Reforming Aid: Policy Event

Reforming Aid, Transforming the World:

Using aid effectively to address global challenges

  • Adam Smith
    Adam Smith
  • Kent Hill
    Kent Hill
  • Sophia Belay
    Sophia Belay
  • Paul Weisenfeld
    Paul Weisenfeld
  • Carol Welch
    Carol Welch

Global Washington is pleased to host a special discussion of foreign assistance reform, principles in effectiveness, and the effect of reform on global development work.

This event will feature:

  • U.S. Representative Adam Smith, Co-Chair of The Congressional Caucus for Effective Foreign Assistance. (Click here for bio)
  • Kent R. Hill, Senior Vice President, International Programs, World Vision United States. (Click here for bio)
  • Sophia Belay, Microinsurance Program Coordinator, Oxfam America  (click here for bio)
  • Paul Weisenfeld, Assistant to the Administrator, Bureau for Food Security, USAID (click here for bio)
  • Carol Welch (Moderator), Senior Program Officer, Global Development Policy and Advocacy, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (click here for bio)

Program

3:30pm: Registration & Networking

4:00-5:00pm: Program

5:30pm: Members-only reception

Even in a challenging economy, many policymakers believe that foreign assistance is an integral part of the U.S. budget. The United States can be a leader in creating a more stable and prosperous world–improving global health, alleviating poverty, and combating injustice. But in order to do so, aid projects must actually be helping. Limited resources must be used as efficiently as possible.

The current drought crisis in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, where 12 million people are in need of assistance and 500,000 are on the brink of starvation, is only the latest in a series of disaster emergencies requiring foreign aid.  Such disasters, both natural and man-made, will no doubt continue.  The US – both through individual donations to aid organizations and through federal foreign assistance – has traditionally responded with emergency relief and assistance.  However, an increasingly overextended public, both as individual donors and as taxpayers, need to be reassured that aid is both effective and efficient.

The Congressional Caucus for Effective Foreign Assistance was created “to examine the way the United States currently delivers foreign assistance, explore success stories found in the efficient delivery of assistance, and further the overall effectiveness of foreign assistance and educating other Members on this subject.”

The Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review provides a blueprint for elevating ”civilian power” — development and diplomacy–as a critical component of our national defense.

President Obama has also created a Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development (PPD), which is the first of its kind by any U.S. administration. More information on the PPD can be found at the following links:

Four White House fact sheets:

 Join us for this important event, as these projects and directives will likely shape U.S. foreign assistance and the global development industry in the upcoming years.

When: Tuesday, August 30, 2011, 3:30pm – 5:30pm
Where: University of Washington Seattle Campus, Kane Hall, Room 120
Price: $10
Click here to register