Actions | Global Health

Ask President Obama to Appoint a Leader for USAID

To: The President of the United States

USAID needs a permanent leader. The agency cannot function forever with an acting administrator. The current acting administator, Alonzo Fulgham, is doing three jobs. No one can do that forever.

To maintain the impact of US foreign assistance, we need a permanent USAID leader. Send a letter to President Obama asking him to appoint an administator.

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Sign the Letter

USAID needs an administrator

Dear Representative,

Dear Mr. President, US foreign assurance is important. Our global efforts support peace, stability, and accountability in the developing world. USAID and the other foreign assistance agencies support programs that fight famine, save children’s lives, and slow the impact of HIV/AIDS. This is work that matters, and it is work that is hard to do well. It will not succeed without leadership. PEPFAR has a strong leader in Dr. Eric Goosby, but USAID remains leaderless. We need a USAID administrator. The agency is facing a huge set of challenges as it adapts to the new nature of foreign assistance. It needs to modernize its systems, hire new staff, and determine its proper role in assistance to Afghanistan and Iraq. Finally, Congress is working to change the legislation that structures our foreign aid, and USAID will need to adapt to its new role. USAID needs a leader of stature to represent the agency’s interests within the US government, with other international donors, and with the American public. An acting administrator, however skilled, cannot guide USAID through the challenges ahead. America’s role in the world is affected by our ability to provide help to those in need, and USAID play an enormous part in that effort. The agency needs a leader, and it needs one soon. Sincerely,

[Your name here]