Below is a blog post from Dining for Women that we felt was a good primer for understanding the U.S. Foreign Aid budget. The full blog post can be found here.

“What is U.S. foreign aid?

Foreign aid is a broad term that covers the many types of assistance that the U.S. gives to other countries. For example, foreign aid is used to fight terrorism and the illicit drug trade, provide disaster relief, vaccines, education and clean water, and stimulate economic development.

Why does the U.S. give aid to countries?

The purpose of U.S. foreign aid has changed over the decades since the modern-day concept of development assistance took shape with the Marshall Plan after World War II. The Marshall Plan provided financial and technical assistance to Europe to rebuild its infrastructure and economy and stabilize the region following the war.

In the sixties, our priority was creating markets for our products and fighting communism by reducing poverty. This time period became known as the “decade of development” with the creation of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Peace Corps. In the seventies, our aid focused on basic human needs, and in the eighties, it turned to improving free markets.

Today, the U.S. gives aid to countries for many reasons, including:

• National Security – Aid can support efforts to reduce poverty and injustice, which fuel social tensions and destabilize countries.
• Economic Interests – Aid can generate demand for U.S. goods and services and help build stable trading partners.
• Goodwill – Providing aid can help advance human rights and democracy and demonstrate the goodwill of the American people.

How much does the U.S. spend on foreign aid?

 What do you think? If you are like the majority of Americans, you probably overestimate how much money the U.S. government spends on foreign aid. One of the greatest myths is that the U.S. spends as much as 30 percent of the federal budget on foreign aid to poor countries. This is absolutely untrue.

The entire international affairs budget,

which includes both diplomacy and development,

is only about 1 percent of the total federal budget.

And only half of that is poverty-reducing foreign aid.

In terms of absolute dollars, the U.S. is the largest development aid donor in the world, investing $33.59 billion in official development assistance in 2016. (Source:  Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD) However, when you look at this contribution as a percentage of gross national income, the U.S. is in 20^th place, behind Canada, the United Kingdom, and the top contributor, Sweden. Click hereto see the full country list.

The U.S. currently spends nearly 50% less on foreign assistance today as a percentage of GDP than during the Reagan years from 1981-1989.  (Source: U.S. Global Leadership Coalition)

Has U.S. foreign aid been effective?

According to the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, U.S. development and humanitarian programs save lives. Millions of people are alive today thanks to U.S. assistance to fight HIV/AIDs, malaria, and hunger. Here are a few impressive results:

• Over the last 25 years, U.S. aid has helped cut extreme poverty in half around the world.
• The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) alone has saved more than 11 million lives and prevented nearly 2 million babies from being born with HIV.
• The world has seen a 99% reduction in polio cases, thanks to U.S. supported global vaccination programs.

Why should YOU care about U.S. foreign aid?

The needs of the world’s poorest women and girls are too great for any one government or nonprofit to address. […] The U.S. government must continue to do its part to end illiteracy, poor health care, violence, gender inequality, and lack of opportunity for women and girls. To eradicate poverty and achieve gender equity worldwide, we need to have a multi-pronged effort that includes both charitable donations and foreign assistance provided by the U.S. government.

The future of U.S. foreign aid, however, is uncertain as our elected representatives in Washington, D.C. grapple with a budget for the next fiscal year.”

Full blog post on Dining for Women’s website.

Sahar Press Release 10.17.17

SAHAR TO LAUNCH BOARDING SCHOOL INITIATIVE

October 26, 2017: SODO Park, 6pm-9pm

On October 26, 2016, Seattle-based nonprofit, Sahar Education, will unveil at Sodo Park the organization’s groundbreaking initiative to build the first all-girls public boarding school in Afghanistan. With input from the local Afghan community, the design of the boarding school is the result of a partnership with students at the University of Washington’s School of Architecture and Miller Hull Partnership LLC.

Girls education is the single best investment for a community and a nation. Girls education in Afghanistan is particularly important at this time. With 41% of the total population under the age of 25 and only 17% of women literate, there is no day like today to start investing in their future:  

“Education starts a virtuous cycle in which Afghan girls, their children, and generations to come will have better, more peaceful lives, with potential for entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic empowerment.” – Ginna Brelsford, Executive Director, Sahar

Sahar partners with Afghanistan’s Ministry of Education and locally-based organizations to empower Afghan women through education. 20,000 girls are educated annually in Sahar-built schools. With the launching of the girls boarding school at our October 26th event, we will be making an even bigger impact on the landscape of girls education in Afghanistan.

At the event Sahar will recognize the newest recipient of the Janet W. Ketcham award recipient for outstanding contribution to girls’ education in Afghanistan.

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Sahar is the October Spotlight organization for Dining for Women. We are grateful to have found a partner that is committed and passionate about educating Afghan girls. Dining for Women is supporting our Early Marriage Prevention Program with at $50,000 grant.

To learn more about our Early Marriage Prevention Program, please see our program video and our Google Hangouts with Dining for Women Director of Grants and Partnerships, Dr. Veena Khandke. Our fellow advisor Airokhsh Faiz Qaisary talks about the inception of the program, the need in the community, and shares some stories about the Afghan girls that she’s worked with.

In the month of October we will be meeting with Dining for Women groups all over the country – Washington DC, San Francisco,  San Jose, and Seattle. And these are only the ones we have scheduled so far! Looking forward to connecting with the Dining for Women chapters!

Our team is pleased to announce a partnership with One Day’s Wages for Sahar’s Early Marriage Prevention Initiative. One Day’s Wages is a grassroots organization driven to make an impact. They embody empowerment, dignity, transparency, and mutuality. One Day’s Wages will match dollar for dollar up to $15,000.00.

We’ve launched the campaign – donate and get matched here:
https://www.onedayswages.org/empowering-girls-afghanistan-sahar/

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