The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2017

32 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 7. Educate the American public. Polls show that the Amer- ican public thinks that as much as a quarter of our national budget goes to foreign aid (the true figure is about 1 percent), and that much of this is wasted. The many and continuing suc- cess stories need to be pre- sented—from Plan Colombia and the rebuilding of Europe after World War II, to the fact that Vladimir Putin fears U.S. and other assistance to promote Russian democracy more than he fears NATO. They need to know that world health is improving, and poverty is declining. Our best global friends and partners are countries that have received U.S. assistance since 1945. It is ironic that the USAID brand is better and more favorably known overseas than in the United States. Outmoded, Cold War–legacy provisions in the Foreign Assistance Act that prohibit USAID from telling its story to the American public need to be removed. 8. Get ready for the changing world. Creating a robust assistance agency will help the United States and our part- ners better address the two most pressing problems we face in international affairs: using our assistance to promote the rule of law, and giving people who live in countries captured by kleptocratic dic- tators the means to choose leaders who will provide citizens with basic services and create conditions that promote economic growth and opportunity. This will require developing more programs that can be deployed effectively in nonpermissive environments. Large assistance flows from private foundations and investors pres- ent increasing opportunities for partnerships between govern- ment aid and these sources of funding. Americans are a generous people. We should be proud of our assistance that has saved lives, made possible many accomplishments and created a more stable and prosperous world. When I talk with nongovernmental assistance providers and ask them which national aid agencies are the best, they uniformly cite USAID as having some of the most knowledgeable and dedicated staff, both Americans and foreign nationals, who regularly provide innovative and effective assistance under difficult and often dangerous conditions. We owe it to these hard-working professionals to create the conditions for their continued success. n It is ironic that the USAID brand is better and more favorably known overseas than in the United States. CAROLHAN,USAID/OFDA U.S. Army logistician Terri Mcfadden (center) consults with USAID logistician Kelly Bradley (right) at a World Food Programme warehouse in Harper, Liberia, on best ways to transport supplies to U.S.-supported Ebola clinics.