Identified as a key principle of effective development, country ownership has become an ever-present part of the foreign assistance reform debate. While the Obama administration has embraced country ownership in the Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development (PPD) and other executive initiatives, it remains unclear how to put this principle into practice on the ground.

Episcopal Relief & Development's 2012 Lenten Meditations are available in English and in Spanish, both in print and electronically.  Orders for print booklets should be placed with the Episcopal Media Center by February 10 for delivery by Ash Wednesday, February 22.  Online booklets and

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.

InterAction News Release

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.

PowerPoint presentation from the December 1st presentation by Tameeza Alibhai, Program Manager of Aga Khan Foundation USA and FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance in Afghanistan.

Sam Worthington quoted in story, offering a civil society perspective.

This week, negotiations between congressional appropriators in both chambers continued on the nine remaining FY2012 appropriations bills that will likely consolidated into one omnibus (also known as a “megabus”) spending package. Dec. 16 remains the goal for completion of the measure.

Sam Worthington's op-ed on foreign assistance, published on the day of the CNN National Security Debate on 11/22/11.

After a week of rumor and innuendo, amendments and points of order, the FY2012 Senate State, Foreign Operations (SFOps) bill appears headed for inclusion in a nine-bill omnibus that leadership will attempt to push through by mid-December.

The November 2011 issue of Monday Developments Magazine

Last Friday, we reported that the next Senate minibus would likely include the State, Foreign Operations bill, along with Financial Services and Energy-Water and that it would move to the floor sometime this week.

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).

This week, House and Senate committees scrambled to submit their recommendations to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (JSC) before today’s deadline.

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.

USAID and the AdCouncil have launched a campaign to raise awareness about the drought in the Horn of Africa where more than 13.3 million people are in crisis.

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

PhilanTopic wrote a blog after interviewing InterAction's Vice President for Humanitarian Policy and Practice, Joel R. Charny,about the effects 9/11 had on NGOs.

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.

Current budget battles in Washington could result in an erosion of our country's "soft power" as US agencies who implement core foreign assistance programmes come under financial attack.

Legislation that would sharply cut U.S. foreign aid programs and slash support for family planning advanced on Wednesday in the Republican-controlled House, drawing protests from State Department officials and relief agencies.

InterAction Statement: Proposed cuts included in the State Department and foreign operations appropriations bill in the House of Representatives would have devastating consequences for the world's most vulnerable populations and gut core development and humanitarian spending accounts, said InterAction, the biggest alliance of U.S.-based international NGOs on Wednesday.

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.

RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund is in its fourth decade as a grassroots advocacy group committed to creating the political will to end hunger and the worst aspects of poverty. Planning advocacy strategies that have clear, powerful outcomes – and tracking organizational outcomes when you’re working in coalition with others – can be tricky.

On Capitol Hill next week, the House Foreign Affairs Committee is holding a markup hearing of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2012 on Wednesday, July 20 at 10:00am in room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Check for other upcoming hearings in the Update below.

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.

This presentation will share the preliminary results of a mini-campaign Mercy Corps is doing on hunger. The model we are using is a "low threshold" model suitable for organizations with limited resources to devote to campaigning, but with a desire to more fully engag

Read about clean water and sanitation work in Nicaragua, and a bake sale in California that raised money to help with the Japan earthquake and tsunami response. 

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.

The July 2011 issue of Monday Developments Magazine

This week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was busy with several nominations hearings, including one for former U.S. ambassador to both Pakistan and Iraq, Ryan Crocker, who this time is up for the position in Afghanistan. Furthermore, Dr. Ariel Pablos Mendez testified on Tuesday to be the next USAID Assistant Administrator for Global Health.

This week, the House of Representatives (the Senate was in recess) held a couple of hearings of interest to development and humanitarian community. On Wednesday, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia heard testimony from administration officials regarding the upcoming U.S.

A new USAID program allows companies of all sizes including large corporations, to send professionals abroad to local governments and groups in developing nations. Sam Worthington is quoted in a MSNBC article saying that a partnership of government, corporations and non-profits is essential for achieving the Millennium Dvelopment Goals.

At the G-8 summit in France, Obama wins support for aid to shore up emerging democracies and movements. Aid groups are skeptical, noting that the G-8 is behind on previous financial pledges.

InterAction’s G8/G20 Task Force urges G8 leaders to implement the following recommendations at the May 26-27 summit in Deauville, France.

The G8 is committed to aid effectiveness in the areas of global health and food security. Food security is central in the G8's development concerns as the countries focus on financial aid as well as research. The G8 has also mobilized over 40 percent of the $60 billion that was pledged towards global health in 2007.

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.

Led by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) (http://www.gainhealth.org).and InterAction (http://www.interaction.org), 1,000 Days informs key partners about the economic consequences of and cost-effective interventions for undernutrition to make this a priority in donor and country governments’ development strategie

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.

On April 14, 2011, InterAction President and CEO Samuel A. Worthington testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. His testimony, below, championed the importance and value of the poverty-focused development and humanitarian accounts administered by USAID and the State Department.

