The destruction of the U.S. Agency for International Development and reduced budgets by other traditional bilateral donors have provoked a reckoning in the broader development and philanthropic communities about how best to respond. The global development sector must take this crucial lesson forward: Sustainable development assistance requires strategic, government-backed approaches that build self-reliance, not well-meaning charity that creates dependency.
Critics of USAID and other bilateral donors are right to call out unsuccessful projects and wasteful spending. In many instances, however, because foreign assistance has been a part of the U.S. government’s foreign policy apparatus, such initiatives are directed by the U.S. Congress or are administration priorities. As with other government development professionals, USAID staff are public servants who follow the directives of their country’s elected representatives, which are often contained in law.
With the nongovernment community considering how to step up to the task of supporting sustainable development globally, it must now draw on the experience of decades of bilateral assistance programs. Here are key lessons I have learned from my 30-year career at USAID.
About the author
John Patrick Groarke
John Patrick Groarke is a former member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service with the rank of career minister. He has held multiple leadership positions, including four-time USAID mission director. He has served in various locations, including conflict zones such as Afghanistan and Iraq, and countries facing crises like Haiti after the earthquake, and South Africa during health emergencies.
