An American Approach to Foreign Assistance

On that first day when I entered the Ronald Reagan Building as administrator of USAID, I professed my belief that “the purpose of all foreign assistance should be ending its need to exist.” In my first sessions with senior staff, I added that when we came across communities, countries, and leaders who were taking up the often-difficult reforms needed to pursue self-reliance, we should strive to walk with them on that journey.

The policy framework that became known as the “Journey to Self-Reliance” may have been unveiled in Washington, DC, but it was really born many years earlier in a small village in rural Kenya.

Sudan Keeps Making History

10% of all people in the world classified as “needing humanitarian assistance” are in Sudan.

Not a day goes by without a new story about one or more of the humanitarian crises currently plaguing humanity. One day it's the suffering resulting from October 7 and its aftermath. The next, it’s a Russian missile strike on schools in Ukraine or the terrible suffering in Haiti. As poignant—and urgent—as those crises are, the largest crisis of them all—what’s going on in Sudan—isn't getting the attention it deserves.

What Happens in Africa Stays in Africa (Mainly)

Of the estimated 45 million Africans who are forcibly displaced more than 75% reside in their home country, and of those who aren’t, over 95% reside on the continent.

Tragically, the number of forcibly displaced Africans continues to steadily rise. It has increased each year for more than a dozen consecutive years. In fact, it has doubled since 2018, with more than 45 million people currently forcibly displaced.

However, contrary to what many assume, only a small percentage of these Africans are making their way to Europe.

A Stubborn Thing About Our 2024 Stubborn Things

This past year, of the 43 Stubborn Things I penned, those touching upon migration and displacement were most read.

2024 was a busy year for international affairs, to say the least. It was the year of elections, with more than one billion citizens across 74 countries going to the polls. The year also saw, sadly, the first anniversary of the war that began when Hamas attacked Israel, and the second anniversary of Russia’s brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

But there were countless other foreign policy developments that often didn’t make it to the front page, which is why I chose them for Stubborn Things.