials this week will be to think creatively about how we can continue to keep our commitment to help the poorest people in the world. This may require utilizing innovative financing solutions, such as an additional 1 billion euro of EU budget money that could be provided to agriculture programs in poor countries, in order to keep these promises.
In their opening remarks today, both Strauss-Kahn and Zoellick stressed the need for rich countries to follow-through on their commitments to the world’s poor:
Strauss-Kahn said:
Countries’ budgets are strained, so it is difficult to deliver even when commitment has been made in the past. Advanced countries shouldn’t respond to the crisis by cutting aid to the poorest, most vulnerable countries.
Zoellick said:
Some 28 countries are already fiscally highly vulnerable from the twin shocks of food and fuel. Currently these countries, on average, are set to receive no increase in project and program aid. G7 countries as a group are still far behind on their Gleneagles commitments. The poorest cannot be asked to pay the biggest price. For the poor, the costs of crisis can be life-long.
Read ONE’s press release about the proceedings here.
We’ll continue to share what we see and hear this week as the meetings begin.
-Sara Rogge
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Sep 25th, 2008 9:37 AM UTC
By Sara.Rogge
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There’s a huge amount of attention this week on Capitol Hill focused on the economy – and rightly so. The economics dominating the news affects all of us. It’s important to note that the current financial crisis could also adversely impact poor countries already suffering from both high food and fuel prices. Understandably, most of the responses to the food crisis to date have been short-term, immediate aid. Governments and aid organizations have been working to get help to the people who are suffering, and that must not be delayed. But short-term responses only treat the symptoms. We need a long-term strategy to prevent future crises from occurring.
This week in the Senate, bipartisan legislation was introduced by Republican Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana and Democratic Senator Robert Casey of Pennsylvania to begin to target the root causes of the food crisis. This bill, the “Global Food Security Act” (S. 3529), is a smart step forward in what must be a comprehensive and global response to the situation facing millions of people.
According to the Senators’ offices, the bill would authorize $10 billion over 5 years for agricultural productivity and rural development. Drawing on the experience and expertise of U.S. land grant colleges and universities, the bill would create a new program to strengthen institutions of higher education in the areas of agriculture sciences, research, and extension programs. Investments in human capital and institutional capacity are important to developing a robust agricultural sector. It calls for increasing collaborative research on the full range of biotechnological advances including genetically modified technologies. The legislation also would improve the U.S. emergency response to food crises by creating a separate Emergency Food Assistance Fund that can make local and regional purchases of food, where appropriate. The legislation would provide USAID with the flexibility to respond to emergencies more quickly, without supplanting other food programs.
That last point is particularly important in emergency response. Too often, when a food crisis hits a region, current U.S. law limits the American response. This proposal, if enacted, would allow U.S. funds to purchase food supplies in regions much closer to the crisis zone. Instead of waiting for the first shipments of food to arrive from the United States, which can take many days if not weeks, local officials would be able to purchase food from that region’s suppliers, speeding help to the people who are starving.
ONE also believes that we have to address the root of the problem: building the capacity for people in Africa and elsewhere to grow enough food to feed their families while increasing support for long-term rural development efforts. Put simply, the United States should help to provide people with the tools that they need to fend for themselves. When we take those steps, we begin to address the core of the food crisis.
The Lugar-Casey bill is a good approach, and ONE looks forward to working with the Senators to see it approved by Congress.
-Sara Rogge, Senior Trade Policy Advisor
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Jul 7th, 2008 6:07 PM UTC
By Sara.Rogge
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[See earlier posts on what we want from the G8 here and here.]
 One main thing we’re asking the G8 to commit to this year is a comprehensive plan focused on boosting food security and agricultural productivity in Africa. Growing concern over rising food prices helped get these issues onto the summit agenda, and ONE has been working to make sure that a concrete action plan comes out of this discussion.
Three-quarters of the world’s poorest people live in rural areas and most rely on agriculture to feed themselves and their families. Many of these people (especially in Africa) cannot grow enough to eat or sell, and have trouble accessing markets that would help them get better prices for their goods. Solving these complex problems requires a dual-pronged approach: firstly, immediate assistance for those in need in the form of food, seeds, and fertilizer; secondly, long-term improvements in agricultural technology, infrastructure, and improved irrigation techniques to generate sustainable agricultural growth.
