{"id":678352,"date":"2020-04-15T16:09:53","date_gmt":"2020-04-15T13:09:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/tr\/content\/?p=678352"},"modified":"2020-04-15T16:09:53","modified_gmt":"2020-04-15T13:09:53","slug":"outgoing-usaid-chief-says-pandemic-underscores-importance-of-foreign-aid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/2020\/04\/15\/outgoing-usaid-chief-says-pandemic-underscores-importance-of-foreign-aid\/","title":{"rendered":"Outgoing USAID Chief Says Pandemic Underscores Importance of Foreign Aid"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"site-wrapper\">\n<div id=\"main\" class=\"default default_text_style text_above_photo \" data-context=\"article\">\n<div class=\"post-content\" data-post-id=\"1002216\" data-premium=\"no\" data-premium-trigger=\"yes\" data-whitelist=\"\">\n<article class=\"article\" data-post-id=\"1002216\" data-post-url=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2020\/04\/13\/usaid-coronavirus-pandemic-foreign-aid-trump-mark-green-development-global-health\/\" data-lfcollectionmeta=\"eyJ0eXAiOiJqd3QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJ0aXRsZSI6Ik91dGdvaW5nIFVTQUlEIENoaWVmIFNheXMgUGFuZGVtaWMgVW5kZXJzY29yZXMgSW1wb3J0YW5jZSBvZiBGb3JlaWduIEFpZCIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOlwvXC9mb3JlaWducG9saWN5LmNvbVwvMjAyMFwvMDRcLzEzXC91c2FpZC1jb3JvbmF2aXJ1cy1wYW5kZW1pYy1mb3JlaWduLWFpZC10cnVtcC1tYXJrLWdyZWVuLWRldmVsb3BtZW50LWdsb2JhbC1oZWFsdGhcLyIsInN0cmVhbV90eXBlIjoibGl2ZWNvbW1lbnRzIiwiY2hlY2tzdW0iOiIzMmMyMDk2YWFmMTU5ODUwZjFmN2I1MTMzYmY4OGFjNSIsImFydGljbGVJZCI6ImZvcmVpZ25wb2xpY3lfd3BfMTAwMjIxNiJ9.FwDyyVSIJxKy9Oo7NL2aDGgAsXg7N-WzQ9vQIvS1s0I\" data-lfchecksum=\"32c2096aaf159850f1f7b5133bf88ac5\" data-lfarticleid=\"foreignpolicy_wp_1002216\">In an interview, Mark Green says this is no time to be slashing assistance to the developing world or global health.<\/p>\n<div class=\"meta-data \">\n<address class=\"author-list\"><span class=\"pre\">By<\/span> Robbie Gramer<\/address>\n<p><span class=\"separator\">|<\/span> <time class=\"date-time\" title=\"April 13th, 2020\" datetime=\"2020-04-13\"> April 13, 2020, 6:03 PM<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"figure-image \"><span class=\"image-attachment -ratioscale horizontal-orientation\">  <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\">U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Mark Green speaks at the Najas Palace in Quito, Ecuador, on May 15, 2019. <span class=\"attribution\">Cristina Vega\/AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div class=\"post-content-main initial-drop-cap shares-position\">\n<p>On April 10, U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s top foreign aid official stepped down from his post in a long-planned departure, saying the coronavirus pandemic shows how critical U.S. assistance to global health organizations has become, especially in the developing world.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_997751\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone none text_wrap_right\"> <span class=\"image-attachment -ratioscale\">  <\/span> <\/div>\n<p>In an interview with <i>Foreign Policy<\/i>, Mark Green, the outgoing administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), raised alarms about how refugees and displaced populations will be affected by the pandemic and reflected on the Trump administration\u2019s repeated attempts to cut funding for foreign aid.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ds_cpp\" class=\"ds_cpp\" data-dvp_delay_init=\"1\" data-dvp_title_trim=\"60\" data-dvp_desc_trim=\"120\" data-dvp_zindex_base=\"90\" data-dvp_mute_ad_na=\"0\" data-dvp_friendly_iframe_na=\"0\">\n<div class=\"ds_cpp_inner\">\n<div class=\"ds_description\">\n<h2 class=\"ds_title\">As the Coronavirus Spreads, Conspiracy Theories Are Going\u2026<\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"ds_summary\">Dubious and unfounded claims on the internet intended for domestic consumption are reaching far beyond their target\u2026<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ds_body\">\n<div id=\"ds_player_sensor\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"ds_player_container\">\n<div id=\"ds_content_frame_parent\">\n<div id=\"ds_ad_container\"><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><iframe