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Aid Reform

Since 2002, the US national security strategy has considered development to be one of three "pillars" of national security, along with defense and diplomacy. To strengthen this pillar, in recent years the US government has formed a host of new agencies and initiatives. Overall, US funding for aid has increased significantly in the past five years.

Oxfam America is working to increase the effectiveness of US foreign aid by placing the voices and priorities of poor people at the center of aid policy and practice. Through analytical and field research, we will bring out the hopes and concerns of intended beneficiaries, implementing partners, aid professionals, other donors, and host governments. Through political advocacy, we will ensure that these voices are heard by policy makers who have the power to make US foreign aid more effective in the fight against global poverty.

Meet the Oxfam America staff members who are working on the Aid Reform initiative.

In our effort to improve US foreign aid, we should listen to those who know best: the professionals who deliver aid and the people who receive it. They know how aid can and should work; how methods of aid delivery affect its outcomes; and how aid can motivate governments and communities to invest in their own development.

What others are saying about Oxfam America's Aid Reform initiative and the Aid Reform movement.

Analysis of US foreign assistance legislation.

Tell Congress to co-sponsor the Lugar-Casey Global Food Security Act of 2009
We need to stand up for the millions of people around the world who face hunger on a daily basis.
Tell your representative to become a co-sponsor of the Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009 (HR 2139)
This is our best chance to improve the way we tackle global poverty. But the bill won't pass without broad Congressional support.
Join the Aid Reform campaign mailing list
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Field report from Cambodia
Smart Development in Practice series
The White Oak Recommendations on Effective Global Development in the US National Interest
"D" is for Different: Why diplomacy and development are not the same, and why it matters
AID NOW: Smart Development in Practice
What Happened at the G20?
Initial analysis of the London summit
Failing the Cardozo test
Why US foreign assistance legislation needs a fresh start
Field report from Afghanistan
Smart Development in Practice series
Field Report from Southern Sudan
Smart Development in Practice Series
Ten Point Plan to Change Course in Afghanistan
Oxfam America's memo to President Obama
Why trade policy can help or hinder the US's fight against poverty
AID NOW: Smart Development in Practice
The tied aid "round trip"
AID NOW: Smart Development in Practice
When developing countries lead, will the US follow?
AID NOW: Smart Development in Practice
The Humanitarian Response Index: Where we stand
AID NOW: Smart Development in Practice
Measuring the right results
AID NOW: Smart Development in Practice
Field Report from Mozambique
Smart Development in Practice Series
From Poverty to Power
For the US to become a global leader in smart development, it should focus on strengthening responsible and effective states and helping active citizens to foster equitable economic growth through their own efforts.
Field Report from El Salvador
Smart Development in Practice Series
New Day New Way
The importance of supporting development and reducing poverty abroad are understood now as never before to be both moral imperatives and prerequisites for sustained US national security.
Foreign Aid 101
Oxfam sets out to answer fundamental questions through a quick and easy guide to understanding foreign aid.
"Foreign Assistance Reform in the Next Administration: Challenges and Solutions"
Perceptions of Poverty from the "Poor," Conceptions of Poverty from the "Poor"
This executive summary presents the broader lessons from APPPA's findings and documents a sample of the vast selection of personal understandings of poverty from people living in Afghanistan. By providing these first-hand perspectives, the APPPA aims to contribute to increasingly relevant, effective poverty reduction projects.
Falling Short
The prospects for peace in Afghanistan are being undermined because Western countries are failing to deliver on their promises of aid to the tune of $10 billion and because aid going to the country is used ineffectively, according to this report by ACBAR, an alliance international aid agencies--including Oxfam--working in Afghanistan.
Smart Development
Oxfam's briefing paper on making aid work.
More research
Oxfam America Organizing Guide
Tips for taking action in your community
Oxfam America House Party Guide
Tools for hosting a high-impact event
Take Action: Global Food Crisis
Already 854 million people on our planet suffer from hunger. Now, as food prices climb high and fast, conditions are becoming worse and threatening the well-being of millions more people.
More tools for activists
Oxfam America President Ray Offenheiser on Bloggingheads.tv
Mark Leon Goldberg of UN Dispatch and The American Prospect, chats with Ray Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America, about how we can bring US foreign assistance and foreign aid practices into the 21st century.
Reform US Foreign Aid Policy
US foreign aid has saved millions of lives and helped millions more overcome poverty. Yet foreign aid is still under-performing and often fails to reach the people who need it most.
Predictable, multiyear aid is life-saving in difficult contexts
An interview with Melissa Phillips, NGO Secretariat Coordinator in Juba, Southern Sudan.
Bring US Foreign Assistance into the 21st Century
This short video was produced by our partners at the Center for Global Development.
Sustainable Security
Oxfam America president Raymond C. Offenheiser discusses how 21st century sustainable security requires working together across borders for joint solutions to global challenges.
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