InterAction is pleased the Senate Appropriations Committee, by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 17-2, approved spending allocations today that would maintain spending for international diplomacy and development at current FY2012 levels. 

Today's edition of the Weekly Update includes a write-up on Rep.

This week's Weekly Update includes analysis of the House budget resolution, a notification of a Sudan resolution, a list of upcoming hearings, a list of articles of interest, and summaries of hearings on U.S. policy in Iraq, the USAID FY2013 budget request and U.S. contributions to the UN budget.

This week's update includes:

• An analysis of the Sudan Peace, Security, and Accountability Act of 2012 in the House;
• A list of upcoming hearings;
• Summaries of Senate hearings on Sudan and South Sudan, and on the USAID FY2013 budget request; and
• A list of recommended articles from this week.

On March 1, 2012 AKF USA and the Mott Foundation hosted an event with 45 philanthro

President and CEO of InterAction, Sam Worthington states that NGOs unfairly get the brunt of the blame for slow progress in Haiti, NGOs cannot be the only face of recovery.

InterAction CEO, Samuel Worthington addresses the progress of funding for Haiti aid two years after the quake.

When we went to press Friday afternoon, the House had passed H.R. 2055, the “megabus” conference agreement on the nine remaining appropriations bills including State, Foreign Operations. The vote was 296-121.

Written by Tawana Jacobs, InterAction's Associate Director of Public Relations.

Country ownership empowers and supports effective states and citizens to take responsibility for their own development, using local systems and resources to build capacity and create change in communities that they are committed to sustaining.

This week House and Senate appropriators inched closer toward a nine-bill omnibus spending package to complete the FY2012 appropriations process by Dec. 16, which is the date when the continuing resolution currently funding the government is set to expire. Please see the Washington Update section for more details on the end game for FY2012 appropriations.

The Busan Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation is the outcome document of the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, held November 29 - December 1, 2011 in Busan, South Korea.

Carolyn Long, InterAction Director of Global Partnerships, is quoted in this article.

BUSAN, Nov 29 (IPS) – Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) from around the world attending the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF-4) in this South Korean port city have a rare opportunity to be on equal footing with governments and donors in a global conference.

Carolyn Long, InterAction's Director of Global Partnerships is quoted.

The draft outcome document for the Busan aid effectiveness forum is still under negotiation as African countries push for a 2013 deadline to end practice of linking aid to purchases from companies in donor countries.

InterAction, Oxfam and Save the Children are quoted in the Croatian news publication.

http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/119130/siromasnima-ne-pakovati-krizu

ActionAid today issued the following reactions at the conclusion of the G20 summit in Cannes, France.

“The G20 summit outcomes show progress on tax and banking secrecy but fall far short of what is needed to resolve the world`s food crises,” said Soren Ambrose, Head of Policy for ActionAid.



 

Sam Worthington quoted.

A proposal for a financial transaction tax to raise new new funding for poor countries failed to win the backing of the G20 although France President Nicolas Sarkozy said he planned to still pursue the idea.

Sam Worthington quoted.

Sam Worthington quoted.

CANNES, Nov 4 (IPS) - While the Greek bailout and stimulus package dominated discussion among the Group of 20 (G20) major industrialised and emerging market economies at the high-level summit in Cannes, France, this week, the proposed financial transactions tax (FTT) received meagre attention.

InterAction News Release:

The outcome of the G20 summit in Cannes was mixed, with progress on tax havens but not enough concrete action to ease the burden of the financial crisis on the world’s poor, said InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.-based NGOs.

Sam Worthington quoted in news story published by multiple media outlets including Germany's Greenpeace magazine.

John Ruthrauff, InterAction's Director of Intl Advocacy, was interviewed about the G20.

http://english.cntv.cn/program/newshour/20111103/110252.shtml

InterAction News Release: G20 leaders meeting in Cannes should heed recommendations by philanthropist Bill Gates today in his innovative funding report and invest in inclusive and sustainable growth, said the largest alliance of U.S.-based international NGOs on Thursday.

John Ruthrauff, InterAction's Director of International Advocacy, was quoted.

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) walks with France's President Nicolas Sarkozy as they arrive at the G20 venue where world leaders gather in Cannes, France, November 2, 2011.

