Results of Summit to Rebalance Global Economy

After two days of intense discussion among G20 leaders, a consensus has been met concerning the financial and economic future of the eurozone and developing nations.  It has been decided that plans to increase the resources of the International Monetary Fund will take place in hopes of re-stabilizing the global economy with the promise of growth.  Understand that the additional contributions to be made into the IMF are to help countries in severe distress, not for the purpose of alleviating the debt crisis of the eurozone alone.  There are more poverty stricken nations that are in much dire need of the financial assistance.

It is certain that coming out of the eurozone debt crisis will be no easy feat, even more so when countries outside of the eurozone are reluctant to contribute to the bailout fund, confirms German Chancellor Angela Merkel.  But, should the rest of the world be taking on the problems of the eurozone?  Not all European nations are on board for increasing taxes on their citizens.  Despite Europe's current financial anguish, G20 leaders have come together and devised a final communiqué that will confront the current global structural issue directly.

To achieve the ultimate goal of global stability and growth requires a collective and ambitious action.  It is in the hands of G20 to make the change and make a difference in the lives of the suffering. 

“Europe has the capacity to meet this critical challenge... understanding that these problems will not be solved overnight...”  

-President Barack Obama

-Georisa Chang

SOURCE: BBC News

Obama Defends US Foreign Aid In Twitter Town Hall Meeting

In the much anticipated Twitter Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday, July 7, President Barack Obama defended US foreign aid saying that this tiny amount can have a big impact on US foreign policy. When Twitter users were calling for trimming overseas help, President Obama said, “It’s something that, even in tough fiscal times, American needs to continue to do as part of our role as a global leader,”

Various opinion polls have found that the US public estimates foreign aid to be 20% of overall discretionary spending whereas in reality this amount is only 2% (1% if narrowly defined) of annual budget.

The President also said, “America, to be a leader in the world, to have influence, to help stabilize countries and create opportunity for people so that they don’t breed terrorists or create huge refugee flows and so forth — it’s smart for us to make a very modest investment in foreign aid.”

My unsent Twit to the President: let the 2% (if not more) aid flow and make a difference in the world.

-Nisha Noor

SOURCE: THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE

President Obama Requests $1.125 Billion For MCC To Continue Its Mission To Reduce Poverty

U.S. President Barack Obama delivered his Fiscal Year 2012 budget proposal to Congress today which includes $1.125 billion for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to continue innovative approach to development assistance. In a press release, MCC confirmed this fact. MCC, A U.S. Government agency aims to reduce global poverty through economic growth on the principle that aid is most effective when it reinforces sound economic, political and social policies. Since it was established in 2004, MCC has partnered with 22 countries on large scale poverty reduction programs in order to help them achieve self-sufficiency and fight corruption while promoting accountability.

Besides 22 countries, MCC is expected to partner with 6 more countries in fiscal year 2011 and 2012 which account for over 6% of those living under $2 a day. These are Indonesia, Malawi, Zambia, Cape Verde, Ghana, and Georgia. These countries are eligible for partnering because their sound policies provide a solid foundation for growth and measurable development results. MCC believes that, in these difficult times it is more important than ever to make sure that American taxpayer dollars are being used efficiently by not only reducing global poverty but also creating stable trading and investment partners for U.S. that will strengthen the American economy and secure American interest.

MCC through their effort continues to make significant contributions to President Obama's foreign policy priorities including promoting global stability through development and supporting new aid initiatives such as food security and fiscal transparency. For more information on MCC's FY2012 Congressional Budget Justification, click on http://www.mcc.gov/documents/reports/mcc-fy2012-cbj.pdf

-Nisha Noor

SOURCE: MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION

U.S., India, and African Nations Collaborate to Increase Food Security

President Obama recently announced an emerging partnership between the United States and India to promote food security in Africa. The initiative was announced during Obama's visit to the Indian parliament on Sunday. By synthesizing Indian agricultural technology, U.S. power and wealth, and local African knowledge, leaders hope to find new ways to reduce hunger throughout African countries.

"India probably has the most dynamic, innovative public partnership-orientated approach to agriculture in terms of the incorporation of technology," said USAID Administrator Raj Shah. Similarly, Obama called India a "model for agricultural development." The U.S. hopes to work with African governments and institutions to apply some of India's methods to African farming, with the goal of increasing crop yields and combating hunger. Specifically, the new initiative will link North American, Indian, and African universities together so that experts from each country can share their knowledge and experience.