id=\"ds_content_frame\" src=\"https:\/\/c5x8i7c7.ssl.hwcdn.net\/vplayer-parallel\/20190405_1722\/videojs\/show.html?controls=1&amp;loop=30&amp;autoplay=0&amp;tracker=c4b1f41d-32f0-4508-8586-4df2e575a548&amp;height=362&amp;width=643&amp;vurl=%2F%2Fa.jsrdn.com%2Fvideos%2Fdgv%2F20200415053640_5e9694efa3db5%2Fdgv_foreignpolicy_20200415053640_new.mp4&amp;poster=%2F%2Fa.jsrdn.com%2Fvideos%2Fdgv%2F20200415053640_5e9694efa3db5%2Fdgv_foreignpolicy_20200415053640_new.jpg\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ds_sponsorbox\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cLess resources mean we can do less. It\u2019s not magic, right? It\u2019s not a mystery,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a reminder to us, the challenges that we see, that the investments that we make, particularly health infrastructure investments, may not have immediate tangible payoffs, but they are an essential part of a long-term strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With Green\u2019s departure, some in the aid community fear for USAID\u2019s future, particularly as it grapples with how to respond to the second- and third-order knock-on effects from a pandemic that has infected more than 1.9 million people, killed over 119,000, and brought the global economy to its knees. While the virus has ravaged developed countries, many experts fear that the world\u2019s least developed countries\u2014where USAID conducts its most important humanitarian work\u2014will be next.<\/p>\n<p>Green said he was worried most about how the pandemic would impact people displaced by conflict worldwide. \u201cWe have 71 million or so people displaced around the world in nearly every corner of the world. People are in motion. People are vulnerable. And so, I think they are particularly vulnerable to some of the challenges from COVID-19,\u201d he said. \u201cFinding ways to be able to reach out and help those communities will be an essential part of not just getting the outbreak under control but ending the pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Green was something of an anomaly in the Trump administration. For over two and a half years, he managed the multibillion-dollar foreign aid agency without the level of scandal or political drama that came to dominate other agencies. He outlasted a secretary of state, defense secretary, and multiple national security advisors, along with a raft of other top administration officials who were sacked or resigned amid scandal and controversy.<\/p>\n<p>He took over an agency that, at least on paper, looked like a prime target for the cadre of anti-establishment populist insurgents that helped propel Trump to the White House; \u201cAmerica First\u201d seemed entirely at odds with the long-standing U.S. practice of delivering billions of dollars in aid to foreign countries.<\/p>\n<p>To the surprise of many veteran foreign aid experts, USAID has emerged relatively unscathed\u2014at least compared with other federal agencies that were dragged into scandals or even the president\u2019s impeachment trial. Green oversaw a reorganization of the agency to streamline its bureaucracies\u2014a stark contrast to the State Department\u2019s fumbling attempts to enact its own reforms\u2014and bipartisan pushback in Congress fended off yearly proposals to substantially slash USAID\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n<p>All the while, Green pulled off the increasingly rare feat of maintaining good ties with both Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill without drawing the ire of a famously mercurial and combative president. Green, a former Wisconsin Republican congressman and U.S. ambassador to Tanzania, was no stranger to the world of international aid when he was tapped to be Trump\u2019s USAID chief.<\/p>\n<p>He also balanced ties between the aid community\u2014chock-full of Trump critics\u2014and powerful figures in the administration who repeatedly tried to gut funding for diplomacy and foreign aid, according to six current and former USAID officials.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fp-related-wrapper related-articles--no-video\">\n<div class=\"related-articles\">\n<p class=\"heading-container\"><span class=\"heading\">Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"blog-list-layout\" data-post-id=\"997294\">\n<div class=\"excerpt-content--list --first-post content-block\" data-post-id=\"997294\">\n<div class=\"list-text\">\n<h3 class=\"hed\">Fears Mount as Trump Administration Guts USAID\u2019s Iraq Presence<\/h3>\n<div class=\"dek-heading -excerpt\">\n<p class=\"dek\">A senior lawmaker fears drastically reduced U.S. diplomatic and aid footprint could pave the way for Islamic State comeback.