When you have some time today, check out USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah’s speech that he delivered to the Congressional Black Caucus. In it, he states clearly “The Africa of today is forging ahead, that is the truth.” He also touts the successes in Africa in achieving the Millennium Development Goals:
Since the Millennium Development Goals were first introduced, dramatic progress has been made toward meeting them. From 1990, the number of people living in extreme poverty – less than a dollar twenty-five a day – has fallen by nearly 400 million.
Many are quick to point out that much of the progress has been focused in India and China, but the truth is Africa has made great strides as well [...]
Five of the MDG trailblazers are in sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, sub-Saharan Africa accounts for the largest number of star performers against MDG goals, including dramatic achievements by Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi and Uganda. From falling child mortality rates in Niger to increasing access to education in Tanzania, striking gains have been made.
These successes should be celebrated and much credit should be given to governments, NGOs, and private businesses that have prioritized development.
The truth is, the work they have done has made achieving the MDGs by 2015 a reality, and inspired this Administration to firmly commit to delivering that outcome.
He goes on to explain the Obama Administration’s commitment to achieving the MDGs through the President’s Global Health Initiative, the President’s Feed the Future initiative, and the Global Climate Change initiative. The whole speech is definitely worth a read. You can check out the transcript here.
Update 9/17/2010: Missed the live discussion? Check out the video below.
Today, at 10:15 AM ET, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah and our CEO David Lane will be talking about the future of the Millennium Development Goals in a live, online discussion hosted by the State Department and the Bureau of Public Affairs.
On Tuesday, Dr. Rajiv Shah, Administrator for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), talked about the Global Health Initiative (GHI) at a meeting of global health and international development professionals from across Washington, D.C. The Administrator demonstrated tremendous enthusiasm and optimism concerning the future of both global health generally and the specific efforts of USAID, and stated that “health is, in fact, at the heart of human progress.”
Henrietta Holsman Fore, Administrator of USAID from 2007-2009, introduced Dr. Shah as “a remarkable symbol, as well as a leader. There are many experts within USAID, but we are delighted that Raj is a doctor. As a medical doctor, it means he can lead with enormous integrity in the field of health.”
Dr. Shah began his discussion of the GHI with a story of “two women with one thing in common: they’re both pregnant with their third child.” After painting a picture of the resource disparities between a pregnant woman in sub-Saharan Africa and her counterpart in the United States, Shah presented a sobering statistic: a woman in the United States faces a 1-in-4800 chance of dying in childbirth, whereas in sub-Saharan Africa, the chance is 1-in-22. This disparity is “simply unacceptable,” said Shah. “The President’s Global Health Initiative is designed to close that gap.”
Administrator Shah highlighted some of the work the U.S. is doing to address health challenges globally. The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the largest effort by any one country to fight a single disease, and in its first phase, the plan provided antiretroviral treatment to more than 2 million people and supported care for more than 10 million worldwide. Similarly, the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) has distributed more than 19 million insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and 40 million anti-malarial treatments. However, Shah warned of “stove-piping” our approach to global health, citing cases in which patients in developing countries were often required to visit two separate clinics for two different conditions. “The Global Health Initiative is therefore about the patient, not just the disease.”
The Global Health Initiative will devote $63 billion to helping countries to achieve significant advances, while attempting to create conditions in which the need for future aid is reduced. Dr. Shah outlined some general principles of the GHI. The initiative will “do more of what works” and will focus on expanding existing service platforms. Simultaneously, the GHI will prioritize innovation, focus on country ownership, and pay special attention to women and girls.
Administrator Shah closed the Q&A session that followed by reaffirming that Americans “care deeply” about these issues. He noted that over half of American families supported in some way the relief effort in Haiti after the earthquake. Shah also mentioned those who, like himself, “own RED watches or RED t-shirts, and wear them with great pride.” It is a “symbol of their commitment to saving lives around the world.”
This event was hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). A video and full transcript can be found here.
USAID head Dr. Rajiv Shah is about to make a speech at the Center for Strategic International Studies on the Global Health Initiative. His remarks will begin at 1:00 PM EST.
As you may know, last week USAID Administrator Raj Shah officially released the government’s Feed the Future initiative. The initiative is designed to coordinate U.S. Engagement in global agriculture and food security. Here is a bit more information.
Overview:
Top line goals: increased agriculture-led growth and improved nutritional status
Commits $3.5 billion over three years for global agriculture and food security.
Adheres to five essential principles of quality development assistance: Country-owned, coordinated, comprehensive, leveraging multilateral institutions, and delivering sustainable and accountable commitments.
Invests in country-owned plans or as the initiative calls them, Country Investment Plans. These plans will be constructed by the developing countries in consultation with a comprehensive set of stakeholders such as civil society organizations, farmer’s organizations, the private sector, research institutions and the US government.
The Plan:
The Initiative consists of two investment phases for supporting selected countries. Phase I will lay the policy and capacity foundation upon which to build/scale-up future investments. It will include financial, political, and technical investments to help countries construct sound Country Investment Plans (CIP). The CIP will then be evaluated based on 3 criteria:
A multi-stakeholder review of the technical quality and soundness;
Evidence of coordination and consultation with key stakeholders (e.g. NGOs, smallholder farmers, farmers unions, etc.); and
Focus Country commitment to partnership, governance and adequate capacity for following through on financial and policy commitments.
Phase II is where the U.S. undertakes larger-scale investment in priority areas that align with the CIP, as well as additional core investments that result in greater impacts at the country and regional level. This phase also builds the foundation for sustainable and inclusive market-led growth.