This partnership offers hope for international collaboration in agriculture, a sector that has long been a topic of contention in global discussions. The issue of agriculture trade policy at the recent Doha round of World Trade Organization negotiations ended in gridlock, with many countries vying for more open trade as others continue to protect their markets. While international disagreements over agricultural policy are far from resolved, cooperation between two countries as powerful and different as India and the United States is at least a step in the right direction.

-Elizabeth Newton

SOURCES: Reuters, Economic Times

U.S. Medical Aid to Africa

Last week, the Obama administration announced that it will donate $130 million to African medical schools to improve medical education throughout Africa. This generous donation will be distributed over five years and will go to medical schools and teaching hospitals in a dozen countries, and to about 20 American medical schools that have agreed to collaborate with them. Doctors will be trained in all sorts of skills including childbirth and infant care – skills that are of crucial need in rural parts of Africa. Some of the money will also go towards buying equipment for laboratories and teaching tools.

This is a big step forward for the U.S. and its foreign policy. Bringing more focus to poverty-stricken parts of the world through foreign aid will have far-reaching results for the world’s poor. A couple of positive results from this kind of foreign aid are: ending infant mortality through better education and the subsequent reduction in population.

- Clare O.

SOURCE: NYTimes

Obama Announces New U.S. Global Development Policy

On Thursday, President Barack Obama addressed world leaders at the United Nations Millennium Development Goals Conference in New York. He expressed renewed U.S. commitment toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals and called for "mutual responsibility" between people and nations throughout the world.

Obama challenged the widespread idea that international development is not the responsibility of the United States or in its best interest, saying, "In our global economy, progress in even the poorest countries can advance the prosperity and security of people far beyond their borders, including my fellow Americans."

He announced a new U.S. Global Development Policy, one that redefines even the idea of development. He elaborated on several specific goals of this new approach to international aid, including:

• sustainable development that fixes systemic problems, not just surface issues;
• independence in developing nations so that their progress can come from within;
• support for democratic, transparent governments worldwide;
• and reduction of trade barriers that limit developing nations' access to world markets.
  

Obama closed by supporting continued cooperation between governments, multi-lateral corporations, and NGOs: "Together, we can collaborate in ways unimaginable just a few years ago. Together, we can realize the future that none of us can achieve alone. Together, we can deliver historic leaps in development. We can do this. But only if we move forward with the seriousness and sense of common purpose that this moment demands."

-Elizabeth Newton

SOURCE: The Washington Post

Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton speak at Young African Leaders conference

Yesterday afternoon, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton spoke at the Presidents Forum with Young African Leaders. The Forum brought together 115 people from 47 African countries in a town-hall style meeting at the White House.

President Obama spoke extensively about the potential for African growth and the need to correct the decades of "lost opportunity" in the region because of things like corruption, disease, and civil unrest. President Obama also highlighted some of the accomplishments of the young people present at the meeting ("like the small business owner from Djibouti who began selling ice cream and who now runs his own accounting practice and advises other entrepreneurs"), followed by a Q&A afterwords.

Secretary of State Hilary Clinton also highlighted the potential for African development and growth by the continent's youth:

"Sixty percent of the population of Africa is under the age of 25. And that means that there’s a lot of work to be done to make sure that those young people are educated, are healthy, are motivated, are given the tools of opportunity. But it also means that Africa has not just the potential, but the promise of becoming a leader in innovation, in design, in creativity of all that you, your families, communities, and countries can become."

The Forum is part of the celebration of 50 years of African independence from colonial rule.

-Matthew Thwaites

SOURCES: "President Obama to Young African Leaders: "50 Years From Now, When You Look Back..."-White House Blog, "Secretary Clinton Delivers Remarks at the President’s Forum with Young African Leaders"-US State Department

6 month anniversary of earthquake in Haiti

Yesterday, millions around the world took a moment of silence to remember the earthquake that occurred 6 months ago in Haiti. The quake, which registered as a 7.0 on the Richter scale, lasted only 35 seconds but killed 230,000 people and left millions homeless. On this anniversary, American political leaders reaffirmed US commitment to not only help Haiti recover from the disaster, but to invest in the country's long term growth and prosperity. In a written statement issued yesterday, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said that "We are committed to helping them realize the Haitian vision for a better nation." Bill Clinton, UN special envoy for Haiti, promised to continued working to get donors to honor their pledges for funding the Haiti recovery.