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"meta-data -excerpt\">\n<p>Exclusive <span class=\"separator\">|<\/span><\/p>\n<address class=\"author-list -excerpt\">Robbie Gramer<\/address>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"blog-list-layout\" data-post-id=\"911324\">\n<div class=\"excerpt-content--list content-block\" data-post-id=\"911324\">\n<figure class=\"figure-image -nocaption\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"list-text\">\n<h3 class=\"hed\">The End of Foreign Aid As We Know It<\/h3>\n<div class=\"dek-heading -excerpt\">\n<p class=\"dek\">Trump budget would gut development assistance and fold USAID into State.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"meta-data -excerpt\">\n<p>Exclusive <span class=\"separator\">|<\/span><\/p>\n<address class=\"author-list -excerpt\">Bryant Harris<span class=\"separator\">,<\/span> Robbie Gramer<span class=\"separator\">,<\/span> Emily Tamkin<\/address>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"blog-list-layout\" data-post-id=\"996107\">\n<div class=\"excerpt-content--list content-block\" data-post-id=\"996107\">\n<figure class=\"figure-image -nocaption\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"list-text\">\n<h3 class=\"hed\">Top U.S. Aid Chief Warns of Locust Devastation in East Africa<\/h3>\n<div class=\"dek-heading -excerpt\">\n<p class=\"dek\">\u201cYou really have to go back to decades ago in the U.S., to Dust Bowl days, to understand just how devastating this can be.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"meta-data -excerpt\">\n<p>Q&amp;A <span class=\"separator\">|<\/span><\/p>\n<address class=\"author-list -excerpt\">Robbie Gramer<\/address>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cHe protected and fought really hard for USAID budgets internally,\u201d said Nicole Widdersheim, a former National Security Council staffer and USAID official.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHonestly I think, compared to what the baseline expectations were for what would happen to USAID under a Trump administration, what Mark\u2019s been able to achieve was really a best-case scenario,\u201d said Jeremy Konyndyk, a former senior USAID official under President Barack Obama now at the Center for Global Development.<\/p>\n<p>Green, who had been in the job since August 2017, did not offer any rebukes or veiled swipes at the president during the interview. He said the pandemic underscored the importance of U.S. foreign aid for global health programs\u2014though the Trump administration proposed cuts to global health programs in its federal budget proposal released this year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the crisis that we\u2019re all facing right now should serve as a reminder that these kinds of investments are important\u2014not just for our partners, they\u2019re important for us,\u201d Green said.<\/p>\n<p>Green\u2019s tenure at USAID had its rocky and politically perilous moments. The administration tried to pare down U.S. foreign aid through bureaucratic maneuvering when the aid cuts were rejected by Congress. USAID also caught criticism from international aid organizations focused on women\u2019s rights for its hard-line stance on sexual and reproductive health, arguing that the administration\u2019s anti-abortion stances hampered international efforts to improve women\u2019s health, particularly in developing countries. Senior administration officials have rejected these criticisms.<\/p>\n<p>USAID also faced political pressure and a controversy in 2018, when Vice President Mike Pence\u2019s office pressured the agency to divert aid funds to Christian minorities in Iraq. USAID staffers felt that the administration\u2019s efforts to influence apolitical procurement processes could violate constitutional restrictions on favoring one religion over another and could also inflame sectarian tensions in Iraq, as <i>ProPublica<\/i> reported.<\/p>\n<p>One top career USAID official, Maria Longi, was reportedly removed from her post following pressure from Pence\u2019s office. The move angered many rank-and-file USAID officers, who felt she was being unfairly scapegoated, according to several current and former USAID officials.<\/p>\n<p>Green declined to comment on Longi\u2019s case but lauded the work USAID had done in Iraq. \u201cI would never comment on internal personnel matters of this agency,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat I can say is I\u2019m a big fan of the work that we\u2019re doing in places like northern Iraq. And I think that we have crafted tools and initiatives that are helping very vulnerable communities respond and rebuild after suffering the worst kinds of assaults and discrimination and persecution by violent extremists, most notably ISIS.