InterAction News Release: G20 leaders meeting in Cannes tomorrow must not solve the sovereign debt crisis on the backs of the world’s poor and should take the lead on fulfilling previous commitments, particularly on food and agricultural assistance, said the largest alliance of U.S.-based international NGOs.

The FY2012 appropriations continued on a contorted path this week as House Appropriations Committee Chair Harold Rogers (R-KY) outlined his path toward completing the process and details emerged that the next Senate mini-bus will likely include the State, Foreign Operations bill, along with Financial Services and Energy—Water.

NGO alliance InterAction applauds the recent introduction of the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2012 by Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX), member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs (HCFA).

Did you know…
… that together, InterAction members and U.S. corporations manage an estimated $19.4 billion in international development program funds? Together, we represent more than half of the total U.S. private investment in developing countries.*

A recent survey of InterAction member CEOs, presidents and executive directors revealed:

This week, the House of Representatives cleared a short-term continuing resolution (HR 2068) that will keep the government running through November 18.

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations finally released their FY2012 report, available here.

The budget table details account levels for international poverty-focused and humanitarian assistance as well as other pertinent accounts within the U.S. International Affairs Budget (Function 150) that InterAction tracks and analyzes for its members.

On September 26th, grassroots activists across the U.S. will mobilize for a national call-in day.

This week the House Appropriations Committee unveiled the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2012, a stopgap measur

InterAction News Release:

Steinberg's remarks are titled, "Delivering Effectivev Development Assistance in a Changing Global Landscape."

InterAction continues to monitor the situation in the Horn of Africa and advocate for the needs of the over 12 million people who have been affected by the drought that has engulfed the region.

CARE and The World Wildlife Fund released a joint statement in applauding Senator John Kerry's inclusion of language linking conservation and development in the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2012-2013.   

Recent developments in the aid strategy of the United States — such as reversing a previous reduction in technical experts, and promoting more country-driven, outcome-oriented systems — have been endorsed by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic

Famine has been declared in parts of Middle Shabelle, IDP settlements along the Afgooye Corridor, parts of Mogadishu hosting IDPs, Lower

This week, the House State, Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee unveiled its draft bill for FY2012, which contained substantial cuts for humanitarian and poverty-focused development assistance.

InterAction Statement: House Republican appropriators today continued their assault on U.S. international efforts to reduce poverty, address climate change, and respond to famine and other disasters. This comes a week after the House Foreign Affairs Committee also sought to gut core development accounts.

Calling it "debilitating to my efforts to carry out a considered foreign policy and diplomacy," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is warning members of the House of Representatives that she "will recommend personally" that President Barack Obama veto a bill pending in the House that would severely restrict State Department operation

On July 21, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs passed H.R.2583, the FY2012 Foreign Relations Authorization Act, on a party-line vote of 23-20. The mark-up, which clocked in at over 30 hours, was thoroughly partisan with very few substantive bipartisan amendments adopted.

A statement by the Somalia NGO Consortium from July 20, 2011, on the UN's declaration of the first famine of the 21st century, in two regions in southern Somalia.

On July 8, the full House of Representatives passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2012 by a 336-87 vote, with 12 Republicans and 75 Democrats opposing the spending measure.

Today's edition of the Weekly Update includes news on the debt limit deadline and the Senate Budget Committee’s long-awaited draft FY2012 budget resolution. It also includes the regular menu of upcoming hearings, hearing summaries (including the contentious Senate Foreign Relations hearing on U.S. involvement in Libya), and articles of interest.

This week, The House this week passed its FY2012 Agriculture appropriations bill, containing deep cuts to international food aid grant funding—even as volatility in global food prices persists.

InterAction News Release: Members of Congress and U.S. NGOs announce the need to integrate global development and environmental policies with the launch of InterAction's new policy paper titled "The Nature of Development," which calls for alignment of the two issues in order to improve the effectiveness of U.S. foreign policy investments.

G8 Deauville Declaration outlines commitments made by world leaders on May 6-27, 2011.

When critics suggest that the Obama administration is hard on the corporate sector, they may be missing specific elements of the Obama agenda that have lots of corporate sector promotions built into government programs. Take the volunteerism program of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

InterAction News Release:

DEAUVILLE, May 27– G8 leaders meeting in France promised in their final declaration to be “fully transparent” in meeting development pledges but NGOs are troubled by vague timelines, particularly in the crucial areas of food and agriculture.

