Open Letter: A Call for Development Ideas to Address U.S. Challenges
8/17/16
Cindy Huang asks for ways to apply international development expertise to social, political, and economic dilemmas in the United States.
Rethinking US Development Policy
Six Ways the Next US President Can Do Better on Global Health
8/8/16
The next US president will face ongoing and emerging global health crises. The next administration must work to transform the US approach to global health and global health security to protect the health of Americans here at home and ensure the long-term sustainability of US-supported health gains abroad. So, what changes should the next US president and administration implement? Here are our six concrete recommendations.
My Three Takeaways on the White House Summit on Global Development
7/22/16
As President Obama joked earlier this week, the White House Summit on Global Development assembled “a lot of do-gooders in one room.” It was a daylong celebration of the Administration’s achievements across food security, global health, energy access, open government and more. There was much to applaud, including President Obama’s announcement that he had just signed into law the Global Food Security Act. Here are my three takeaways.
What Was Missing from the White House Global Development Summit
7/21/16
Yesterday at the White House Summit on Global Development, as President Obama outlined the programmatic successes of his administration’s global development policy (all genuine and worthy of acclaim), he didn’t even bother to mention the response to the global financial crisis that consumed his administration for much of its first year. Yet, when we consider just how perilous the economic conditions were for the United States and the world during that time, it is not unreasonable to conclude that the cause of global development was served at least as much by these efforts than by any single development initiative launched by an American president.
Party Foul? The Democratic and Republican Party Platforms on Global Development
7/21/16
Even in this most partisan of times, development policy has been an area with a semblance of bipartisan agreement—and even progress. But party platforms are partisan true-believer documents and not about the realities of governing. So what do the 2016 Democratic and Republican Party Platforms tell us about the parties’ respective visions for US development policy?
Cash on Delivery Aid Gets Shout-Out in FY17 Funding Bill
7/21/16
Congress has officially departed Washington for the summer, leaving behind a lengthy to-do list for September. In the final weeks of session, both chambers clamored to advance spending bills for the 2017 fiscal year. Though draft bills funding the State Department and foreign assistance were among the last to emerge, both House and Senate Appropriations Committees managed to report out measures before the clock struck recess. So without further ado, here’s a quick rundown of what caught our attention as we sifted through pages of bill text and report language.
Building on the Momentum: Focusing on Adolescent Girls through MCC Country Scorecards
7/15/16
In CGD’s last blog post on the new strategy, we commended the US government for leading the charge for adolescent girls—by issuing the first-ever country strategy specifically focused on the demographic. But how do we make sure that this articulated commitment continues to get translated into concrete action? What can MCC specifically contribute? One opportunity may lie in MCC’s country scorecards.
Senate Committee Examines US Economic Assistance, Asks How to Get It Right
7/13/16
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee recently took an interest in one key form of foreign aid—US economic assistance—convening a hearing to investigate the topic. We had high hopes going in and were pleased to hear all three of the hearing’s witnesses—Jeffrey Herbst, Alicia Phillips Mandaville, and CGD’s Todd Moss—champion the use of rigorous analysis, evaluation, and selectivity in aid to promote economic opportunity in developing countries.
Making the Most of the White House Global Development Summit
7/12/16
White House summits, which in recent years have addressed everything from African American LGBTQ Youth to Working Families, serve two main purposes: to make progress on a set of policy issues and to signal that the issues are a priority for the president. In this way, it’s encouraging to see the newly announced White House Summit on Global Development. More than a late term victory lap for President Obama’s global development policies and programs, I’m hopeful that this summit promotes approaches to development that will carry over into the next administration.
Congress Did Something! For Developing Countries!!
7/11/16
The clock is ticking on the 114th Congress, and as we inch closer to November 8, the odds of meaningful legislative action seem likely to dwindle further. It is heartening, then, that the House of Representatives joined the Senate last week and passed the Global Food Security Act. The legislation authorizes President Obama's Feed the Future initiative, which aims to increase incomes and improve nutrition among the rural poor in 19 focus countries.