Widespread international outcry for support following the disaster resulted in a relatively large and efficient humanitarian response by more than 140 countries. Over 1.5 million Haitians are currently living in US built displacement camps. In one dramatic turn of events, more people now have access to safe drinking water than they did before the earthquake. Before the disaster, only half of Haiti's urban population had access to tap water, while many people had to purchase their water from street-side vendors. Humanitarian efforts have emphasized drilling bore holes and distributing 5 litres of water per person per day.

While the international response in the months following the quake have greatly helped Haiti recover, we must continue to support the humanitarian efforts. With time, it will become easier for people to forget the disaster. However, the long and arduous process of rebuilding the country must get underway, and that will take our continued support.

-Matthew Thwaites

SOURCES: 'Obama Administration marks 6-month Haitian Earthquake Anniversary'-Kaiser Family Foundation, 'Haiti: 6 Months After the Quake'-US State Department, 'An Update on Efforts in Haiti Six Months After the Quake'- US State Department

US to Give $483 million to Gaza for Poverty Reduction

On Wednesday June 9th, President Obama announced in a press conference that the US would be giving $483 million to help the 1.5 million people living in poverty along the Gaza strip. As stated in an article in The National, this money has been earmarked for "funding infrastructure projects, improving home ownerships and creating jobs" and "building schools, repairing a hospital, and fixing water distribution and wastewater collection systems." This money will aid in rebuilding Gaza and its economy, as Israel's 3 year long blockade has effectively cut off Gaza from the rest of the world. President Obama also reaffirmed the US's support to finding an Israel-Palestine peace agreement during the press conference. The President stressed the need for Israel to focus its blockade more towards only preventing weapons from entering Gaza, while allowing imports, exports, and humanitarian efforts to help the people in need. In the past, the US has been criticized for its one sided support of Israel during the ongoing conflict. However, President Obama pushed that aside in his humanitarian effort to improve the plight of the Palestinians.

-Matthew Thwaites

SOURCES: The National Newspaper Article on the US aid, France 24 Article on the $483 million Palestine Aid Package

President Obama Urged to Attend Global Education Summit

This summer, South African President Jacob Zuma will host a global summit on education in Johannesburg, South Africa. The summit is being held in conjunction with the 2010 edition of the World Cup, whose official message is "1 Goal: Education for All." This message is expected to be seen by more than 3 billion people over the course of the games. On June 1st, more than 40 community leaders signed and sent a letter to President Obama urging him to attend this meeting and fulfill his campaign promises to make global education a key part of US foreign policy. President Obama has pledged $2 billion to the Global Fund for Education and reaffirmed the US's commitment to the Millennium Developed Goals, one aspect of which involves universal primary school education. The benefits of education have many wide-reaching effects. HIV/AIDS infection rates are reduced by 50% when people finish primary school. If quality education if available to an entire population, GDP will rise by an expected 1% per year.

-Matthew Thwaites

SOURCES: Global Campaign for Education Article on Global Education Summit

Obama Announces Nobel Prize Money Will Fund Other Charities

President Obama recently received $1.4 million for winning the Nobel Peace Prize; though he announced Thursday that he will give it all away.

The largest amount, summing to $250,000 is going to the Fisher House, which provides places for families to stay at in military medical centers while family members are receiving treatment. The second largest donation, $200,000 is allotted for the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.

Other donations focus on assisting minorities in college, and other general education funds. For a more complete listing visit the NPR news blog.

-Michelle Leung

Source: NPR news

Additional Efforts Being Taken to Address HIV / AIDS

In following with his predecessor, President Obama has announced that the United States will continue it's ardent support of HIV/AIDS funding to the developing world.

This additional funding will be announced with the president's 2011 fiscal budget and will include an additional allocation of $165 million to support efforts at malarial infections as well as maternal and child health.

The steps being taken by the Obama administration are in line with the previous strides of President Bush and are on target with goals 5 and 6 of the Millennium Development Project.

- Tiffanie Depew

SOURCE: The Wall Street Journal

Obama Leaves Room in His Budget for the Developing World

President Obama's administration is proposing a 9% increase in funding that is directed at the needs of global health in its 2011 fiscal budget.

