As expected, foreign aid was barely a
footnote in U.S. President Barack Obama’s annual address to the nation — but a
few interesting tidbits did come out.
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U.S. President Barack Obama
delivers his 2011 State of the Union
address at the Capitol building
in Washington, D.C
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“Let’s remember that our leadership is
defined not just by our defense against threats, but by the enormous
opportunities to do good and promote understanding around the globe — to forge
greater cooperation, to expand new markets, to free people from fear and want,”
Obama said in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday night.
After that, the U.S. president
mentioned several priority areas for aid, like building democracy “from Tunisia
to Burma (Myanmar),” supporting energy access for all and fighting poverty in
sub-Saharan Africa, and responding to natural disasters like the recent typhoon
in the Philippines:
Myanmar — considered Asia’s new ”donor darling”
for all the attention it’s getting from the international aid community after
its military rulers decided to ease their grip on power in late 2010 — is seen
as a pivotal partner country for the U.S. Agency for International Development.
The agency plans to open a new
mission office in Yangon this year, and Devex reported that
Washington thinks the nation can
become a leader for “green development” in Southeast Asia.
During his visit to Africa in late
June, Obama launched Power Africa, a $7 billion
initiative to expand energy access in sub-Saharan countries. Since
then, supporters
and skeptics of the scheme have been trying to find common ground to
move forward, while the issue now seems to be coming up with the correct mix
of quick wins and long-term solutions that can fully engage the private
sector.
Recovering U.S. influence in
Asia-Pacific to counter China’s rise is more a security priority, but aid is
also part of the “Pivot to Asia” strategy first mentioned by former Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton. This is why Obama rushed the
response to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, where “our Marines
and civilians … were greeted with words like, ‘We will never forget your
kindness’ and ‘God bless America!,’” the U.S. president said in his speech.
How did foreign aid advocates react to
the address? Most of them had not yet released a statement as of posting time,
but a few were active on Twitter.
“Hoped for more on why U.S.
[international] development programs are good investment in our future,”
tweeted InterAction,
while Eugene Nzribe, executive director of Canadian nonprofit International
Charities for Africa, commented: “Power Africa, if carried through, will be the
most important aid to African entrepreneurs, jobs creation [and] poverty
reduction.”
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