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Chapter VII.  Expand the Circle of Development by Opening Societies and Building the Infrastructure of Democracy

 Section B.  Current Context:  Successes and Challenges

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        The United States has improved the lives of millions of people and transformed the

        practice of development by adopting more effective policies and programs.  

             

        ·  Advancing Development and Reinforcing Reform.  The Administration pioneered

             a revolution in development strategy with the Millennium Challenge Account

             program, rewarding countries that govern justly, invest in their people, and foster

             economic freedom.  The program is based on the principle that each nation bears the

             responsibility for its own development.  It offers governments the opportunity and the

             means to undertake transformational change by designing their own reform and

             development programs, which are then funded through the Millennium Challenge

             Corporation (MCC).  The MCC has approved over $1.5 billion for compacts in eight

             countries, is working with over a dozen other countries on compacts, and has

             committed many smaller grants to other partner countries.

         

        ·  Turning the Tide Against AIDS and Other Infectious Diseases.  The President's

             Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is an unprecedented, 5-year, $15 billion effort.  

             Building on the success of pioneering programs in Africa, we have launched a major

             initiative that will prevent 7 million new infections, provide treatment to 2 million

             infected individuals, and care for 10 million AIDS orphans and others affected by the

             disease.  We have launched a $1.2 billion, 5-year initiative to reduce malaria deaths

             by 50 percent in at least 15 targeted countries.  To mobilize other nations and the

             private sector, the United States pioneered the creation of the Global Fund to Fight

             HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.  We are the largest donor to the Fund and

             have already contributed over $1.4 billion.

         

        ·  Promoting Debt Sustainability and a Path Toward Private Capital Markets.  The

             Administration has sought to break the burden of debt that traps many poor countries

             by encouraging international financial institutions to provide grants instead of loans

             to low-income nations.  With the United Kingdom, we spearheaded the G-8 initiative

             to provide 100 percent multilateral debt relief to qualifying Heavily Indebted Poor

 

                                                                                           National Security Strategy  31

 

                   Countries.  Reducing debt to sustainable levels allows countries to focus on

                   immediate development challenges.  In the long run, reducing debt also opens access

                   to private capital markets which foster sound policies and long-term growth.

             

             ·  Addressing Urgent Needs and Investing in People.  The United States leads the

                   world in providing food relief.  We launched the Initiative to End Hunger in Africa,

                   using science, technology, and market incentives to increase the productivity of

                   African farmers.  We launched a 3-year, $900 million initiative to provide clean water

                   to the poor.  We have tripled basic education assistance through programs such as the

                   Africa Education Initiative, which will train teachers and administrators, build

                   schools, buy textbooks, and expand opportunities inside and outside the classroom.

                   

             ·  Unleashing the Power of the Private Sector.  The Administration has sought to

                   multiply the impact of our development assistance through initiatives such as the

                   Global Development Alliance, which forges partnerships with the private sector to

                   advance development goals, and Volunteers for Prosperity, which enlists some of our

                   Nation's most capable professionals to serve strategically in developing nations.  

                   

             ·  Fighting Corruption and Promoting Transparency.  Through multilateral efforts

                   like the G-8 Transparency Initiative and our policy of denying corrupt foreign

                   officials entry into the United States, we are helping ensure that organized crime and

                   parasitic rulers do not choke off the benefits of economic assistance and growth.

         

             We have increased our overall development assistance spending by 97 percent since

             2000.  In all of these efforts, the United States has sought concrete measures of success.  

             Funding is a means, not the end.  We are giving more money to help the world's poor,

             and giving it more effectively.

             

             Many challenges remain, including:

                   

             ·  Helping millions of people in the world who continue to suffer from poverty and

                   disease;

                   

             ·  Ensuring that the delivery of assistance reinforces good governance and sound

                   economic policies; and

                   

             ·  Building the capacity of poor countries to take ownership of their own development

                   strategies.  

                     

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