CEDPA Calls for Greater Attention to Local Needs, Women’s Leadership and Health

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 29, 2009

CONTACT:
Ketayoun Darvich- Kodjouri, (202)939-2654

WASHINGTON, DC—The Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA), an international non-profit that works to improve the lives of women and girls around the world, applauds the introduction of the “Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act” (HR 2139) by U.S. Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Mark Kirk (R-IL).

The bi-partisan Congressional bill calls for a comprehensive and coordinated strategy for America’s efforts to reduce global poverty, promote economic growth, and advance stability in developing countries.

The bill requires that President Obama develop a new National Strategy for Global Development to coordinate all government entities engaged in international development; calls for monitoring to ensure effectiveness of these programs; and creates new transparency so that every American will be able to see where and how U.S. foreign assistance is being used.

“If done right, reforming U.S. foreign assistance can help ensure that our aid to other nations is responsive to local needs, effective and has long-lasting impact,” said Carol Peasley, President and CEO of CEDPA. “It can also help bolster the U.S. image around the world, showing the true generosity of Americans and our commitment to the global community.”

Further, CEDPA calls on Congress and President Obama to consider the following priorities as they work together to develop a new global development strategy:

1. Ground the U.S. development agenda in local needs and support capacity building. Supporting locally led priorities, and helping communities increase their capacity to improve their own development, creates sustainable long-term impact. While presidential and congressional initiatives directed at specific issues and results are important—whether to improve basic education or stop HIV/AIDS—these are not sufficient. They must be grounded in local initiatives.



2. Make greater investments in women’s empowerment and gender equality for sustainable development, poverty reduction and better governance. Research from the United Nations, the World Bank and others proves this case—as does CEDPA’s more than 30 years of experience in development. A reformed U.S. foreign aid system must do a better job of using gender analysis at all levels of planning and implementation, and integrated into all programs. It must provide a higher profile for women’s issues, as well as dedicated resources.



3. Develop an integrated strategy to addresses broad global health needs. Prior presidents and the U.S. Congress have dramatically increased funding for global health in recent years, but almost all of these increases have been in specific areas such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, polio, tuberculosis or avian flu. The result is a mix of vertical programs that have had a number of unanticipated negative effects, and disempowered countries so they are no longer able to direct resources to their highest priority needs.



4. To improve health and reduce poverty, support for family planning and reproductive health programs should be a clear recommendation within the development agenda. The international community should be embarrassed by the lack of progress in reducing maternal death, which claims one woman’s life every minute, and the enormous unmet need for lifesaving family planning services around the world.

“At CEDPA, we look forward to working with President Obama and Members of Congress to support changes that will improve impact on the ground, put the lives of people at the center, and help build a safer world that truly enables girls and boys to achieve their maximum potential,” Peasley said.

CEDPA works through local partnerships to give women tools to improve their lives, families and communities. CEDPA’s programs increase educational opportunities for girls, ensure access to lifesaving reproductive health and HIV/AIDS services, and strengthen women’s leadership in their nations. With a growing network of more than 5,200 alumni and partners in over 150 countries, CEDPA is building a groundswell of change agents for effective international development. For more information, go to www.cedpa.org.

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