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State's Hughes Discusses Private, Public Philanthropy
Says U.S. aid now tied to results, nations' investment in their people

The diverse, and sometimes overlooked, ways in which Americans engage in "the act of giving" were highlighted by the State Department’s Karen Hughes in an address to business leaders in Seattle, Washington.

Speaking on February 27, National Corporate Philanthropy Day, the under secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs said that private, governmental and private-public partnerships reflect "one of our founding convictions -- that every person has worth, and dignity and value."

The charitable efforts of American individuals and businesses totaled nearly a quarter-trillion dollars in 2004, according to Hughes, and reflect the efforts of some 965,000 charitable organizations. Giving on such a level, she said, reflected a "the sense that as a country that has been richly blessed, we have an obligation to give back and help others."

The under secretary, citing the efforts of Time magazine’s "Persons of the Year," Bill and Melinda Gates, who endowed the world’s largest charitable foundation, and the Irish musician Bono who has emerged as an advocate for the underprivileged, said these three viewed their extraordinary success as "a call to share their blessings." Through their efforts, and those of other individuals and corporations, the private sector supplies more than four-fifths of the aid flow from the United States to the developing world, Hughes said.

In terms of government aid, President Bush’s broad humanitarian and development agenda has spurred a tripling of Official Development Assistance, to more than $27 billion in 2005, she explained. U.S. foreign assistance programs direct funds to programs in such diverse areas as humanitarian aid, economic growth and trade, agriculture, global health, conservation of natural resources, democracy and governance, and education.

Hughes cited the Millennium Challenge Account as a new approach that "ties unprecedented levels of direct assistance to accountability, transparency and measurable outcomes." (See Millennium Challenge Account.)

The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS relief alone, she said, has committed $15 billion over five years and has helped nearly 2 million women protect their women from HIV, supplied nearly a half-million people with anti-retroviral drug treatments, and provided care for almost 3 million people. (See President Bush's HIV/AIDS Initiative.)

Other public initiatives have focused on the education and training of women. In Cambodia, Hughes said, nearly two-thirds of the 900 women elected to office had received U.S.-funded leadership training.

Thanking her audience for contributions already made, Hughes concluded by stating the only way to overcome the evil in the world “is with good, the gathering momentum of millions of acts of kindness, service and sacrifice.”

For additional information, see Partnership for a Better Life.

Following is the text of Hughes' remarks, as delivered:

U.S Department of State
Office of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs

Under Secretary of State Karen Hughes
Address to business leaders in Seattle, Washington
February 27, 2006
(Event hosted by the Initiative for Global Development)

"A Partnership for A Better Life"

I bring greetings from our Secretary of State and from President Bush. It's great to be here in Seattle, home of coffee, software, and one of the most magnificent natural settings you can find anywhere in America. My family has enjoyed vacationing here -- we took the ferry and toured the beautiful San Juan Islands. I was drawn here today not because of the splendor of Mother Nature, but because of the generosity of human nature.

Today is National Corporate Philanthropy Day and I could not think of a better place to honor this day than here, because of Seattle's well-deserved reputation for generosity and concern for the welfare not only of its citizens but for citizens throughout the entire world. Only in America would business leaders come together -- as you have -- without encouragement or pressure from the government -- and form an Initiative for Global Development with a breathtakingly ambitious goal of "eliminating extreme global poverty."

What a bold, risky, challenging declaration! And how uniquely American in its scope, optimism and ambition. I've really come to Seattle to SALUTE YOU because today -- this city, its business leaders and private citizens -- represent the compassionate, can-do spirit of Americans at work in our world. As President Bush said as he proclaimed this National Corporate Philanthropy Day: "By raising awareness, dedicating resources, and creating service opportunities, you encourage American businesses and employees to engage in the social entrepreneurship that reflects the generosity and true spirit of our Nation."

This spirit, while extraordinary, is not unique to this moment in history.

More than 160 years ago, Alexis de Tocqueville was struck by the generosity and charity of Americans -- by a volunteer spirit that didn't wait for governments or someone else to step forward, but come together to build churches, organize schools, and form civic organizations. He said, "When an American needs the assistance of his fellows, it is very rare for that to be refused. When some unexpected disaster strikes a family, a thousand strangers willingly open their purses."

Today, this American spirit is reflected in the work of the Gates Foundation. Today, I was a guest at a lunch hosted by one of the Initiative for Global Development founders, William Gates, Sr. If de Tocqueville had attended today's lunch with me, I suspect he would have quickly understood why Bill and Melinda Gates were named TIME Magazine's PERSONS OF THE YEAR. It might have taken him a while longer to figure out the connection with Bono!

These three people didn't earn this recognition because they had a lot of extra time on their hands, or didn't have anything else to do -- these are busy, extraordinarily successfully people with huge companies and rock bands to lead, yet united by their recognition of the massive problem of poverty and a call to share their blessings to do something about it.