 Almost six years ago at the Gleneagles Summit, the G8 promised to increase overseas aid by US$50 billion by 2010, with $25 billion of it going to Africa. But today, the G8 have failed to deliver on their aid promises to the world’s poor.

InterAction News Release: The official G8 “Deauville Accountability Report” released today underscores the need for the world’s richest nations to be fully accountable and follow through on previous public promises to deliver aid in key areas like food security and global health.

This week, House Appropriations Chair Hal Rogers (R-KY) announced a disappointing FY2012 subcommittee allocation for State, Foreign Operations that continues the radically downward trend in spending for international affairs begun in FY2011.

Although Congress is in recess this week, there were several pertinent hearings from last week whose summaries we did not include in the April 15 edition of the Weekly Update. Among these are an April 11 Commission on Wartime Contracting hearing regarding NGOs and Provincial Reconstruction Teams operating in Afghanistan.

In the federal budget debate, Rep. Paul Ryan proposes cutting back U.S. foreign aid significantly. Here, U.S. Reps. Adam Smith and Jim McDermott as well as Global Washington founder Bill Clapp argue that such aid helps U.S. security and trade.

InterAction's analysis of the FY2011 federal budget for the last half of the year, to be signed by President Obama today. The analysis covers several humanitarian and development related accounts that InterAction tracks for members.

Note: Last updated April 20, 2011.

InterAction Statement: U.S. NGO alliance InterAction calls on Congress to pass the 2011 spending agreement today and work with the Obama administration to agree on a 2012 budget that invests in building a more stable and prosperous world.

In preparation for the November G20 summit’s consideration of innovative financing a number of leading institutions have produced analyses of financial transaction tax options (the IMF having done two).

NGO alliance InterAction calls on Congress and the Obama administration to think long-term and preserve our government’s 2012 investment in international development, diplomacy and humanitarian assistance.

InterAction is continuing to monitor the humanitarian situation in West Africa resulting from post-electoral violence in the Ivory Coast.

Japan continues to reel from the multiple disasters triggered by last Friday’s massive earthquake near its northeast coast. The media attention following this disaster has brought about a compassionate response from Americans. InterAction has developed guidelines on the most appropriate ways to help those affected by overseas disasters.

Our thoughts are with those in Japan and other countries across the Pacific Ocean that have been affected by the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami. InterAction member organizations have strong partnerships with civil society groups in Japan that are responding.

Earlier this afternoon, the Senate Appropriations Committee released detailed text of its Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011.

The American public appears to be clamoring for a discussion about the size and scope of the federal government. But how can Washington have a serious debate when most Americans are ignorant of what is in the budget?

This is final list of what happened to the amendments to the House Continuing Resolution (CR) Extension. The final bill  passed at 4:40 a.m. Saturday morning, with all but three Republicans voting for it and all 186 Democrats voting against.

Transcript of a press briefing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave after a meeting with House Speaker John Boehner on the FY2011 federal budget and planned cuts to all "non-security" spending.

Article in New Republic on how the U.K. has proved that during tough fiscal times, increasing foreign assistance is better than decreasing it.

Editorial from The Washington Post on why the sweeping cuts to the FY2011 federal budget, including foreign assistance, are a mistake.

Commentary in McClatchy on why the cuts to the federal budget in foreign assistance funds is dangerous.

In past years, the State Department and foreign operations appropriation bill has passed with strong bipartisan support, often by an overwhelming margin. Members of both parties have understood how important diplomacy and development are—not only to U.S.

On the House floor,  Congressman Berman condemned House Republicans for their irresponsible slash-and-burn tactics to cut spending in a way that seriously jeopardizes our national security and hampers our country’s economic growth.

InterAction member CARE's statement on the FY2011 Continuing Resolution.

Statement by U.S. House of Representatives Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi on the FY2011 Continuing Resolution.

A line-by-line look at how InterAction is crunching the numbers in the House of Representative's 2011 "Continuing Resolution Extension" bill.

Note: Last updated June 27, 2011.

“In a tough fiscal environment, the Obama administration has presented a responsible and sensible FY 2012 international assistance budget; one that will help save lives, create economic prosperity here and abroad, and reduce future deficits by preventing bigger security outlays in the future.

 As the United States seeks to get its fiscal house in order, Congress must realize that cuts to foreign assistance now will only cost our country more later. Such a strategy would-–in the most basic terms-–be penny-wise and pound foolish.

