Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2007 10:20:05 -0500
From: mv2191@columbia.edu
To: ClintEQ@aol.com
Subject: Re: Question about Reforming US Development Policy
jbskarb2: Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2007 10:20:05 -0500
Dear Clint,
Thanks for your query. I will do my best to respond. My co-authors
will certainly know more about this topic than I.
For starters, a large portion of US foreign assistance is channeled
through non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the countries in
which the US government is active. Of course, we do provide
government-to-government assistance to many countries. However,
especially in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions with weak
governance, we often work through NGOs on the ground.
Now typically these organizations are large US or international NGOs.
Where the money is spent is what counts -- so if an international NGO
in Sudan received US money, that could be classified as US aid to
Sudan. In the event of a third party actor (your China example), it
would still be considered US aid to Sudan (but the US typically works
through US organizations).
Hope this helps you,
Milan
Quoting ClintEQ@aol.com:
> Dear Mr. Vaishnav,
>
> My name is Clint Ehrlich-Quinn. I am a recent alum and current assistant
> debate coach at Damien High School in Los Angeles, California. I am
> writing to you
> because of your 2006 article, "Reforming U.S. Development Policy", and your
> expertise in the distribution of American foreign aid, out of the
> hope that you
> might be able to answer a very narrow question about how such aid is
> administered.
>
> This clarification has recently become very important because the national
> high school policy debate topic this year questions the desirability of
> increasing America's "public health assistance to Sub-Saharan
> Africa." There has been
> a tremendous controversy over whether federal agencies such as USAID only
> provide assistance directly to the governments of needy countries, or whether
> another important means of providing assistance is via grants to
> third parties,
> such as NGOs. Specifically, would providing grants to medical teams from a
> foreign nation for services provided in Africa be consistent with how America
> distributes aid? If so, would this be considered foreign aid to the
> home country of
> the service providers, or would it be classified as foreign aid to the region
> where the services were actually provided? I apologize if these abstracts are
> hard to follow. A practical example would be if USAID provided grants to
> Chinese medical teams to provide care to African nations- would you
> consider that
> US assistance to Africa? Or would there be some alternate classification?
>
> I realize you are a very busy individual, so I thank you tremendously for
> your time. Whatever response you can provide, even if very brief, would be of
> tremendous help in trying to ensure tomorrow's future policymakers
> are given an
> accurate picture of American foreign aid. I have e-mailed the
> co-authors of the
> paper I mentioned above. However, if you can think of anyone else who might
> know the answers to these queries, if you would either forward them
> this e-mail
> or provide me their contact information, I would really appreciate it.
>
> Thanks again,
> Clint Ehrlich-Quinn
>
Subject: RE: Question about Reforming US Development Policy
Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 22:06:57 -0500
From: SPatrick@CGDEV.ORG
To: ClintEQ@aol.com
Dear Clint,
Thanks for your query. I am not 100% positive, but my sense is that if the aid were programmed to permit (say, Chinese) service providers to provide services in Burkina Faso, that those funds would be counted as official development assistance to Burkina Faso. Much of U.S. foreign assistance goes through third parties (particularly NGOs), and is counted as such, I believe.
I am not really an expert in the nuts and bolts of this, but this is my instinct.
Best of luck on this.
Yours,
Stewart
Dear Mr. Patrick,
My name is Clint Ehrlich-Quinn. I am a recent alum and current assistant debate coach at Damien High School in Los Angeles, California. I am writing to you because of your 2006 article "Reforming U.S. Development Policy", and your clear status as an expert on American foreign aid, out of the hope that you might be able to answer a very narrow question about how such aid is administered.
This clarification has recently become very important because the national high school policy debate topic this year questions the desirability of increasing America's "public health assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa." There has been a tremendous controversy over whether federal agencies such as USAID only provide assistance directly to the governments of needy countries, or whether another important means of providing assistance is via grants to third parties, such as NGOs. Specifically, would providing grants to medical teams from a foreign nation for services provided in Africa be consistent with how America distributes aid? If so, would this be considered foreign aid to the home country of the service providers, or would it be classified as foreign aid to the region where the services were actually provided? I apologize if these abstracts are hard to follow. A practical example would be if USAID provided grants to Chinese medical teams to provide care to African nations- would you consider that US assistance to Africa? Or would there be some alternate classification?
I realize you are a very busy individual, so I thank you tremendously for your time. Whatever response you can provide, even if very brief, would be of tremendous help in trying to ensure tomorrow's future policymakers are given an accurate picture of American foreign aid. I have e-mailed the co-authors of the paper I mentioned above. However, if you can think of anyone else who might know the answers to these queries, if you would either forward them this e-mail or provide me their contact information, I would really appreciate it.
Thanks again,
Clint Ehrlich-Quinn