The proposal being released also sets very ambitious targets to be achieved by the year 2014 that includes getting an additional 1.6 million people into drug treatment programs for HIV/AIDS, cutting the prevalence of malaria by 50%, and reducing the number of deaths of mothers and children under 5 years old.

While the strides being taken by the Obama administration are certainly ambitious, they aren't without their naysayers. There are individuals who argue that more can and should be done by the US government to combat malaria and the spread of HIV/AIDS.

To learn more about what president Obama and his administration are doing to assist in global health initiatives check out the following aritcle by the Wall Street Journal.

- Tiffanie Depew

SOURCE: Wall Street Journal

Obama Calls For White House Review of Global Development

From the One Campaign:

President Obama signed a Presidential Study Directive (PSD) on Monday calling for a government-wide review of U.S. global development policy. According to White House staff, the president has asked National Security Adviser Jim Jones and National Economic Council Chairman Larry Summers to lead the review. The review will include all U.S. government agencies involved in global development as well as Congress and constituents. Findings and recommendations from the review will be provided to the president in January. All of this is welcome news to many in the development community who have been tracking the growing momentum in Congress and the executive branch to strengthen U.S. global development efforts. And the directive signals that the White House is seriously thinking about how the U.S. engages with poor countries and promotes global development, including but not limited to stronger and smarter foreign aid.

While we wait to read the full details of the latest Presidential Study Directive (PSD) on global development (it’s not yet publicly available), we know that PSDs initiate reviews of policy procedures generally pertaining to national security and President Obama’s first PSD, Organizing for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, might serve as a good guide for what we can hope to see in the global development PSD. I’d like to see the global development PSD keep similar language calling for:

1. A full, interagency review of how to reform the White House organization to create an integrated, effective and efficient approach, in this case to strengthen U.S. and global prosperity and security;
2. Full participation from all the U.S. government agencies involved in global development (from State, to USAID, MCC, Treasury, Defense, Centers for Disease Control, Department of Agriculture, and many more) and a commitment to consult important stakeholders in Congress and among outside experts during the course of the review; and
3. Consideration of the recommendations from numerous bipartisan and expert studies on the issues (from the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network’s New Day New Way; the Center for Global Development’s White House and the World: An Global Development Agenda for the Next President; the Brookings/CSIS’s Security by Other Means report; and many others).

Unlike the first PSD on counterterrorism, I hope that the global development PSD will include the USAID administrator among the addressees (even better if we soon have a new USAID administrator appointee—those growing impatient are casting their votes for the next administrator here!). I also hope to see some language encouraging the review to address the full range of U.S. policies—from foreign aid, to trade, climate change, migration and more—that affect how the U.S. engages the rest of the world, including developing countries. I’m also eager to learn how the White House will engage the multilateral development institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in the review and potentially other development donors from the UK, Germany, France, Japan, and elsewhere.

The White House call for a presidential study directive on global development comes on the heels of announcements from both the executive and legislative branches aimed at strengthening U.S. global development efforts including:

1. The Department of State has said it will undertake a Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR);
2. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) introduced the Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act (H.R.2139) that calls on the administration to develop a national strategy for global development and now has 100 Republican and Democratic co-sponsors;
3. Senate Relations Committee members Kerry (D-MA), Lugar (R-IN), Menendez (D-NJ), Corker (R-TN), Cardin (D-MD) and Risch (R-ID) introduced the Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act of 2009 (S.1524) that calls for strengthening the U.S. Agency for International Development and monitoring and evaluation of aid programs; and
4. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Berman and his staff have begun the process of rewriting the outdated 1961 Foreign Assistance Act.

Together, these are welcome signals that the executive branch and Congress are committed to strengthening U.S. global development. The trick, as Sheila Herrling at the Center for Global Development points out, is going to be figuring out how to put them all together so that you end up with a smart, coordinated U.S. strategy for confronting poverty, inequality, conflict and disease that threaten prosperity and security globally and at home.

- Sarah Jane Staats (ONE Campaign)

President Obama Gives Speech in Ghana

President Barack Obama arrives to speak to the Parliament of Ghana in Accra, Saturday, July 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

During U.S. President Obama’s visit to Ghana, the 44^th President spoke in front of Ghana’s Parliament on June 11. In his speech, Obama praised Africa’s achievements, offered warnings and charity as well.