The term “budget process,” when applied to the federal government, actually refers to a number of processes that have evolved separately and that occur with varying degrees of coordination.

Asked to estimate how much of the federal budget goes to foreign aid the median estimate is 25 percent. Asked how much they thought would be an "appropriate" percentage the median response is 10 percent.  In fact just 1 percent of the federal budget goes to foreign aid.

The unrelated crises roiling Egypt and the federal budget have at least one thing in common: They both have brought calls to eliminate foreign aid.

As the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs for 10 years, and chairwoman for the past four, I know we can come together because we have. And our cooperation must continue — even as major foreign assistance has been put on the chopping block — because our national security demands it.

Article in the Huffington Post on Feb. 3, 2011, on the fight to protect the U.S. foreign assistance budget from cuts in FY2011. InterAction's president and CEO, Samuel A. Worthington, is interviewed.

InterAction's G8/G20 Task Force published a G20 Summit Policy Brief on innovative financing and the elimination of tax havens. The short brief provides information on the potential role a global financial transfer fee (also sometimes called a transfer tax) might play in responding to international crises.

Blog on AlertNet on the media's criticism of the humanitarian response in Haiti, and why it's simultaneously incomplete, appropriate and constructive.

U.S. Department of State fact sheet on an agreement to develop the North Industrial Park in Haiti to create 20,000 permanent jobs.

Transcript of a U.S. Department of State Special Briefing on the one-year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti, from January 7, 2011.

Transcript of a U.S. Department of State Special Briefing on Health Concerns in Haiti on January 10, 2011.

OCHA and the IASC are expected to produce a consolidated appeal document once a year for major crises: stakeholders need an organized snapshot and analysis. But the appeal is ineffective if the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) treats it as a one-off document-writing exercise – and the humanitarian response is likely to be ineffective too.

Joint press statement released by InterAction and 38 of its members on January 10, 2011, regarding the reconstruction in Haiti leading up to the one year anniversary of the earthquake in Port-au-Prince.

Chapter Two of Bread for the World's 2011 Hunger Report examines country-led development and advocates for the United States to incorporate this principle into all of its foreign aid programs, as it has with the Feed the Future Initiative. 

InterAction responds to the Obama administration’s recent Afghanistan and Pakistan strategy review by welcoming the long-term commitment to the development needs of the two countries but also highlighting several concerns with the overall assistance strategies in the countries.  

The capacity to respond to the urgent needs of vulnerable people in emergencies around the world is a central pillar of the U.S. government's foreign assistance portfolio. It should exemplify the impartial outpouring of humanitarian response in the wake of unthinkable tragedy.

With an eye toward sharpened capabilities, one of the biggest tests of the QDDR's success will be whether it actually fosters an alignment of strategies and plans with appropriate resources, writes Noam Unger of the Brookings Institution.

“For the first time, there’s been an attempt to rationalize the role of U.S. diplomats and development officers around the world and how diplomacy and development advance U.S.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released the long-awaited Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) on Wednesday, December 15, 2010, the result of a 17-month review of U.S. development and diplomacy policies. Called “Leading Through Civilian Power”, if offers a blueprint to better coordinate diplomacy and development in order that U.S.

The Obama administration is releasing the most comprehensive review of U.S. development and diplomacy efforts in half a century. The system which now delivers U.S. foreign assistance is based on legislation that was signed into law by President John F. Kennedy in 1961.  

Blog by Katie Gresham on the Development Assistance Task Force of the U.S. Summit for Global Citizen Diplomacy, November 16-19, 2010.

After a brief hiatus due to the mid-term elections, the weekly update is back!

Originally developed as part of InterAction's Africa Liaison Program Inititiative (ALPI) to foster relationships between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and nongovernmental organizations in the U.S.

This policy brief, published by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network in November, 2010, explores the lessons from Orissa and advocates for a greater need for political engagement and leadership; high-level administrative coordination and inter-departmental consultations; broad stakeholder consultation; and integration with regular planning and budgetary processes.

This document, published by the CAADP Working Group on Non-State Actor Participation on October 20, 2010, is a summary of an action planning workshop designed to boost non-state actor participation in the CAADP process. 