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some of the administration\u2019s sharpest critics still offered praise for Green as he departed his post, including Sen. Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who has publicly sparred with Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the past. \u201cFaced by an Administration that has relentlessly sought to cut foreign development and humanitarian relief programs it incorrectly views as charity, I sincerely appreciated Administrator Green\u2019s commitment to defending programs and funds that are proven to advance U.S. national security, help lift up the world\u2019s most impoverished, and build resilient and prosperous communities that in turn promote global stability,\u201d Menendez said in a statement after Green\u2019s departure was announced.<\/p>\n<p>Green will become the new president of Arizona State University\u2019s McCain Institute for International Leadership, named after late Republican Sen. John McCain. The former president of the institute, Kurt Volker, was Trump\u2019s special envoy for Ukraine and stepped down following the impeachment investigation.<\/p>\n<p>Trump has appointed John Barsa, a well-connected Trump appointee in USAID overseeing Latin American issues, as acting head of the agency with Green\u2019s departure. The move surprised some at USAID; Green\u2019s deputy, Bonnie Glick, was passed over for the job of acting administrator in favor of Barsa in a break with tradition.<\/p>\n<p>Green said he had no idea who might replace him as head of USAID after Barsa and had no conversations on that topic with the White House.<\/p>\n<p>He praised Barsa as a \u201cquick study.\u201d He also offered a piece of advice for his successor: \u201cThe advice I have is that we have a great team of professionals, and we should trust them and do everything we can to enhance their work and opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Three people are in the running to replace Green as head of the agency, according to several current and former officials familiar with the matter. This includes Jim Richardson, Pompeo\u2019s former chief of staff during his time in Congress, as Devex first reported. Richardson, who served at USAID earlier in the Trump administration, is now director of U.S. foreign assistance resources at the State Department. Former Republican Rep. Ed Royce, the former chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is also in the running for the job, as is Florida Republican Rep. Ted Yoho. \u201cThe congressman has expressed interest in the position and thrown his name into the running for USAID administrator,\u201d a spokesman for Yoho told <i>Foreign Policy<\/i>. The White House did not immediately respond to request for comment on the next USAID administrator nominee.<\/p>\n<p>The outgoing USAID chief also dismissed the fears that the agency wouldn\u2019t be able to handle the coronavirus crisis once he left. \u201cI don\u2019t worry about USAID\u2019s ability to respond,\u201d Green said. He cited the agency\u2019s newly established task force to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, which is led by Ken Staley, a doctor and veteran policy official who served as the administration\u2019s global malaria coordinator beginning in 2018.<\/p>\n<div class=\"distroscale_ad\"><\/div>\n<p>Other veteran USAID officials said the agency needed a new full-fledged administrator as soon as possible, as fears mount over how the international aid agency can manage humanitarian crises and conflicts in the midst of a pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>They said Green\u2019s push to reform USAID, including streamlining its bureaucracy and better aligning its budget and policy shops, would help the agency better respond to the current crisis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s kind of rewiring the circuit board to make sure it works better and more efficiently, and that is not sexy,\u201d Konyndyk said. \u201cOften the biggest frustrations are these kind of stupid structural or administration holdover structures that don\u2019t make any sense anymore but are impossible to fix because no one ever wants to invest the political capital in fixing them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have