Ghana is one of Africa’s leading economic countries, which has demonstrated impressive rates of growth in its economy alongside countries like Botswana and Mozambique. However, Obama also noted the terrible conditions in countries like Zimbabwe, Sudan, Congo and Liberia where financial collapse is a very real threat and violence is a daily occurrence.

The President committed $63 billion to a comprehensive global strategy excluding the Global Poverty Act, which is another part of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. The bill would commit $854 billion, over the course of eleven years.

In relation to the bill, then Senator Obama stated, “We can – and must – make it a priority of our foreign policy to commit to eliminating extreme poverty and ensuring every child has food, shelter, and clean drinking water. As we strive to rebuild America’s standing in the world, this legislation will not only commit to reducing global poverty, but will also demonstrate our promise and support to those in the developing world."

-- Jaimie Hwang

Read Full Text of Obama's Speech Here.

Source: Digital Journal

President Obama Visits Ghana

President Obama made his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa on July 10-11, 2009, visiting Ghana after attending the G8 Summit in Italy. Obama is the third consecutive U.S. President to stop in Ghana, one of the top African nations that has consistently been reducing poverty and improving lives through economic growth.

Some Ghana stats:

• Ghanaian citizens have participated in five consecutive peaceful transitions of power. (See an overview Ghanaian elections here.)

• In 2004, the Ghanaian government announced the elimination of school fees for primary schools. This coupled with a new school feeding program, increased enrollment rates for primary school boys from 60% in 2004-2005 to 84% in 2007-2008, and girls from 58% to 82%.

• Ghana currently receives funding from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria and is one of the 15 focus countries in the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI). PMI's work in Ghana aims to distribute more than one million bed nets, spray 100,000 houses with pesticides that kill mosquitoes carrying malaria, and to provide 1.2 million doses of malaria medicine to treat children under five.

• Ghana has a 5-year, $547 million compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), focused on agriculture, rural development and infrastructure improvement. During President George W. Bush's visit to Ghana in 2008, then President Kafuor renamed a main highway in Accra (a project of the MCC) the "George W. Bush Highway."

• Ghana has experienced 4-5% annual growth over the past 20 years, and has nearly halved its poverty rate since 1992, putting it on track to achieve the first Millennium Development Goal by 2015.

• In 2007, Ghana was the United States' tenth largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa and the sixth largest exporter to the U.S. (Compare even more key development stats between Ghana, Sub-Saharan Africa and the U.S. here).

President Obama’s recent trip to Ghana showcases the country’s success story as a concrete example of how targeted smart aid, joined with good governance, can lead to noticeable, positive change.

-- Jaimie Hwang

Source: ONE

Obama's Donations to Charity

President Obama and his wife recently released their 2008 federal tax return, according to the New York Times. Out of their combined income, they gave nearly 6.5% to charities, totaling $172,050. Among the 37 different charities, the antipoverty group CARE received $25,000. It's encouraging to know that our President supports various charities, especially one that has done so much work to fight poverty.
Learn more about CARE here.
Source: New York Times

Leaving G-20

As the G-20 summit came to an end a few days ago, President Obama had a few final thoughts on the meeting:
"Finally, we are protecting those who don't always have a voice at the G-20, but who have suffered greatly in this crisis. The United States is ready to lead in this endeavor. In the coming days, I will work with Congress to provide $448 million in immediate assistance to vulnerable populations, and to double support for agricultural development to over $1 billion so that we are giving people the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty. We will also support the United Nations and World Bank as they coordinate the rapid assistance necessary to prevent humanitarian catastrophe. This is not just charity though. These are future markets for all countries, and future drivers of growth."
Read full transcript of the press conference here.

Donation to Improve Women's Rights

Several weeks ago, President Obama signed legislation to restore funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which has been suspended since 2002. The first contribution of $50 million was released shortly after, and will go towards improving the health of women and children in over 150 different countries. "We are delighted that the United States will once again take a leading role in championing women’s reproductive health and rights, alongside all other countries and partners that have supported us over the years," said Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, the agency's executive director.
Source: UN News Centre

To Whom it May Concern...

Leaders from various organizations across the country sent an open letter today to President Obama and Congressional leaders, telling them to make global development a bigger priority in foreign policy. The letter describes current global development programs as messy and outdated, and urges the government to modernize and make them more effective. Recognizing the fact that our country is struggling with a bad economy, as is the rest of the world, the letter stresses the importance of nevertheless improving foreign assistance. Read the full text of it here (pdf).