InterAction President and CEO Samuel A. Worthington, in representative of the alliance of U.S. NGOs applauds the President Obama’s new global development policy.InterAction looks forward to co-work with the Administration to turn the policy framework into results.

InterAction applauds for President Obama’s action of announcing his MDG plan on July 30-over a month prior to the U.N. MDG Summit in September. Meanwhile, we strongly urges the Administration to consider the following key recommendations on each of the eight MDGs as the plan is finalized.

Concern Worldwide has been working in Haiti for 16 years with currently close to 400 staff.

Six months after a disastrous earthquake struck Haiti, CRWRC remains hard at work responding to the many needs that this disaster caused.

4:53pm: A 7.0 earthquake hits Haiti. 17 minutes later International Medical Corps is preparing our Emergency Response Team. Within 5 hours, medical volunteers are deploying. 22 hours after the earthquake, we are saving lives on the ground in Port-au-Prince, working side-by-side with our Haitian medical counterparts.

Since January 12, WHI has launched an emergency response program that mobilizes its extraordinary capacity in the most severely affected areas focusing on health, psychosocial care, sensitization, potable water, sanitation, food, income-generating activities and workforce employment.

On January 12, 2010, a devastating earthquake—the worst natural disaster to hit the Western Hemisphere in two centuries—struck Haiti, killing approximately 300,000 people and leaving as many as one million homeless.

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Six months after Haiti’s devastating 7.0 earthquake, Lutheran World Relief (LWR) remains hard at work assisting those who are still dealing with its aftermath and will be for years to come. LWR, with a 14-year history in Haiti, is focusing the majority of its efforts on underserved rural populations.

Since the earthquake, BWAid has been helping in Haiti through a network of agencies. Immediately following the earthquake the two Haitian member bodies of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) were contacted and assistance offered. This close link with the two bodies remains as we work together.

From the immediate hours after the quake and ongoing, in all, CWS efforts - including the distribution of hygiene, school and baby kits, tents, wheelchairs, medical kits and other supplies -- have directly assisted at least 41,750 individuals so far; CWS is also working as a member of the global ACT Alliance, which has provided assistance to 341,000 Haitians.
 

During the half-year since an earthquake unleashed massive destruction in Haiti, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) has been devoted to both providing immediate assistance to survivors and laying the groundwork for a large-scale, long-term recovery effort.  Haiti is not out of the woods yet, not by a long shot.

Since January 12, 2010, Medical Teams International has:

The June 2010 issue of Monday Developments Magazine

This report is compiled following a request by the Principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC)2 at a meeting on 6 May 2010. The report is written 6 months after the 12 January earthquake in Haiti and is concerned primarily with

Our efforts in Haiti continue as we meet the current rehabilitation needs of the amputees through an amputee clinic being managed at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in the Central Plateau by Hanger Orthopedics, Christian Medical Mission Board, and other founding members of the Haitian Amputee Coalition, including Physicians for Peace.

FACTS AT A GLANCE:
The global Red Cross network is providing:

Six months after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, there is still much to be done, however, the communities Plant With Purpose works with have made significant progress by planting trees, constructing soil conservation barriers, and providing incomes to support their families through our “Cash for Work” program.

A summary of recommendations from InterAction's G8/G20 Coordination Group policy briefs on global health; climate change; food, hunger, and agriculture; accountability; global safe drinking water and sanitation; global economic crisis and;  basic education.

This is a PowerPoint presentation of UNISDR's 2010-2011 World Disaster Reduction Campaign.

The G8 and G20 countries have made significant commitments during past summits. However, their success is not determined by the contents of the communiqué but on whether their commitments are kept. InterAction applauds the G8’s preliminary accountability report and its commitment to develop a consistent and comprehensive G8 accountability framework. We urge the U.S.

 Notes from the "Consultation with the Global NGO Community on Building Back Better in Haiti" which occurred on March 25, 2010 in New York City.  The event was co-hosted by the European Union, InterAction, and the U.N. Office of the Special Envoy to Haiti.  

In response to the administration’s December 2009 Pakistan Assistance Strategy Report, InterAction members applaud the U.S.

Letter from InterAction's President and CEO Samuel A. Worthington to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah regarding the USAID Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance's announcement that it would reduce funding across all regions to make room for its massive response in Haiti

This is the latest version of InterAction's budget table, which include numbers from the President's FY2011 Budget Request and the FY2010 Supplemental Request.

