usaid-annual-letter-03-31-11

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chlorine tablets at the point of distribution, rather than afterwards as had traditionally beendone. So when we hired firms to provide water to earthquake survivors, we wrote into theircontracts a requirement to distribute chlorine tablets as well.As a result, water was cleaner in Port-au-Prince and there were fewer cases of diarrhealdisease than before the earthquake struck. While this intervention didn't prevent anoutbreak of cholera from reaching the capital, it had a significant role in limiting its spread.Time and again, similar acts of ingenuity drove home the effectiveness of USAID's talentedranks. It was clear our Agency could achieve even better results if we aggressively reformedthe way we worked-in Haiti and around the world.

USAID FORWARD AND THENEED FOR REFORMLast September, I had the honor of attending the United Nations General Assembly towitness a historic event: President Obama announcing our country's first ever policy onglobal development."The past half century has witnessed more gains in human development than at any timein history," he said. "Around the world, hundreds of millions of people have been lifted fromextreme poverty."Yet," he said, "we must also face the factthat progress...has not come nearly fastenough."To deliver results more quickly, PresidentObama stressed that our foreign assistancemust increasingly be directed towardcountries committed to good governanceand focused on delivering sustainable,private sector-led economic growth. To leadthat mission, he committed to "rebuildthe United States Agency for InternationalDevelopment into the world's premierdevelopment agency." ~ _To fulfill that pledge, we launched a ~series of reforms we call USAIDForward,developed as part of the first-ever review ofour country's development and diplomacyoperations called the QuadrennialDiplomacy and Development Review.Spearheaded bySecretary Clinton, thisReview provides a blueprint that is crucial toimproving America's use of civilianpower.

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The reforms outlined in this Reviewweren't~ned to return our Agency to its glorydays, they were designed to do somethinggreater: create a modern developmententerprise. Bymaking our Agency moreefficient, more effective and more business-like, we could free our talented staff todeliver better outcomes.To leverage the impact of our investments,we made difficult tradeoffs, focused moreheavily on local investment and harnessedthe transformative power of science,technology and innovation.We proposed eliminating bilateraldevelopment assistance to 11 countries,making tough calls to end assistancein places where weak governance orcorruption undermined its effectiveness, orwhere rapid growth made it unnecessary.Tracking these investments is now easierthan ever thanks to a new, transparent Website-foreignassistance.gov-that visuallydisplays our entire portfolio of foreignassistance, broken down by country andprogram.Todeliver lasting growth, we introduced themost significant revisions to our contractingpolicies in our Agency's history and areprioritizing new business models to delivergreater assistance to local entrepreneurs andorganizations.For instance, our Development Credit Authorityencourages banks with conservative lendingpractices to provide loans to underservedbut creditworthy customers in developingcountries, allowing us to generate $28 ofprivate capital for every $1 we invest. Throughthis mechanism, we've turned an investmentof just $82 million into $2.3 billion to supportdevelopment and entrepreneurship in over 64countries.As the people in developing countries standup, USAIDcan stand down, allowing ourassistance to be replaced over time by vibrantmarkets, strong civil societies and efficient,accountable local governments.

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Our efforts in Haiti over the lastyear were emblematic of thesenew approaches.Instead of rebuilding devastatedbrick-and-mortar banks, wepartnered with the Bill and MelindaGates Foundation to launch amobile banking revolution in thecountry. Prior to the earthquake,90 percent of Haitians hadnever set foot inside a bank.But 60 percent of all Haitiansdo own cell phones. By allowingHaitians to save money and maketransactions on their cell phones,we're encouraging local wealthcreation that is crucial to building avibrant economy while preventingthe wage-skimming and corruptionthat can undermine growth.

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And rather than pay foreign companies to construct prefabricated homes, we trained Haitianconstruction companies to build their own durable housing using local materials, to a higherstandard of safety than prior to the earthquake.The challenges that remain in Haiti are still great, and the road to building the country backbetter than before will take significant time and effective local leadership. But the resilienceof the Haitian people should leave us all hopeful about the country's future.

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KEEPING OUR COUNTRY SAFELast May, I visited our USAIDmission in Juba and witnessed just how difficult life in SouthernSudan was. Among the many sad realities of daily life in the region, one stood out: SouthernSudan has the highest maternal mortality rate in the world.That fact wasn't lost on me; I thought of my own wife, then pregnant with our third child.I knew that she would receive the best possible medical care and attention during herdelivery. But in Southern Sudan-an area with a population approaching 10 million-therewere only about 350 trained midwives capable of addressing the deadly complications thatcan arise while giving birth.For years, our mission in Juba had been working to reverse trends like these, while alsostrengthening local governing institutions. Now, five years after a devastating civil war,Southern Sudan was preparing to vote for its independence. In an area far too familiarwith political and ethnic violence, no one could guarantee the referendum would proceedpeacefully, if it proceeded at all.

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In August, five months before the referendum was slated to begin-when many wereconvinced it would not take place-USAID assistance made a crucial difference. We helpedestablish facilities for the referendum's operations and secured voter registration cards andballots; we even bought the pencils used to mark the ballots.

USAIDdeploys development specialists in places likeSouthern Sudan today to strengthen democracies,rebuild livelihoods and build strong health andeducational systems, so that we do not have todeploy our troops tomorrow. We provide humanitarianassistance for people affected by conflict in countrieslike Libya. And we strengthen civil societies in countrieslike Egypt, so we can help them pursue peaceful andcredible democratic transitions. As Secretary Gates has said: "Development is a lot cheaperthan sending soldiers."

In cooperation with the United Nations, we trainedSouth Sudanese poll workers to register voters andprovided them with lanterns, so they could countballots into the night. Meanwhile, American diplomatsworked behind the scenes to ease tensions ahead ofthe vote.That foresight-smart development investmentscoupled with effective diplomatic efforts-allowed voterregistration to proceed smoothly and the referendum tooccur peacefully and on-schedule.The results of the referendum have since been officiallycounted, and the South Sudanese have shown theirclear desire for independence. As a new nation is born,I'm proud to say USAIDwas there to support its safedelivery.

But we don't just prevent conflict. We work to end it.

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In the most volatile regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan, USAIDstaff work side-by-side withthe military. As part of our country's civilian surge, we more than doubled our workforce inAfghanistan in order to support our troops in the field and help the Afghan people stand ontheir own.Last April, I visited the Arghandab Valley to speak with local Afghan farmers. They expressedtheir appreciation that the American people had helped train them and provided them withseeds and fertilizer. They explained how that assistance had revitalized their community,boosted agricultural production and brought economic opportunity to a region our soldiershad suffered casualties to secure. As a result of our agricultural assistance local farmersshipped the first food exports out of the Kandahar airport in 40 years.

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In North-West Pakistan-the current base ofoperations for AIQaeda and the PakistaniTaliban-our teams and partners facedaily harm and have suffered casualtiesadministering over 1,400 projects. IntheMalakand district, they helped rebuild 150schools, so children there could becomeproductive members of their economy,instead of seeking an education in extremistmadrassas.As General Petraeus testified to Congress,the civilian efforts of the State Departmentand USAID"build on the hard-fought securityachievements of our men and womenin uniform." USAIDplays a critical role inconsolidating peace, denying safe havens to AIQaeda and helping to bring our troops home~. Without development resources, hesaid, we could "jeopardize accomplishment ofthe overall mission."

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