Moderator: Susan Reichle
Panelists: Jim Kunder (former DA USAID); Raj Kumar (Devex); Richard Parker (USGLC)
“The Road Ahead: A Path Forward for Humanitarian and Development Assistance”
The evisceration of USAID and the attendant implosion of much of the developmental and humanitarian space, thousands of highly skilled development professionals fired, the potential loss of more than 50 years of developmental and humanitarian best practice, and most important, the devasting human toll on the world’s most vulnerable – this is our current reality.
No matter how harsh the situation, we’re gathering leaders in the development community to reflect on a path forward. Many questions fester, which I hope we can begin to explore during this panel:
The Administration has recently announced its budget request. The so-called skinny budget proposes a nearly 48% cut to foreign aid spending. In addition, the budget plan signals that the White House will try to rescind about $20 billion that Congress already appropriated. Taken together, the cuts and rescissions would add up to a roughly 84% reduction in U.S. foreign aid. Adjusted for inflation, the proposal would bring the U.S. international affairs budget to its lowest level since World War II.
We’ve heard of the cuts and reorganization within the State Department. Can seeds remain there to preserve the space for future humanitarian and development work? What critical actions must State, DFC and other USG actors take to ensure that we don’t unrecoverably cede ground to Beijing and other malign actors?
Can USAID’s partners survive, and if yes, how? What are the new demands placed on potential donors, host governments, multilateral actors and can they meet the challenge?
Do we need to reimagine a new humanitarian and development paradigm for the balance of the 21st century?
How do we nurture the next generation of development and humanitarian actors and how do we upskill or reskill the global community of employees that are being displaced to allow some to continue to serve and contribute in the future?
Where do you think we’ll be in one year? How about in five years time?
Your invaluable insights and perspectives will help inform our discussion on imagining a way forward.
Comments are closed.