Homework for Hillary

Aug 21st, 2009 11:24 AM UTC
By Nora Coghlan

U.S. Secretary Clinton visited a diverse swath of countries and discussed a wide range of topics on her 11 day tour of sub-Saharan Africa, but some key messages and themes emerged. In countries as different as Kenya, Nigeria and Cape Verde, Clinton highlighted the importance of good governance, transparency and accountability in laying a foundation for development; in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) she focused on violence against women; in Liberia and South Africa she talked about the importance of overcoming these barriers and investing in women to become leaders and drivers of change across the continent; and in Angola and Kenya, trade and agricultural development topped the agenda, with the Secretary speaking at the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum in Nairobi and signing an agreement with Chevron, USAID and the Cooperative League of the United States of America to help develop Angola’s agricultural sector.

Clinton’s travels built on U.S. President Obama’s visit to Ghana in July, marking the earliest trips to sub-Saharan Africa by any President and Secretary of State in history. Similar to President Obama’s African visit, Secretary Clinton made no substantial announcements of new U.S. funding or sweeping new policy initiatives (though there were small packages to DRC to combat sexual violence and to Angola to spur agricultural development and combat HIV/AIDS).

President Obama’s trip was billed as the beginning of a conversation between the U.S. and Africa, an effort by the Administration to integrate Africa into its regular foreign policy dialogue. Secretary Clinton’s trip expanded on this theme, further highlighting the Administration’s intent to revamp its relationship with the continent as partners, not patrons, and to encourage good governance and accountability from African governments. As Secretary Clinton noted at the end of her trip, she was leaving African with “an even greater level of commitment” than she had before.

… I think it is important to underscore the commitment that both President Obama and I have to elevate our relationship with Africa. As you know, very early in his term he came to Africa. He considers himself a son of Africa. He spoke out about what he hoped to see happening in African countries.

Shortly after the President’s historic speech, I have made this 7-nation, 11-day trip through Africa to amplify and emphasize our commitment to a partnership with Africa, working to help individual African countries and governments and democracy on the rule of law, on development, on security. And I intend to work very hard, along with our team in the State Department and USAID, to follow through on the dialogues that we have had across the continent.

So what now?

The Administration has taken its first step to elevate Africa and its development as a foreign policy priority. But now that they’re both back in Washington, it’s our job to make sure that they do their homework and push this agenda into action. The FY2011 budget is an opportunity for this. If the President and Secretary Clinton stick to their commitments, we should expect to see budget increases for agriculture, food security, and maternal and child health.

Further down the road, we’ll continue to look for the Administration to amplify its use of non-aid tools by adopting a more comprehensive African trade and investment strategy, by improving the quality and transparency of our development assistance, and by supporting African efforts to improve governance and transparency. Theirs is a bold and broad agenda that has transformative potential – we are looking for continued action from both President Obama and Secretary Clinton.

-Nora Coghlan

TAGS: Africa