a lot of respect for the fact that with the tenure [Green] had, he tried to focus on actually making the agency run better. Not everybody comes in and tries to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The administrator position\u2014which requires presidential nomination and Senate confirmation\u2014now joins a raft of other key senior posts in the administration that are filled by lower-level officials in an acting capacity. \u201cTimely and comprehensive nominations have been a challenge for this administration,\u201d said Lester Munson, a former senior Senate staffer and USAID official now at the BGR Group, a government relations firm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s critically important that USAID have leadership right now and strong leadership and that it be given the authority and power to take off and do what it can do very well,\u201d said Gayle Smith, a former USAID chief under Obama and head of the ONE Campaign, a global health advocacy organization. \u201cOn the one hand, it\u2019s challenging that there\u2019s no confirmed administrator. On the other hand, this agency knows how to deal with complex crises.\u201d<\/p>\n<div data-fp-lazy-load-image=\"\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"bio-no-photo\">\n<div class=\"last-author\">\n<p><strong>Robbie Gramer<\/strong> is a diplomacy and national security reporter at <em>Foreign Policy<\/em>.\u00a0Twitter:\u00a0@RobbieGramer<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"sidebar\">\n<div>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1385102181603-0\" class=\"channel-sidebar-big-box-ad _300\" data-google-query-id=\"COKqz8q_6ugCFYLCuwgd9LEGkg\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/7971222\/default_fp2_bigbox_ATF_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sidebar-list\">\n<div class=\"title\">Latest<\/div>\n<div class=\"excerpt-content\">\n<h3 class=\"hed\">Trump Halts WHO Funding as U.S. Daily Death Toll Reaches New High<\/h3>\n<div class=\"meta-data -ago\"><time class=\"date-time\" title=\"April 15th, 2020\" datetime=\"2020-04-15\"> April 15, 2020, 4:10 AM<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"excerpt-content\">\n<h3 class=\"hed\">As the Coronavirus Spreads, Conspiracy Theories Are Going Viral Too<\/h3>\n<div class=\"meta-data -ago\"><time class=\"date-time\" title=\"April 14th, 2020\" datetime=\"2020-04-14\"> April 14, 2020, 5:02 PM<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"excerpt-content\">\n<h3 class=\"hed\">Lockdown or Starvation? Poorer Economies Weigh Impossible Choice<\/h3>\n<div class=\"meta-data -ago\"><time class=\"date-time\" title=\"April 14th, 2020\" datetime=\"2020-04-14\"> April 14, 2020, 3:20 PM<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"excerpt-content\">\n<h3 class=\"hed\">In the Post-Coronavirus World, Chinese Power is Overrated<\/h3>\n<div class=\"meta-data -ago\"><time class=\"date-time\" title=\"April 14th, 2020\" datetime=\"2020-04-14\"> April 14, 2020, 2:51 PM<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"excerpt-content\">\n<h3 class=\"hed\">The Coronavirus Threatens Some More Than Others<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tbl-aug-q2b23g\" class=\"trc_popover_aug_container\">\n<div id=\"tbl-aug-knr7hs\" class=\"trc_popover_aug_container\">\n<div id=\"tbl-aug-77v1ns\" class=\"trc_popover_aug_container\">\n<div class=\" trc_popover trc_popover_fade trc_bottom \"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In an interview, Mark Green says this is no time to be slashing assistance to the developing world or global health. By Robbie Gramer | April 13, 2020, 6:03 PM U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Mark Green speaks at the Najas Palace in Quito, Ecuador, on May 15, 2019. Cristina Vega\/AFP via Getty Images [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4092,"featured_media":662290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[10573,10188],"class_list":["post-678352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-turkey","tag-mark-green","tag-usaid"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4092"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=678352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678352\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/662290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=678352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=678352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=678352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}