As Melinda Gates said, "We're optimistic because, while the statistics are daunting, we know these problems can be solved. Many of the answers already exist. But they require that public and private sectors step up their investments dramatically to reduce the inequities that divide our world. It isn't enough simply to be aware of the problems; to make a difference, every one of us must take action."

I was recently privileged to hear Bono's moving remarks at a National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC -- talk about surreal. He wore leather and those cool pink shades -- yet even though he wears his sunglasses indoors, Bono sees so clearly the world's terrible problems and our responsibilities to our fellow human beings. I have to admit, it made me proud as an American to hear this Irish musician praise our country's leadership.

Bono said, "After 9/11, we were told America would have no time for the world's poor. America would be taken up with its own problems of safety. And it's true these are dangerous times, but America has not drawn the blinds and double-locked its doors. In fact, you, Mr. President, have doubled aid to Africa. You have tripled funding for global health...your emergency plan for AIDS relief and support for the global fund...have put 471,000 people on to life-saving anti-retroviral drugs...and provided 8 million bed nets to protect children from malaria."

Of course, being Bono, he went on to challenge us to do even more as an American family to step up our giving. From the Gates Foundation to the government, we are responding to that call in a remarkable way.

Our American spirit of giving springs from a lot of things -- our sense of moral duty and responsibility, the sense that as a country that has been richly blessed, we have an obligation to give back and help others. I believe one of the prime motivators of our generosity is our gratitude -- from the time of that first Thanksgiving, when Pilgrims who had been through so much death and hardship on their journey, paused to give thanks for the bounty of this new, free land -- and shared that celebration with others.

The act of giving also reflects one of our founding convictions -- that every person has worth, and dignity and value, because we were endowed with those by our Creator. And if we truly believe that, we cannot hoard it -- because those are God's gifts to all people, everywhere. In today's age of instant technology and international travel, our interests are also increasingly linked with those of people throughout the world -- from security, to prosperity to control of infectious diseases. America's prosperity is inextricably linked to the global economy.

As you well know, because America invested in rural development in India through the green revolution of the 1970s and 80s, India is today able to meet its indigenous food needs and is today a thriving market for U.S. goods and services. Forty-three of the top 50 consumer nations of American agricultural products were once recipients of U.S. foreign aid.

Our giving has helped develop a more prosperous world -- and it can also help advance a more peaceful world. As President Bush has said, for 60 years Western nations ignored the freedom deficit in the Middle East, believing that stability would lead to security. In the aftermath of September 11, we learned that tyranny, hopelessness, lack of opportunity can lead to resentment that can fester and explode in American cities. By promoting freedom, investing in good governance, helping nations establish a civil society and the rule of law, we make lives better for people as we make the world more secure and avoid failed states like Afghanistan under Taliban rule where Al Qaeda was free to operate and plan attacks against us.

It is a privilege for me as a government official to represent a generous nation that is active and engaged in our world. I do worry that neither the world nor our fellow Americans truly recognize the scope of our giving.

In 2004, according to the latest Annual Report on Philanthropy, charitable giving by America's 965,000 charity organizations totaled $248 billion. Despite the ups and downs of the economy, American philanthropy has increased in 39 of the last 40 years.

These private efforts often complement the President's broad humanitarian and development agenda -- an effort to build democratic institutions and spread freedom, reduce poverty, improve the status of women and girls, expand educational opportunity, promote good governance, fight infectious diseases, and provide disaster relief and humanitarian aid.

U.S. Triples Development Assistance

Under President Bush's leadership, the United States of America has embarked on the most ambitious development agenda since the Marshall Plan. The final figures will be announced next week, but in the almost five years since September 11, America has tripled our Official Development Assistance (ODA), both bilateral and multilateral, to more than $27 billion in calendar year 2005.

U.S. foreign assistance programming is diverse. It includes humanitarian aid,

• Economic growth & trade;

• Agricultural;

• Global health;

• Conservation of natural resources;

• Democracy and governance;

• Education

Yet one of the most unique parts of this American story is that all of this official development assistance is overshadowed by our country's other humanitarian and development commitments around the world.

In fact, total non-governmental resource flows from the U.S to the developing world outstrip official development aid by more than four to one. This includes contributions from foundations like the Gates Foundation, corporations, I'm sure many represented in this room, private and voluntary organizations, universities and colleges, religious congregations and individual remittances. Today, more than 80% of U.S. resource flows moving into the developing world come from the private sector; less than 20% come from government. A little more than three decades ago, the proportions were reversed.

We are witnessing a unique moment in which America's foreign assistance programs can have great and lasting impact -- not only because we are committing more public and private resources -- but also because we are altering the landscape of our foreign assistance programs with a commitment to results, a commitment to reform and a commitment to partnership.

Reform of U.S. Aid Demands Investment in People

In the end, what counts is not just what we spend, but what we achieve, so one of the ways the Bush administration has transformed the landscape of development assistance is through the Millennium Challenge Account. This new approach ties unprecedented levels of direct assistance to accountability, transparency and measurable outcomes.

