I want first to congratulate Rev. David Beckmann on winning the World Food Prize. This is an affirmation of Bread for the World’s work and all the tireless efforts of Bread for the World’s members and sympathizers. You deserve this and it is my hope that it energizes you and strengthens your commitment to poor and hungry people around the world.
The partnership between people of faith and their elected representatives is not new to us in Liberia. In our experience, the Church has provided quality service in education and health, reaching people who otherwise would not have had access to basic services.
I believe our experience in Liberia is instructive about what happens when foreign aid is properly designed, targeted and aligned. When a country collapses as completely as ours did, the role of partners become an indispensable component of recovery. The basic institutions of governance that should have guided our revival were destroyed or compromised, making a complete overhaul necessary. This was the challenge Liberia faced when my administration took office in January 2006. Against this backdrop one begins to appreciate how vital foreign assistance is to a country in our situation.
As we moved forward to design a Poverty Reduction Strategy, we wanted the process to be as inclusive as possible. To consolidate and deepen our nascent democracy, we had to find a way to include our people in deciding the course of our reconstruction and economic rehabilitation. Through consultative meetings all over the country, our citizens made clear their priorities and from that a strategy was created. For the first time in Liberian history, we have a road map for our future that was truly laid by the people themselves.
A practically non-existent economy put the implementation of our Poverty Reduction Strategy outside our means. We did not have the expertise or money to execute it. We turned to our partners and their support has been invaluable. They have supported our roads, hospitals, clinics, schools and electricity projects. Partners have trained our security services and equipped our hospitals. Their support has helped us keep our promise to the Liberian people. In so doing we have demonstrated the value and worth of their contribution in determining our development strategy. We have deepened our relationship with our people and strengthened the legitimacy of our Government. This would not have been possible without foreign assistance.
The Government of Liberia will continue to make significant effort to effect a gradual reduction of dependence on external aid. But this process cannot be rushed, especially given the challenges we face. High-quality aid remains crucial to our development, and that of countries that share similar conditions, in the medium term. By making aid more coherent, more targeted and dedicated to support priorities selected by the recipient countries, donors will be able to increase the quality of aid. It will be the most responsible use of taxpayers’ money and have the largest impact on target populations. With sufficient high-quality aid, the Liberian Government will be able to deliver more efficient services to citizens, stimulate economic growth and reduce poverty.
We welcome President Obama’s global hunger and food security initiative, Feed the Future. This program has the promise of delivering food security in places like Liberia. By providing support to agriculture and its supporting infrastructure, significant progress will be made against hunger and poverty. In Liberia, this program could provide support for feeder/farm-to-market roads so that inputs are brought to farmers and farmers are able to bring their goods to market. Feed the Future would successfully fulfill its objectives if it is aligned with recipient countries’ development agenda.
My hope is that Bread for the World’s members and sympathizers will remember this when they urge their representatives and senators to support stronger U.S. partnerships with developing countries that will ultimately end hunger.
| Next Article > |
|---|
