Our commitment matters: Let’s invest together to reach the Global Goals
By Gayle Smith, USAID Administrator
It is a matter of great pride for me — as the USAID Administrator, but also as an American — that people all over the world turn to the United States in times of great need. When an earthquake strikes, or a drought makes it near impossible to put food on the table, or violence forces families from their homes, people everywhere know that the United States will be there, and will act to provide food, medicine, and even the tools to rebuild.
The American people expect this kind of leadership from their government. And they respond themselves with generosity. Take the global refugee crisis that is straining the world’s resources and testing our collective resolve. More than 65 million people have been forcibly displaced by conflict and violence; that’s about as urgent as a crisis gets. And yesterday, InterAction — the largest American alliance of international NGOs — announced a commitment of $1.2 billion to help meet the urgent needs of refugees and displaced persons over the next three years. This is funding from the American people to others in need.
The takeaway is simple: when people are in need, Americans want to help.
In today’s world of complex crises and sharp-edged conflicts, this kind of generosity is more important than ever. And governments, donors, and businesses all over the world need to follow the lead of the American people and step up. We are facing daunting global challenges, and we need bold leadership to solve them.
That’s why next week, on the margins of the final United Nations General Assembly session of his presidency, President Obama will host a Leaders’ Summit on Refugees. Through the Summit, the United States and our co-hosts will galvanize the international community to do more to protect and assist refugees. Countries will come to the table with concrete commitments, ranging from financial contributions to under-funded humanitarian appeals to new policies for refugee resettlement, education, and jobs.
These commitments matter, and they will go a long way toward meeting the needs of refugees and their host communities around the world.
Of course, that’s easier said than done, but it turns out we actually know quite a bit about how to do it.
The United States Agency for International Development has been around for more than 50 years. And in that time, we have learned how development can foster long-term peace and stability, and build open and flourishing partners for the United States. When we get it right, we can put investments in the bank that will yield returns for decades — and, ultimately, eliminate the drivers of crisis.
And in recent years, we have joined agencies across the U.S. Government to answer President Obama’s call to be smarter, more efficient, and more impactful with our development assistance. I’ve been in the development field for over 35 years now. And while the challenges we face are greater than I have ever seen, so is our capacity to meet them. Together with our partners, we have helped spur transformative progress in global health, food security, energy, governance, education, and inclusive economic growth.
And now, we must build on these successes and help communities around the world sustain their hard-won gains. We have to continue to build the evidence base, and support innovative solutions to help countries meet development challenges faster and cheaper than ever before. We have to achieve the Global Goals world leaders agreed to at last year’s UNGA.
We can’t do any of this on our own. After all, development isn’t something we do to people. It’s an aspiration and a discipline. It’s the process by which governments govern responsibly and fairly, and economies deliver for everyone. And, as President Obama said at the White House Summit on Global Development in July, “it’s one of the smartest investments we can make in our shared future.”
That’s why we are working with developing countries not as the recipients of charity, but as equal partners.
For example, through Feed the Future, our investments support country-led plans for food security and agricultural development. Through the Open Government Partnership, we are working with civil society and government partners all over the world to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness technology to strengthen governance, all while leading by example here at home. Through Trade Africa, we are working together with our African partners to forge stronger alliances rooted in shared interests, shared opportunity, and shared prosperity. And during UNGA next week, the U.S. Department of Commerce and Bloomberg Philanthropies will co-host the second U.S.-Africa Business Forum, where heads of state, government officials, and CEOs from African and American companies will come together to develop trade and business opportunities between the United States and Africa.
We also need to work together — across borders and across sectors — to finance development.
If development is an investment in our shared future, then we have to split the check.
That means bringing to bear all three streams of capital that were agreed to at the Financing for Development conference last year. We need official development assistance, private capital, and domestic resources all working together to sustain development progress into the future.
As we head into UNGA week, let’s commit to rise to today’s challenges as we build a better tomorrow, to tackle both the urgent and the important. Let’s work to build on the tremendous development progress we have achieved together, eliminate the drivers of crisis, and plant the seeds of peace, prosperity, and dignity.
Our shared future depends on it.
About the Author
Gayle Smith is the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the lead U.S. government agency working to end poverty and enable resilient, democratic societies to realize their potential. Follow her @GayleSmith.
