What does Biden's presidency mean for international development? Experts’ Opinions

ByCatalina Russu

What does Biden's presidency mean for international development? Experts’ Opinions

The recent US president elections generated unprecedented events. The fall of the Trump administration means changes in all areas including the international development stage. The newly elected US President, Joe Biden, has inherited an America that has attempted to cut foreign economic assistance and humanitarian aid. What will Biden’s foreign aid policy look like and how will this affect international aid?

What do you think Biden’s foreign aid policy will look like and how will it affect the international aid? 

Gilda Follietti, Project Planning and Management for International Cooperation and Development Consultant

“President-Elect Biden has promised a different course for American foreign policy and that should include the international aid policy. We expect to see the way back to a more cooperative approach in the international arena, which is a tradition in democrat administrations. The worrying aspect is Biden’s referral to the concept of an American global leadership based on American values. American values are built on American circumstances which are very different to those surrounding aid assistance recipients. I remember people receiving mosquito nets because malaria is believed to be one of the deadliest diseases and then using these as fishing nets. It was not that they did not share the value of human life but that they had experienced the aching feeling of hunger first hand. In the development sector, we have been speaking about ownership for quite some time now. How can someone embrace interventions conceived on other’s values and circumstances? Most of the world’s countries share American core values but their circumstances have made them set different priorities. The question for the new administration is if they will be able to acknowledge these differences and conduct not only a cooperative but also an inclusive aid policy.”

 

 

Marc Bender, Communications Consultant serving UN Agencies, IFIs, and INGOs

“As a veteran public servant—with abiding interest in foreign affairs and recognition of the importance of alliances and foreign aid—President Biden will seek to restore international relationships and resume foreign aid commitments, at least to the levels seen during the Obama administration, of which he was a part.  Much depends, however, on the support he gets from Republicans in Congress.  After four years of the outgoing administration’s neglect of domestic institutions and needs, trashing of traditional foreign relations, reckless deficit spending on tax cuts, and necessary outlays due to the pandemic, the resources available for international aid will face many competing priorities.”

 

 

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