Mary Beth Sheridan writes for the Washington Post that on Tuesday President Obama nominated Rajiv Shah to head the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The nomination helps end speculation and concern over the fact that an important foreign policy position has remained vacant for ten months.Dr. Rajiv Shah is 36 years-old and is considered an agriculture expert. Currently the nominee works as the undersecretary of agriculture. Previously, Shah worked for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation is “the world’s largest private charity [,]” and has given $1.4 billion for agriculture development in Africa and South Asia over the past three years. So, Shah is no stranger to the importance of agriculture development in third world countries, which could be key as the United Nations and the United States are both pushing for Africa as a continent to become more self-sufficient through domestic agriculture production that can meet the needs of the populous and prevent famines.
As Sheridan reports, Shah has a lot of work ahead of him. Over the past two decades the number of full-time staff at USAID has dropped by 40 percent. Shah ‘"has very impressive credentials and knows many of the sectors we work in, in development, agriculture and health,’ said J. Brian Atwood, who led USAID in the 1990s. But he and other development veterans say the agency has been weakened in recent years as its budget and policy functions have been folded into the State Department. ‘I hope he has assurances he'll have the authorities he needs to get a very difficult job done,’ Atwood said.”
The administration has promised to double the funding for foreign assistance to roughly $50 billion a year, with dedicated focus on Afghanistan and hunger in Africa. Shah’s nomination may have come at an interesting time for US foreign policy given the number of current engagements the country is involved in, and the possibility that the legislation governing foreign assistance that has been on the books since 1960’s might be changed by Congress. Shah is likely to face questioning on all these issues during his Senate confirmation.
While with the US Department of Agriculture, Shah worked on the food security initiative pushed by the Obama administration, “part of a global campaign to help small farmers get more food to the hungry.” Department of State Secretary Hillary Clinton is looking forward to working with Shah and USAID. She is quoted in the Post article as stating Shah will, ‘"bring an impressive record of accomplishment and a deep understanding of what works in development to his role."’
To read the Washington Post article on Dr. Shah click here.
Posted: 11/11/09