InterAction's G8/G20 Task Force applauds the work of the G20 leaders to enhance financial inclusion by increasing access to financial services by low-income people. Improving the range and quality of financial services available to previously excluded individuals strengthens their ability to secure and increase their financial assets.

Facts and figures to support the 2011 Sphere Handbook: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response.

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

Collaboration is often key to advocacy success, and coalitions are one of the most common forms of collaboration. Understand coalitions and networks from an evaluative perspective, and learn about how to assess coalition member capacity, coalition capacity, and coalition achievements. 

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.

Op-ed in The Christian Science Monitor by Ken Hackett, president of InterAction member Catholic Relief Services, on the choice faced by U.S. lawmakers about whether to cut foreign assistance in the FY2011 federal budget.

Congress is doing its part by preparing to cut the international affairs budget by close to 20 percent, a move that could undermine national security, defy military leaders’ advice and endanger U.S. interests and core values. Worst of all, these cuts would be disastrous for women and children—the majority of the world’s poor.

As the Senate begins debate on the budget for the remainder of fiscal 2011, senators will have to decide what this country’s international priorities are. This article recommends that the U.S. make foreign aid a priority.

InterAction's G8/G20 Task Force released a 2011 G20 Summit Policy Paper entitled G20 Must Increase Its Fight Against Corruption earlier last week.

Transcript of a State Department discussion on its FY2012 budget request.

Letter to the editor in The Miami Herald on why now is the wrong time to be cutting U.S. foreign assistance.

Letter from State Department Assistant Secretary of Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration Eric Schwartz. Posted from Liberia, the letter explores the positive impact of U.S. foreign assistance while the House of Representatives makes massive cuts in the FY2011 budget.

Article in The Washington Post on the cuts to the foreign assistance accounts in the federal FY2011 budget. Staff from InterAction members World Food Program USA, World Vision and ONE are interviewed.

In the aftermath of a successful referendum process in South Sudan which will likely lead to the emergence of two new states—North and South Sudan—from one, and against the backdrop of sweeping changes throughout the Middle East and North Africa, violence in Darfur appears to be on the rise.

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.

President Obama’s proposed 2012 budget calls for a modest increase—1 percent—in spending on foreign affairs and development.

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

Offers line-by-line details on how InterAction is crunching the 2012 International Affairs Budget numbers. 

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.

“We estimate that between 2005 and 2010, nearly half a billion people escaped extreme hardship, as the total number of the world's poor fell to 878 million people. Never before in history have so many people been lifted out of poverty in such a short period.”

Save the Children's assessment of Pakistan six months after the flooding.

“When I took office a year ago, the development community made clear if the United States was to play a leading role in international development, USAID would have to be strengthened and empowered with certain authorities that have been stripped from the agency over the course of decades. We heard you.”

Articleon life in Imperial Beach one year after the earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010.

InterAction member Heifer International's one year progress report on work done in Haiti since the January 12, 2010, earthquake.

Article from Scientific American on the health sector in Haiti one year after the January 12, 2010, earthquake, including discussion on NGOs' impact.

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

InterAction member IRD's report on activities they've completed in Haiti in the year since the January 12, 2010, earthquake.

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.

InterAction member Handicap International's one-year report on work done in Haiti since the January 12, 2010, earthquake.

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.

Southern Sudan is an autonomous region within Sudan, formed following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in January 2005. Juba is its capital city. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the east, Kenya, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the south, and the Central African Republic to the west.

The March 2011 issue of Monday Developments Magazine

InterAction member EDC's one year progress report after the January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti.

As the January 9 referenda in south Sudan and Abyei approach, so do the possibilities for violence and humanitarian crises. The United Nations has mapped out potential flashpoints for conflict and drawn up detailed contingency plans, but many critical challenges remain unresolved.

African leaders have recently expressed concern that the possible division of Sudan may lead to a domino effect of other secessions on the continent—but closer analysis questions how likely this may be.

Africa’s borders are largely accepted; it is only a distinct few cases (including Sudan) in which
they could be reconsidered.

This report is submitted pursuant to paragraph 11 of Security Council resolution 1590 (2005), in which the Council requested that it be kept regularly informed of progress made in the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in the Sudan.

As Southern Sudan prepares for a referendum that will determine whether it will become a separate country, public opinion research by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) shows significant support for independence and a strong desire for the referendum to be held on time.

•Since its establishment five years ago under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) has struggled to create a justice system that reflects the values and requirements for justice among the people of Southern Sudan. For both political and practical reasons, chiefs’ courts and customary law are central to this endeavor.

•With Southern Sudan’s referendum on whether to remain part of Sudan or secede approaching, it is vital that the international community encourage and support negotiations on postreferendum arrangements, which include issues ranging from wealth sharing to citizenship rights to security arrangements. Good coordination among the international community will be essential.

Not long before the UN-run popular consultation in East Timor in 1999, an Indonesian general told me that if the East Timorese voted for independence, Indonesia would surely break apart. He cited the centrifugal forces at work that would pull the diverse country to pieces. In effect, East Timor’s departure would set the dominos in motion.

