About MFAN and Its Mission

Big Global Challenges Require Smart, Effective Answers

The U.S. faces a complex set of global challenges today. The current economic crisis has yet to fully play out, but its effects are likely to fall hardest on the world’s most vulnerable people, whose hopes of a better life are already crushed by poverty and disease. In countries that are both poor and poorly-governed, lack of opportunity can breed instability, creating fertile environments for extremism and terrorism. America’s global leadership in tackling these challenges is more important than ever – for our own national security, for our economic prosperity, for the stability of our allies, and for the well-being of those around the world who struggle to lift themselves up out of poverty.

Investment in Global Development is a Cost-Effective, Long-Term Solution

The economic crisis has made it more important than ever that each dollar spent both domestically and internationally is scrutinized for cost-effectiveness and long-term impact. As leaders from across the political spectrum have recently said, U.S. development assistance is a crucial investment in long-term global prosperity and security. The U.S. must emphasize this “smart” instrument of U.S. foreign policy through global development programs that alleviate poverty and promote sustainable health, stability, and economic growth – and recognize these as tools equal in importance to military might. The well-being of hundreds of millions of people, including our own, is at stake, which means we simply have to get global development right. Here’s why:

• In an era of global terrorism, Americans must do everything in their power to ensure our national safety and well-being. Defense Secretary Gates said, “in the campaign against terrorist networks and other extremists…we cannot kill or capture our way to victory.” Of all of the weapons in our foreign policy arsenal, the least used, but potentially most effective, is our investment in global development. Simply put, America is safer when the world is more stable, and increasing the effectiveness of American investments in global development will promote global stability.

• Even with all of the world’s great riches, three billion people still live on less than two dollars a day. The rise of the global economy has expanded opportunity for many, but the benefits of growth have been unevenly shared, leaving too many behind. Even during this time of economic uncertainty for the United States, Americans still enjoy many of the benefits of globalization. And Americans understand that to whom much is given, much is expected.

• America’s ability to positively influence world events and to rally our allies behind us has been severely diminished by our economic crisis and geopolitical turmoil. We can restore America’s standing in the world by making our investments in global development work harder and smarter to fight instability, hunger, illiteracy, disease, and lack of opportunity. It seems like common sense that America’s face in the world should be found at the other end of a stethoscope, water pump, or textbook, instead of the barrel of a gun.

• The economic well-being of Americans is directly tied to that of the rest of the world. When Americans support the development of vibrant and efficient economies, we open up new opportunities for American products while building strong partnerships with the world’s emerging markets. More, and more effective, investments in global development are critical to meeting these economic goals.

The Government’s System is Outdated

Right now, the U.S. government isn’t set up to use global development as effectively as we must, given our economic and foreign policy challenges. In fact, our current system for prioritizing and managing U.S. global development efforts is outdated and messy, with too many agencies running too many programs that lack an overall strategy. If global development is to take its rightful place as a primary tool in the U.S. foreign policy toolkit, the system must be modernized, and development experts must be given a seat at the table when key foreign policy decisions are made.

MFAN’s Plan Will Bring the System into the 21st Century

MFAN’s practical, bipartisan plan to make global development more effective calls for smarter strategy, stronger accountability, and streamlining the U.S. government agencies that implement our development investments into one strong, strategic, and coordinated structure. Our plan is built on the premise that investing in development now is smart and cost-effective – it contributes to our national security, it builds good will and bolsters our image abroad, and it saves us from expensive and painful foreign military interventions.

Influential Voices are Supporting MFAN’s Plan

The good news is that there is a rising chorus of voices joining us in recognizing how important development is to U.S. foreign policy. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has called for more investment in development, and for the adoption of a foreign policy that puts development and diplomacy up front, with defense playing a supporting role. We have a long way to go, however, to turn this kind of vocal support into the concrete Presidential and Congressional actions needed to bring our proposals to life. We hope you will join our campaign.

MFAN’s practical, bipartisan foreign assistance reform plan has four key actions:

• Develop a national strategy for global development;

• Reach a “grand bargain” between the Executive branch and Congress on management authorities and plan, design and enact a new Foreign Assistance Act;

• Streamline the organizational structure and improve organizational capacity by creating a Cabinet-level Department for Global Development, by rebuilding human resource capacity and strengthening monitoring and evaluation; and,

• Increase funding for and accountability of foreign assistance.