Discussion paper on rewriting the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) for the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

See also: InterAction's Response to HFAC Discussion Paper #1

Testimony of Dr. Rajiv Shah, Administrator Designate, U.S. Agency for International Development, before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee

See also: "Historic Challenges and Opportunities Face USAID Nominee" (November 10, 2009)

Samuel A. Worthington, president and CEO of InterAction, testified on Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at a hearing of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade.

A progress report about the Millennium Challenge Corporation and its full funding request since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A progress report about relations between NGO (civil society) and the military since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A progress report about transformational diplomacy's the "F" process and returning budget authority to a USAID administrator since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A progress report on transformational diplomancy since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A progress report about encouraging government accountability in Uganda to rebuild the northern region since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A progress report about the call for a comprehensive national development strategy since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A progress report on Sri Lanka and providing full diplomatic and financial support for civilians since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A progress report on efforts to end conflict in Sri Lanka ince publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A progress report on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A progress report on Full funding of the MCC budget since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A progress report on Sustainable Global Health and Development since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A progress report on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment: Creation of office for global women's issues since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A progress report on the Obama administration's foreign assistance efforts since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A report detailing the financial architecture needed for climate change adaptation. The report class for a mechanism that would operate under the oversight of the UNFCCC and include: 1) an Executive Board, 2) a Secretariat, 3) a Trustee, 4) Funding Window Committees, 5)

Report on public dialogue hosted by InterAction and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) on country-led development and partnerships in fighting global poverty

Letter from Sens. John Kerry and Richard Lugar to President Obama urging a nomination for a USAID Administrator

InterAction applauds the G20 leaders for their re‐commitment to the achievement of the MDGs and calls for the immediate development and implementation of a transparent accountability mechanism to monitor decisions, pledges, and disbursements as agreed to at the Summit.

InterAction's policy statement on the global financial crisis for distribution and discussion at the September 2009 G20 Summit in Pittsburgh.

This policy brief is part of a larger series in InterAction’s 2009 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

One challenge the NGO community often faces, whether we’re advocating for increased resources for health and development programs, or for our government to respond to a humanitarian emergency overseas, is the misperception that the American people do not support government spending on international relief and development programs.

 Reaction from InterAction to the 2009 G20 Final Communique

 Text of the Final Communique issued by leaders of the G20 member states

Approximately 75 million children—55% of which are girls—lack access to quality, basic education. This education deficit effectively cripples the ability of these countries to participate in the global economy, build stable and democratic government systems, and protect their citizens from abuse and ill health.

Recommendations and bold measures needed to address the deepening global economic crisis in support of international social justice

This document, published by the Millennium Challenge Corporation in February, 2009, is designed to provide eligible country partners with an overview of how consultations are inte­grated into compact development and implementation, and to explain MCC’s expectations with regard to manage­ment and reporting on this process.

InterAction’s G8 NGO Coordination Group urges the U.S. Executive branch to take a strong leadership role at the 2009 G8 Summit and build on their 2008 commitments on food, hunger and agriculture.

The G8 needs to monitor progress on commitments made by G8 countries at past Summits using common baselines and provide disaggregated data to enable the experts to assess progress.

Meeting request from InterAction President & CEO Samuel Worthington to Obama transition team members Aaron Williams and Gayle Smith  to discuss the Obama administration’s plans for engaging with the NGO community in connection with USAID’s proposed Partner Vetting System.

This policy brief is part of a larger series in InterAction’s 2009 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

This policy brief is part of a larger series in InterAction’s 2009 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

This policy brief is part of a larger series in InterAction’s 2009 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

This policy brief is part of a larger series in InterAction’s 2009 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

This policy brief is part of a larger series in InterAction’s 2009 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

This policy brief is part of a larger series in InterAction’s 2009 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

Critical Problems, Recommendations, and actions for the Obama Administration and the 111th Congress

The current effort to reform US foreign assistance grew out of an understandable desire to better align US assistance with US interests and to improve the coordination, efficiency and transparency of that aid.

This paper, published by the World Bank in 2005, assesses the World Bank’s recent relations with civil society organizations and proposes new options for promoting effective civil engagement in the future.

This document, written by Harry Blair in 1998, examines civil society participation and democracy building through five case studies, from which he offers a number of lessons for international donors planning assistance to civil society.