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    • News
    • Devex World 2024

    David Beasley believes the US can once again lead on foreign aid

    And that’s regardless of who wins the upcoming U.S. presidential election, the former head of the World Food Programme said.

    By Tania Karas // 29 October 2024
    If there’s one man who could get opposing political parties on board with funding humanitarian crises and development work abroad — even in a time of tightening foreign aid budgets — it’s probably David Beasley. The former executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme raised a record-breaking amount of money for the agency: $55 billion over a six-year tenure that wrapped up in April 2023. He grew that amount each year, focusing not just on famine and starvation but on mass migration and destabilization. Before joining WFP, Beasley — an American and a Republican known for his brash, straight-talking style — served as the governor of South Carolina. He knows a thing or two about convincing political conservatives that foreign aid is in their own domestic interest. In a conversation onstage at Devex World last week, he stressed that while fundraising, it’s important to speak in ways an audience understands. That means framing big problems such as migration in terms of stakes closer to home, and using simple language instead of jargon that only people in the humanitarian sector would know. “If you’re not going to do it out of the goodness of your heart, of loving your neighbor, then you better do it out of your financial interest, in your national security interest,” he said of how he speaks to governments and political decision-makers around the world. “You talk about the IPC level 3, 4, 5, that’s just like — what are you talking about?” he said of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the global standard for measuring hunger levels and famine. “But you explain it in simple terms: People are starving, and here’s what’s happening. So a child along our border, a child shelter’s like $3,750 a week, $60 million a week [total]. We can have a resilience program back in Guatemala for [$1] to $2 a week.” “‘So Mr. Anti-aid, do you want to spend $3,750 a week, or $1 to $2 a week?’ You’ve got to make it that practical.” “And it doesn’t matter whether it’s in Bundestag or the Canadian Parliament or the U.K. Parliament or the French or whatever it might be, it’s the same question you would get from people. It’s a valid question. Why should I send money to that country when I’ve got educational funding needs at home, I got health care funding needs at home, I got infrastructure needs at home?” “And so you’ve got to explain it in a way that resonates with them. Because they’ve got to sell it to their taxpayers.” The level of funding for humanitarian crises worldwide has lately seemed dire: Major aid funders from the United States and Europe have slashed budgets as the number of crises and needs proliferate. In the U.S., the era of bipartisan support for development funding seems to be over. Meanwhile, the World Food Programme faced a massive budget shortfall of 60% last year — the largest in its history. Every 1% cut in emergency assistance means a cut in rations that pushes 400,000 people to the brink of starvation, according to the agency’s calculations. Beasley also stressed the importance of efficiency and staying focused on the fundraising goal. “The key is being efficient, being effective, and saying no to meetings that get in the way of you achieving those skills and objectives,” he said. “Because if we don’t raise the money, it’s not like we’re not buying better furniture. Children are dying.” And regardless of who wins the U.S. presidential election next week — and which party takes control of each house of Congress — Beasley stressed the importance of returning to an era of American leadership on foreign aid funding. “How do we get through this election, regardless of who wins, and how do we move the American people forward? Because the rest of the world is looking for America to lead again. We must lead,” he said. “And I think when you look at what the United States has done around the world … and I think we have an opportunity. Because I know the senators that I’m talking to now on both sides of the aisle, they are working together, ready for whoever wins, whoever wins the Senate, they want to work together to start addressing problems around the world.”

    If there’s one man who could get opposing political parties on board with funding humanitarian crises and development work abroad — even in a time of tightening foreign aid budgets — it’s probably David Beasley.

    The former executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme raised a record-breaking amount of money for the agency: $55 billion over a six-year tenure that wrapped up in April 2023. He grew that amount each year, focusing not just on famine and starvation but on mass migration and destabilization.

    Before joining WFP, Beasley — an American and a Republican known for his brash, straight-talking style — served as the governor of South Carolina. He knows a thing or two about convincing political conservatives that foreign aid is in their own domestic interest.

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    About the author

    • Tania Karas

      Tania Karas@TaniaKaras

      Tania Karas is a Senior Editor at Devex, where she edits coverage on global development and humanitarian aid in the Americas. Previously, she managed the digital team for The World, where she oversaw content production for the website, podcast, newsletter, and social media platforms. Tania also spent three years as a foreign correspondent in Greece, Turkey, and Lebanon, covering the Syrian refugee crisis and European politics. She started her career as a staff reporter for the New York Law Journal, covering immigration and access to justice.

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