The 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa was an unprecedented global health crisis. The international community was forced to respond with military and medical aid. But at its root the spread of Ebola was a consequence of poor governance. Countries with the weakest governance systems suffer the most from pandemics. Strengthening their governance systems — free flow of credible information, fair distribution of resources, functional health and emergency response systems — helps control pandemics and avoid the next crisis.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of State released its latest Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, which, among many other priorities underscores the need to help countries around the world improve their governance.
While the new QDDR framework has yet to be translated into specific policies, even before the specifics appear, we know one thing: the funding to support the priority of better governance efforts will almost certainly fall short of the QDDR’s ambition. That’s based on one stark reality: between 2009 and 2015, the U.S. government shrunk its spending on programs that promote good governance around the world by as much as 30 percent.