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This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
Remarks by J. Brady Anderson,
Episcopal Relief and Development
USAID Administrator
September 21, 2000
Thank you, Bishop Tharp. Good evening, it's a pleasure to be here.
I have been Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development for about a year and a half now, and in that time one thing I have seen over and over is the genuine compassion Americans feel for their neighbors -- whether they live around the corner or around the world.
As I'm sure you know, USAID is the federal government agency that provides assistance to developing countries to help with their economic and social development.
This assistance goes beyond meeting humanitarian needs in times of crisis to providing long term assistance to combat poverty, ineffective government, disease, poor education, high mortality rates, and environmental degradation.
President Clinton has said that much of the work of America cannot be done by the government -- and much cannot be done by the government alone. He is right.
USAID carries out most of its activities either in tandem with country agencies or in partnership with U.S. non-governmental organizations, many of which are faith-based.
USAID has long recognized the important contributions made by faith-based groups to U.S. development efforts throughout the world. For over 20 years, USAID has utilized their well-developed distribution networks, services, and contacts to reach the poorest of the poor.
Faith-based organizations such as Catholic Relief Services, World Vision, and ADRA have, over the course of the last two decades, successfully partnered with USAID to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people all over the world.
Long field experience, commitment, humanitarian services, and institutional memory make faith-based sponsored groups excellent partners in our overseas work.
The United States has a long and generous tradition of providing assistance to the victims of disasters, especially women and children.
In the aftermath of the earthquakes in Turkey, the war in Kosovo, and the floods in Mozambique, and recent droughts in the Horn of Africa USAID responded with life saving food assistance, medical aid and critical water and sanitation.
Over the past two years, the Agency has broadened its approach to humanitarian assistance, bringing more attention to preventing crises as well as to moving out of crisis into normalcy. To achieve its goal in humanitarian assistance, USAID outlined a strategic framework that includes prevention, relief, and transition objectives.
Six months ago we were looking at a very different picture in the Horn of Africa, when it looked like we would relive the experience of 1984 famine that took many lives.
Today, because of much hard work and planning, we instead have a picture of people surviving a very tough period. Granted, the conditions aren't great, but I believe we have averted what would have been another famine in the Horn.
We can be proud of this because it is through our partnership with UNWFP and U.S. and International NGOs that we have succeeded in saving hundreds of thousands of lives.
As we enter this new century, the challenges that face developing countries promise to grow in intensity and complexity. One of the most pressing challenges these days is the spread of HIV/AIDS particularly in the continent of Africa.
Today, two-thirds of the world's population infected with AIDS lives in Africa -- some 25 million people. Approximately 6 million Africans die of AIDS every year.
AIDS kills more Africans every year than all the continent's civil wars. It strikes people in their prime, killing the very men and women best positioned to contribute to African society.
It is wiping out nearly four decades of progress: children are forced to drop out of school to care for dying parents, and businesses face rising labor costs and a shortage of skilled workers. Today, 36 percent of Botswana's adult population is believed to be infected. Ten years from now, Tanzania -- where I lived and worked for eight years -- will have lost 20 percent of its workforce.
But there is hope: Uganda, Senegal and Thailand have made exceptional progress against the disease, decreasing its numbers.
USAID has long been committed to fighting this pandemic: over the past 14 years we have invested over $1.4 billion dollars -- a significant portion of that in Africa. As a result, USAID has become the leader in the international fight against AIDS.
As President Clinton said: The pages of history reveal moments in time when the global community came together and collectively found "the higher angels of our nature." In a world living with AIDS, we must reach for one of those historic moments now.
AIDS has become an epidemic of biblical proportions. And we need your help.
Now let me talk to you about something near and dear to my heart, education. As my friend, the late President Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, once said, "Education is not a way to escape poverty, but a way of fighting it."
At the beginning of the 21st century, nearly a billion people -- one-sixth of humanity -- can neither read a book nor sign their names. Two-thirds of these people are women.
We know that girls' education, in particular, is perhaps the single most important investment a developing country can make. Mothers who have at least six years of primary education are more likely to have healthier children, and they are more likely to educate their children.
We know that educated women make better workers, and that they are more likely to participate in their government. And of course, we know that they are more likely to earn higher wages.
All over the world, study after study shows that investing in girls' education helps turn the vicious cycle of illiteracy, poverty, and high child mortality into what Treasury Secretary Larry Summers has called a virtuous cycle of education, economic progress, and health.
The challenge facing all of us is how to get the virtuous cycle started.
USAID is committed to fostering investment in education, at all levels, and especially, girls' education.
The Education for Development and Democracy Initiative (EDDI), announced by President Clinton last March, will devote $120 million over three years, to improve African education and African access to the technology and information needed to compete in the 21st century.
Despite the signs of progress, serious challenges remain. New threats to the environment, to public health, and to democratic institutions seem to arise every day.
Overcoming these challenges will require strong local institutions that are soundly organized and managed. It will also require a concerted effort of multiple partners, including development NGOs at the center -- acting together in pursuit of common goals.
Episcopal Relief and Development is to be commended for its work on behalf of the needy around the world; we encourage you to coordinate with our USAID Missions and to consider joining with us wherever we share common goals.
In his remarks to the National Congressional Prayer Breakfast this year, President Clinton observed that as Americans, we know that we can't build our own future without helping others build theirs. But many of us live on the cutting edge of a new economy while over a billion people live on the bare edge of survival.
As people of faith, we know that this is unacceptable-our God, whether we are Christian, Jewish, Muslim or Hindu, asks more of us.
As we move further into the new century, USAID looks forward to working with all of you to craft an answer to His call.
Thank you very much.
This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
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Last Updated on: July 12, 2001 |
