Reforming US foreign aid 

There is a lot of momentum in Washington around reforming the US foreign aid system to make it more effective at meeting the needs of poor people around the world. This system governs all of US foreign assistance to the poor, including funding for the water and sanitation programs that are so vital to lifting people out of poverty.

In recent months, the White House, the State Department, and Congress have all signaled their commitment to building a stronger US international development program by undertaking measures that will make serious improvements in our country’s foreign assistance.

President Obama has called for a comprehensive review of all US global development policy, led by two of his closet advisors, his National Security Advisor and the Director of the National Economic Council. This review indicates that the White House is seriously looking at the best ways to work with poor countries to promote economic growth and poverty reduction.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has also recently announced that the State Department will undertake a review of US diplomatic and development policies and processes to develop a blueprint that will guide the US Government in making its international aid efforts more effective, agile, and responsive.

At the same time that the White House and State Department have undertaken reform efforts, both the House and the Senate have introduced bipartisan measures that will overhaul the US foreign aid system. Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) introduced the Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act (S.1524), a bill to strengthen the agency responsible for a majority of US international aid programs and to improve how these programs are evaluated.

In the House, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) and Representative Mark Kirk (R-IL) introduced the Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act (H.R. 2139) that would make US foreign assistance more strategic, effective, and transparent. This legislation is currently supported by more than 100 members of the House – showing broad interest for improving the US foreign aid system. Chairman Berman has also indicated that in the fall, he plans to introduce a full rewrite of the legislation that governs US foreign assistance, the US Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, to improve and update how this assistance is implemented.

As all of these reforms efforts continue, it is vital that water and sanitation remain central to US government efforts to combat poverty globally. Water and sanitation provide the foundation for success in so many other areas of development – including education, nutrition, and health.

For the US Government to achieve real progress in economic growth and poverty reduction, water and sanitation must be a priority of its development policy. WaterAid will be at the forefront of these debates, advocating for water and sanitation to help those in need around the world.