PRESIDENT BARACK Obama closed the three-day Millennium Development Goals Summit here yesterday by announcing what he called “our new US global development policy” designed to foster development “rooted in shared responsibility, mutual accountability and, most of all, concrete results that pull communities and countries from poverty to prosperity”.
In the midst of recession, taxpayers were understandably reluctant to increase development aid, Mr Obama said. But in a globalised economy, “progress in even the poorest countries can advance the prosperity and security of people far beyond their borders, including my fellow Americans.”
It was a matter of self-interest, because poverty fuels instability and spreads disease. “Let’s put to rest the old myth that development is mere charity that does not serve our interests,” Mr Obama said. “And let’s reject the cynicism that says certain countries are condemned to perpetual poverty.”
Women and infants are still dying in childbirth in unacceptably high numbers, Mr Obama said. Close to one billion people are still hungry. “If the international community just keeps doing the same things the same way, we will miss many development goals . . . With 10 years down and just five years before our development targets come due, we must do better.”
Mr Obama promised the US would be “a global leader in international development in the 21st century”, saying “the United States is changing the way we do business”. Because “aid is not development”, US development assistance will no longer be measured merely in amounts of money, he said. Diplomacy, trade and investment will also be considered.
Food aid had created “dependence, not development”, Mr Obama said. “It’s a cycle we need to break. Instead of just managing poverty, we have to offer nations and peoples a path out of poverty.” This did not mean the US would decrease its overseas development aid or its efforts to fight disease or disaster relief in countries like Haiti and Pakistan. But there would be a new emphasis on “creating the conditions where assistance is no longer needed”.
The US will reward countries which help themselves with investment, Mr Obama promised. Echoing the philosophy of Irish aid groups, the US leader said that instead of simply handing out food, the US food security intiative would help countries like Guatemala, Rwanda and Bangladesh to develop their own agriculture, improve crop yields and get farmers’ products to market.
Likewise, the US will attempt to develop healthcare networks in poor countries. “We will partner with countries that are willing to take the lead. Because the days when your development was dictated in foreign capitals must come to an end,” Mr Obama said.
Broad-based economic growth was key to pulling the developing world out of poverty, Mr Obama continued. South Korea and Brazil have shown it is possible.
The US would work to expand trade and investment in poor countries, and to fight corruption, he said, and would reward countries “that promote good governance and democracy; the rule of law and equal administration of justice; transparent institutions, with strong civil societies; and respect for human rights.”
Washington would help countries that are emerging from war, like Liberia and Sudan, Mr Obama promised. But it will insist on “mutual accountability. . . Because we need to be big-hearted and hard-headed.”
Ray Offenheiser, a spokesman for Oxfam, praised Mr Obama’s “bold leadership” but added: “In the time that President Obama stood at the podium to deliver his UN address, 30 women died in childbirth, and 66 children will have died from malaria. Those numbers will repeat every hour upon hour until the president’s words are turned into action.”