An International Rescue Committee (IRC) medical team is delivering health care services to more than 3,500 newly displaced people, mostly women and children, who took refuge in Northern Bahr el Ghazal after their villages along the north-south border were hit by Sudanese army bombers.

In about two months, Africa may have a new country, the first since the end of the colonial era. On Jan. 9, the people of southern Sudan are expected to vote in a referendum to determine whether their region will become an independent nation.

The Sudanese Network for Democratic Elections (SuNDE), a coalition of over 75 non-partisan civil society organizations located in all ten states of Southern Sudan, developed and released a set of recommendations on September 8, 2010 to ensure a timely, transparent, peaceful, and fair referendum process.

President Barack Obama's presence at a high-level meeting on Sudan at the United Nations on September 24 was the most recent sign of his administration's intensified diplomatic efforts to avert a catastrophic return to war in Africa's largest state. On January 9, southern Sudan is scheduled to vote in two referenda.

Testimony of Michel Gabaudan
President of Refugees International
September 30, 2010
Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, U.S. House of Representatives

This report makes several recommendations for Sudanese leaders and international actors:

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.  

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton unveiled the final report of the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR). The report provides a blueprint for elevating American "civilian power" to better advance national interests and to be a better partner to the U.S. military.

John Ruthrauff,  InterAction’s International Advocacy Director, is quoted in this article about World Bank reforms to increase lending to low-income countries.

Sam Worthington quoted in Devex.com's report out on the QDDR.

“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.

InterAction members continue to respond to the cholera outbreak in Haiti. Find more information on our crisis response page.

InterAction members continue to respond to the cholera outbreak in Haiti. The international humanitarian community and Haiti’s government are acting quickly and coordinating efforts to respond to the outbreak and prevent further spread of the disease.

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

The Department of State, after consultation with the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), submitted this report detailing planned uses of certain funds appropriated for Haiti in the FY 2010 Supplemental Appropriations Bill passed by Congress on July 27, 2010 and signed by President Obama on July 29, 2010 (HR 4899).

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.

Norgrove, who worked for the humanitarian agency Development Alternatives International (DAI), was kidnapped by militants before dying in a botched American special forces rescue operation last week. DAI’s six programmes in Afghanistan are run under contract to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The September 2010 issue of Monday Developments Magazine

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.

The August 2010 issue of Monday Developments Magazine

Congresswoman Barbara Lee introduces a CR in support of the MDGs.

This report chronicles the activities of seven InterAction member agencies in Sri Lanka. This member activity report describes the relief and development efforts of InterAction member agencies in Sri Lanka from December 2006 through June 2010.

InterAction President and CEO Samuel A. Worthington testifies before the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs' Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere on Thursday, July 29, 2010.

As members of the international community gather in Kabul for the International Conference on Afghanistan, InterAction is pleased that the expected focus of the conference is “Afghan priorities for the Afghan people”.

The June 2010 issue of Monday Developments Magazine

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.

In the aftermath of the January earthquake, the massive displacement of over a million people and the profound disruption of every aspect of daily life have greatly exacerbated the protection risks for women and girls in Haiti.

Mercy Corps released a briefing paper summarizing results from research in Iraq and Afghanistan to understand how local people in both places perceive the work of different groups that implement development programs in their communities.  This study adds to a growing body of research that demonstrates the value of long-term, community-led, and needs-based assistance, even in inse

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.

Letter signed by 33 InterAction members to the Speaker of the House, House and Senate Majority Leaders and Ranking members urging them to give immediate priority to the FY10 supplemental funding measure.

Almost a year since more than three million people fled fighting in Pakistan’s Swat valley and surrounding areas, the crisis is far from over. Over a million people are displaced, more are being forced into displacement every day, and two million are struggling to rebuild their lives after returning to their homes to find their villages destroyed.

Agricultural extension or ‘farmer advisory services’ can play a key role in enabling smallholder farmers to become more productive and to participate more profitably in agricultural markets and value chains. To achieve that goal, farmer advisory services must be reoriented and restructured.

The InterAction G8/G20 NGO Coordination Group applauds the G8’s decision in 2009 to improve accountability on its global health commitments and to build on the revised "Toyako Framework for Action on Global Health." To leverage President Obama’s Global Health Initiative and galvanize international action by the time of the September 2010 UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG

In 2005, in Gleneagles, Scotland, G8 nations committed to "act with resolve and urgency" to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in Haiti during the past thirty years have addressed a broad list of critical needs, including healthcare, education, sanitation, micro-loans and agricultural assistance at the community, city or local and regional levels.

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 brief, published by Save the Children in 2010, explores issues for policymakers and practitioners to consider as part of a renewed emphasis on stakeholder participation in development programs. 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's remarks at the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit on Thursday, December 17, 2009. 

Latest draft text (on December 15, 2009) from the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-Term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA), a  key working group under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).   In 2012, the Kyoto Protocol expires and it is assumed that this six page paper may be the framework for a new global agreement to combat climate change.

An InterAction Viewpoint on the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit.

Response to discussion in the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) rewrite process with ten proposed reforms and other responses/suggestions from the InterAction community.

See also: HFAC Discussion Paper #1