Micah members join effort for US foreign aid reform

Wal-Mart and the AFL-CIO Agree: The U.S. Can (and Must) Do a Better Job Fighting Poverty, Disease, and Lack of Opportunity in the Developing World
by David Beckmann and Steve Radelet

In the face of big global challenges, President Obama has rightly called for a new, smarter U.S. foreign policy that focuses on bolstering our long-term security, building our alliances, and expanding global prosperity. A central element of his new approach is elevating U.S. support for global development and balancing it with defense and diplomacy, which in practice means strengthening U.S. foreign assistance and other programs that fight poverty, disease, and lack of opportunity in developing nations.

Today, a diverse group of nearly 150 individuals and organizations -- including Wal-Mart, the AFL-CIO, former Joint Chiefs Chairman John Shalikashvili, three former USAID Administrators, Bread for the World, the Center for Global Development, the Center for American Progress, and World Wildlife Fund US -- sent a letter to President Obama and Congress pledging full support for their efforts to elevate global development. The signatories also call for U.S. foreign assistance programs to be enhanced and modernized in order to make sure that, in today's economic climate and for years to come, our development dollars are used effectively and reach the people who need help most...

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