Based on conservative estimates using preliminary analysis, the global effort of which FTF is a part expects to increase the incomes of at least 40 million people and provide nutrition packages for 25 million children. These estimates do not include the millions of families that will benefit indirectly from the general income increases, better markets, and research innovations funded by this initiative.
The Analysis:
All in all, we’re very excited about this initiative. After a truly mammoth effort, the FTF team has managed a feat, constructing a plan that is comprehensive, reflects a whole-of-government approach, and is demand driven, allowing countries themselves to direct investments. The strategy also makes a clear commitment to reaching women and to addressing issues of conversation and climate change. If fully funded, this initiative will meet the financial and principle commitments made at the L’Aquila G8. It also serves as a model for how other donors can implement a plan that meets the qualitative principles outlined at L’Aquila.
There are several outstanding questions about FTF including what staffing will look like in-country and who within the U.S. government will ultimately be responsible and accountable for the successful implementation of this initiative. Also, as Country Investment Plans are submitted, USAID in consultation with other stakeholders including other government agencies and the NGO community will provide feedback. While this process is essential, the timeline must be closely monitored to ensure that countries don’t get “stuck” in Phase I.
As you know, yesterday the Chicago Council on Global Affairs hosted a Global Agriculture and Food Security symposium here in DC, which ONE co-sponsored. The event was packed, particularly the morning session during which USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah outlined the Administration’s Feed the Future (FTF) initiative. You can check out the website and read ONE’s press release. You can also check out Roger Thurow’s report from the symposium here.
In his speech, Administrator Shah emphasized that the initiative will engage “from research to table” and will focus on quality (not just quantity) of investments across the entire value chain, and will focus on investing in country-owned plans. The initiative will focus on investing in women, will coordinate U.S. government actions while also aligning with other donors, and will have a strong focus on monitoring and evaluation, publishing both successes and failures. Administrator Shah outlined three metrics: women’s income, malnutrition, and agricultural production that will help guide data collection. Shah concluded his speech by promising to have one single point-of-contact in-country. He also encouraged NGOs and contractor organizations to align their activities with country investment plans, and called upon the private sector to partner and provide advice. Lastly, he emphasized that Congress must fund this initiative in order for it to be a long-standing part of U.S. development assistance.
Throughout the day we heard from many distinguished speakers. In the first panel Cheryl Mills, who has been leading this effort within State Department, noted that stepping out of one’s own culture is a challenge, but that without country-owned plans, like those called for in the FTF initiative, development will not be sustainable. She also noted that foreign assistance must set up conditions that work towards eliminating the need for foreign assistance. We heard from Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack who called the FTF initiative an enormously important effort, demonstrating USDA’s support. Liberian President The Honorable Ellen Johnson Sirleaf also spoke, commending the FTF initiative and noting that she views the agriculture sector as a vehicle for employment in Liberia, and will be committing public investments from 2010-2013 in the sector to nutrition security, value chain development, institutional development, and creation of markets.
The panels of the day tackled questions of market access, policy reform, regional integration, and capacity building. Some interesting themes included the serious impact of a changing climate in developing countries—emphasized in particular by the Bangladeshi Minister of Food and Disaster Management, Muhammad Abdur Razzaque. The Malian Agriculture Minister, Aghatham Ag Alhassane and others also pushed the importance of nutrition initiatives. The Minister noted that he would not be here today if it weren’t for the food he received through school feeding programs as a child.
To cap off a day of fantastic learning, last night ONE along with several other NGOs co-hosted a reception on the Hill. A packed room got to hear from Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN), Marshall M. Bouton, President, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Connie Veillette, Senior Professional Staff, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Modibo Makalou, Special Advisor to Mali’s President Amadou Toure, and Muhammad Abdur Razzaque, Bangladesh’s Minister of Food and Disaster Management. The speakers made a clear connection between the success of the FTF and the passage of the Global Food Security Act, which will entrench agriculture and food security as a U.S. priority.
It is both clear and extremely encouraging that the Administration wants to work with Congress to secure funding for the FTF initiative. However, there is also a need to broaden that partnership in order to build long-term support for these issues, and to ensure that these issues remain on the agenda regardless of changes in Congress or the Administration. Yesterday demonstrated the amazing energy and manpower behind our nation’s commitment to food security. It also left us with a clear mandate for our next steps: we must pass the Global Food Security Act. We’ll be calling on all of you to pitch in, so be prepared.
For those who missed the live webcast of USAID Administrator Dr. Shah’s big announcement this morning, we’ll hopefully have video soon (the event is still live-streaming here). In his remarks, Dr. Shah stressed the importance of establishing and expanding food security in the developing world and broadly outlined the “Feed the Future” initiative. He also echoed President Obama’s commitment in L’Aquila that called for increased investment in agriculture and rural development.
The Feed the Future site was also launched this morning, which you can check out at www.feedthefuture.gov. They outline the initiative as such:
Feed the Future is part of our determined strategic and analytical approach to accelerate progress toward the Millennium Development Goal of halving the proportion of people living in extreme poverty and suffering from hunger by 2015. FTF also reflects our tradition of innovation and entrepreneurship. We innovate by finding new ways to leverage science and technology, creating a focused vision, and encouraging new kinds of collaboration as we build flexible partnerships with a broad range of partners, including the private sector.
For a more detailed look at this initiative, you can begin skimming the Feed the Future Guide by clicking the image below:
My colleagues Beth Adler and Emily Alpert are at the event right now, and they’ll be checking in shortly with more updates. Finally, for the latest breaking news, I recommend following the hashtag #globalag on Twitter where folks are tweeting the latest from the event.
ONE is campaigning to ensure that the Congressional budget does not cut foreign assistance programs like Feed the Future that help people break the cycle of poverty and hunger.
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