At past summits, the G8 has stressed the central role that agriculture plays in African development, yet G8 countries have made few commitments to increase funding for Africa’s farmers. As a result, Africa’s agricultural sector has been seriously under-funded in the past 15 years- the percentage of official development assistance that went to agriculture fell from over 16% in 1980 to under 4% in 2004.
In light of the current food crisis and the historic neglect of the agricultural sector, we’re asking the G8 to commit to both long and short-term solutions to boost food security and agricultural productivity. Here are ONE’s three top-line agriculture asks: (more…)
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May 14th, 2008 5:55 PM UTC
By Sara.Rogge
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Today, the House of Representatives voted 318-106 to pass a $300 billion, 5 year Farm Bill. While the bill funds some domestic conservation and nutrition programs and food aid, it also includes agricultural subsidies that have a tangible impact on global poverty. Agricultural subsidies, which Japan and other rich countries in Europe use as well, have historically been used to help farmers earn a living when world prices for commodity crops such as wheat, corn, and rice are low and farmers lose revenue. However, these payments can also cause subsidized crops to flood overseas global markets, making it difficult for farmers in poor countries to sell agricultural products in their own markets.
Farm incomes are higher than ever, the US Department of Agriculture reports that net farm income will top $92 billion in 2008, far exceeding the 10-year average of $61 billion. These agricultural subsidies often go to the wealthiest farmers in the country. Even under the new legislation only individual farmers who make $750,000 or more in farm income would be ineligible for direct subsidy payments. The legislation that the House approved today essentially continues subsidy programs that disadvantage the poor. During this time of high food prices, when U.S. farmers are earning at record levels and poor people in developing countries are struggling to feed their families, it makes little sense for the US Congress to pass a program that can have such a damaging impact on farmers in poor countries.
Next the legislation moves to the Senate, where it is likely to pass easily as well. The White House has threatened to veto the legislation when it comes to the President, but House and Senate leaders are saying that they will vote to override a veto, which requires a 2/3 vote in both houses.
To read more on the Farm Bill see the articles below
AP article
WSJ article
Links to some of our partners’ work on the Farm Bill
Oxfam America
Bread for the World
-Sara Rogge, Senior Trade Policy Advisor
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Apr 4th, 2008 12:28 PM UTC
By Sara.Rogge
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A report released this morning shows that the world is falling short of the promises it made to developing nations.
Each year in early April, the independent nonprofit Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reports on each donor nation’s contributions to the world’s poorest people. This year’s report shows that the world is not keeping pace with what’s needed to make good on their promises to help countries out of extreme poverty by 2015.
The United States has the ability to be the shining beacon of hope for the world’s poorest people. Right now, that beacon needs a voltage boost. Not counting debt relief (looking at the figures like this keeps everyone from overstating the cost to the donor or assistance provided to developing countries), United States foreign assistance to the world declined 3.55 percent last year, in big part because of a drop in aid to Iraq. For sub-Saharan Africa, American assistance last year increased by 8 percent. The United States spent $5.7 billion (2006 prices) on assistance to Africa last year.
The United States promised in 2005 to double foreign assistance to Africa by 2010. This would help end needless suffering across the continent and provide hope and opportunity for millions. While projections indicate that the U.S. is likely to meet its pledge to Africa by 2010, the pace has been slower than expected.
Looking ahead for the rest of this year, the United States is poised to increase aid through the Millennium Challenge Corporation, President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI). These relatively new initiatives are expected to scale up in the years to come.
The ONE Campaign applauds Congress and President Bush for boosting funding that targets diseases like HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. Just this week, the House of Representatives voted by an overwhelming majority to reauthorize America’s HIV/AIDS program, PEPFAR, for another 5 years. This vote signals a commitment to build on the early successes of the program with the goal of saving millions more lives. Based on this Congressional action and what we already know about funding for initiatives already underway, future foreign assistance levels are promising. But there is a long way to go to meet America’s promise to double assistance to Africa by 2010.
Learn more about the OECD’s new statistics, or check out the stats for yourself. Many of ONE’s partners are talking about the OECD report as well. Our sister organization, DATA, offers its analysis of the numbers. Check them out here.
-Sara Rogge, ONE Senior Trade Advisor
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