The President said, "When nations close their markets and opportunity is hoarded by a privileged few -- no amount of development aid is ever enough. When nations respect their people, open markets, invest in better health and education, every dollar of aid, every dollar of trade revenue, and domestic capital is used more effectively." To qualify for funding, countries must meet a tough set of standards that have broad international consensus. Eligible nations have to meet traditional economic targets for growth and poverty reduction. And they have to meet other goals as well: fighting corruption, educating girls and making rural development a priority -- in short, investing in the lives of their people.

Secretary Rice has advanced this reform of foreign assistance even further by strengthening the ties between the State Department and our development agency and creating a new position of Deputy Secretary of State for Foreign Assistance who also serves as Administrator of USAID. The goal is to make foreign assistance more strategic, coherent and accountable, thereby increasing its effectiveness.

As Secretary Rice has said, "Transformational diplomacy is rooted in partnership, not paternalism, in doing things with other people, not for them. We seek to use America's diplomatic power to help foreign citizens to better their own lives, and to build their own nations and to transform their own futures.

Fight Against AIDS a Priority

There is no better example of how this works than the President's emergency plan for AIDS relief. The scope of the AIDS tragedy is almost beyond comprehension -- as a mother, I think of it in terms of its impact on children. A child is orphaned more than 6,000 times a day. Today, tomorrow and the day after. As Bono said at the prayer breakfast, in Africa we are losing 150,000 people every month to AIDS -- the equivalent of a tsunami every single month.

By committing $15 billion over five years to the fight against AIDS, America is leading the largest health initiative for a single disease ever undertaken -- and we can measure its impact one life at a time

Take the story of Brenda, who lives in a small village in Guyana -- she is alive and has a healthy baby today because of U.S. taxpayers. When Brenda became pregnant for the second time, she learned that she was HIV-positive. Through the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission program which Americans fund, Brenda received prenatal care and counseling. She learned that despite her diagnosis, she could still lead a full and productive life. With antiretroviral treatments and special precautions, she delivered a health HIV-free baby. Brenda has given back as well. She is now an educator helping other young mothers avoid transmitting this disease to their children. Brenda's story is one of what is increasingly becoming a much larger story of life and hope.

In its first two years, the President's Emergency plan for AIDS prevention has helped nearly 2 million women protect their babies from HIV. Forty-two million have been taught how to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV through the ABC program: Abstain, Be Faithful and Correct, Consistent use of Condoms. Four hundred seventy-one thousand people today receive antiretroviral drug treatments, up from 50,000 when the program started. And almost 3 million people, including orphans and vulnerable children, receive care they need.

Focus on Women, Girls' Education

And beyond AIDS, we know from long experience that there is no greater return on any single investment in a society's welfare than the education of women and girls. In all its foreign assistance and development efforts, the Bush administration has made it a priority to support the advancement of women. Just last week, as an example, I was in Dubai to announce two initiatives to increase the participation of women in Middle Eastern societies. The first will train women entrepreneurs and expand their contacts and networks; the second is a partnership between Microsoft and the International Institute of Education to train 800 to 1,000 UAE women in computer and IT skills -- and this will serve as a model for similar programs in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman and Iraq.

We also work to empower women's voices in the political process. In Cambodia, more than 900 women were elected to local offices -- two-thirds had taken part in leadership training supported by American taxpayers.

In Africa, one of the primary goals of the President's Education Initiative is to enroll more girls in school. We're meeting that goal through a program that will provide 550,000 scholarships to girls in 40 nations at the primary and secondary level.

Throughout the world, the generosity of Americans is making a difference in people's lives and futures -- and increasingly, we are doing so through innovative partnerships with the private sector.

Private Sector

USAID's Global Development Alliance partners government with NGOs, companies, and foundations, including the Gates foundation here in Seattle.

Each of these alliances is unique.

In Mali, for example, our government partnered with the Louisiana-based firm Schaffer & Associates to build a sugar plant and end Mali's costly dependence on sugar imports.

In Peru and Brazil, the U.S. is working with local communities to end illegal logging of endangered mahogany forests and develop plans for sustainable forestry.

In Armenia, we have teamed with local NGOs and the U.N. to issue housing vouchers and grants to provide homes to some of the 500,000 families who have been living in emergency shelters since the huge earthquake of 1988.

This Global Development Alliance is no longer thought of as just a trendy innovation. To date, its $1.1 billion in taxpayer-funded investments has leveraged more than $3.7 billion in additional private development funds. This year, it was recognized by the Kennedy School of Government and received its Lewis and Clarke award for its Innovation in Government Program.

I have also established a new office of public-private partnership in my Office of Public Diplomacy at the State Department. It is headed by B.J. Goergen, who is with me today. We are partnering with the private sector on projects as varied as mentoring businesswomen, training journalists, working with the travel industry to make our airports more welcoming, working with our vibrant sports community to bring children from across the world to the United States and then Germany to attend the World Cup.

One of the most visible -- and most successful examples -- is in the area of humanitarian assistance. Last November, I traveled