In September 2010, President Obama announced the first Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development (PPD) in American history, heralding a new U.S. approach to alleviating poverty, eradicating disease, and promoting economic growth in poor countries. As part of a speech outlining the new policy, President Obama declared, “...we will insist on more responsibility—from ourselves and from others. We insist on mutual accountability.” 

To answer this call and hold the Administration accountable for the ambitious commitments in the PPD, MFAN asked U.S. government agencies involved in global development to respond to a series of questions assessing each agency’s progress on implementing the policy over the past 18 months. We are particularly focused on ensuring the Administration remains committed to transparency as this new approach to global development is brought to life. We hope the information that we’ve received from participating development agencies—published on this microsite—will spark discussion on the successes thus far and the opportunities that lie ahead. We will also aim to highlight areas where more needs to be done inside and outside of government to drive better development outcomes. Click here to read MFAN’s first anniversary assessment of the PPD.

Transforming foreign assistance

April 15th, 2013 | Community, Obama Administration, Policy to Action, USAID, White House

ompleting the transformation of U.S. foreign assistance will reposition the U.S. as not just the most generous, but also the most strategic, innovative, and effective player in global development. We have saved and improved millions of lives over the last ten years and our efforts have helped strengthen our image abroad: a new field survey of aid recipient countries by Oxfam America finds that 83 percent of respondents believe the U.S. is a better development partner now than five years ago. The opportunity at hand for the next ten years is to turn progress into lasting change by helping those people take control of their own lives.

MFAN Statement: USAID Offers Evidence of Reform Progress

March 20th, 2013 | Community, MFAN Statement, Policy to Action, USAID

This progress could not have come at a better time; budget pressures demand better results, and the Agency will bear greater responsibility at the leading edge of U.S. foreign policy as our military leverage decreases in places like Afghanistan and the greater Middle East.

Liberia’s Government Takes the Helm to Protect Vulnerable Children

March 1st, 2013 | Community, Policy to Action, USAID

Building stronger and more responsive government institutions is a challenging task, particularly in a country like Liberia that has been so deeply impacted by war.