The quiet revolution must continue

Second, we’re in the midst of a quiet revolution in foreign assistance that began early in the Bush administration, and is going just as strong into the Obama years. Through the creation of smart, new development programs and the initiation of much-needed reforms to our existing aid infrastructure, we have greatly expanded the reach and efficacy of our foreign assistance activities.

In 2003, President Bush and a bipartisan Congress teamed up to create the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the largest commitment any nation has ever made for an international health initiative dedicated to a single disease. Quite simply, PEPFAR has singlehandedly changed the course of human history on the African continent by providing lifesaving medicines to 2.4 million men, women, and children who otherwise would have had no hope. In its first five years from 2003-2008, PEPFAR met and even exceeded its ambitious goals to prevent the spread of 7 million additional HIV/AIDS cases, care for 10 million persons affected by the disease—including orphans and vulnerable children—and provide treatment to 2 million individuals.

In 2004, the president and Congress teamed up again to launch a visionary new development tool called the Millennium Challenge Corporation. The MCC promotes economic growth through the provision of substantial, multi-year infrastructure grants to a host of developing countries that meet strict criteria for economic freedom, democracy, and human rights. The MCC has already initiated assistance compacts with 20 developing countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, and the MCC is providing transitional assistance to another 20 countries to help them enact the reforms necessary to become compact eligible. The MCC assistance model is based on country ownership, where recipient countries design and implement their own infrastructure projects in agriculture, transportation, energy, water, education, and other areas critical to economic growth.

In 2005, the President’s Malaria Initiative was developed as a way of intensively targeting 15 hard hit countries in Africa with the bold goal of reducing malaria-related deaths by 50 percent. In just its first three years, PMI reached more than 60 million people with prevention and treatment services and supported the training of more than 35,000 local health workers.

Just last year, President Obama unveiled an aggressive new global health initiative along with a far-reaching global food security program—both of which are designed to improve the impact of our development programs through greater coordination and prioritization of resources.

The State Department has also launched the first-ever Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review to examine the strategic roles of diplomacy and development so that both D’s can be strengthened in the execution of U.S. foreign policy. At the same time, the White House is conducting a cross-government review of U.S. global development policy. There are also pending bills in both the House and Senate that take important steps toward foreign assistance reform.

Again, there’s no denying the fiscal challenges that our elected leaders have on their plate. But there’s also no denying how much of a difference our foreign assistance programs are making in key parts of the world. I hope that our leaders keep these thoughts in mind as the budget season—and political season—moves forward.

Mark Green is a former Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wisconsin. He also served as ambassador to Tanzania. He is the director of the Malaria No More Policy Center.