Historic Challenges and Opportunities Face USAID Nominee

UPDATE: U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold hearings on Dr. Shah's nomination at 10:00am on Tuesday, December 1, 2009 in Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 419.

UPDATE 2: Dr. Shah's testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is now available [1].

“InterAction congratulates Dr. Rajiv Shah on his nomination to lead the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). His nomination is definitely a step in the right direction. The alliance of 187 InterAction member organizations looks forward to working with him on the historic opportunities and challenges facing the U.S. on the humanitarian and global development fronts.

The challenges are many, but USAID administrator-nominee Shah has a historic opportunity to shape the way U.S. foreign assistance is done for at least the next 50 years. Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) and other congressional leaders are looking to the new administrator to help guide discussions around climate change, food security, a rewrite of the outdated 1961 Foreign Assistance Act and countless other issues.”

- Samuel A. Worthington

SEE ALSO

• Testimony of Dr. Rajiv Shah [1], Administrator Designate, U.S. Agency for International Development, before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, December 1, 2009
• Full Statement [2]by InterAction President & CEO Samuel A. Worthington, noting several challenges Dr. Shah will face as the new USAID Administrator
• InterAction’s Foreign Assistance Briefing Book Progress Reports [3], which examines the state of U.S. foreign assistance, one year after the election of President Obama.
• December 2008 memo to President-elect Obama [4] detailing the development community’s preferred job qualifications for the USAID administrator-nominee.