Multinationals, Bi-nationals, and International NGOs

International Social Work Class Session 4, September 26th

Examples

• Bi-national agencies: US Agency for International Development (USAID), US Import-

Export Bank, Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Peace Corps

• Multi-national organizations:World Bank, United Nations (UNDP, UNICEF, etc.) International

Monetary Fund (IMF)• International NGOs:

CARE, Safe the Children, Catholic Relief Service, International Committee of the Red Cross

• National NGOs:Bangladesh Grameen Bank

Assistance Agencies and Organizations

• All are involved in development &/or human rights• US Bi-lateral: assistance from the US to another country.

Funded by US Congress. Other countries and EU also have bi-lateral programs. (ex – JICA)

• Multi-lateral: assistance through intergovernmental organizations with varied members, both rich & poor (perception of global cooperation) Funded by member country governments

• NGOs / Education institutions / for-profit groups: assistance through private non governmental groups; local, national, international. Funded by private contributions / grants or contracts from bi-lateral or multi-lateral organizations.

Purposes

• Humanitarian assistance, i.e. natural disasters, disease outbreaks

• Foreign policy to gain allies and shape policy decisions in other countries, i.e. ‘rule of law’ programs in Central Asia; significant aid to Egypt and Isreal

• Open foreign market for donor country products, i.e. disease resistant grains

Funding and Project Stream

Bi-lateral (USAID) / funding from Congress; sets

priorities

Contracts projects to large

international for-profits and NGOs

Sub-contracts to smaller and In-country NGOs

Funding and Project Stream

Multilateral/funded by member country

governments

Loan (WB, IMF) project monies to

countries thru international for- profits and NGOs

Subcontracts to in-country NGOs

Each country must approve each step

since funding must be paid back.

USAID (USG)

• USAID is an independent federal government agency that receives overall foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State.

• Work supports long-term and equitable economic growth and advances U.S. foreign policy objectives by supporting:– economic growth, agriculture and trade;– global health; – and,democracy, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance.

Programs in democracy and legal reform, girls' education, maternal and child health, and economic growth improves status of women and their opportunities:

specific focus on girls' education in 67 percent of its basic education programs. Over 60 percent of clients receiving loans from USAID-supported microfinance institutions are women.Nearly one-third of the clients receiving USAID-supported enterprise development services are women.Provided $27 million to support anti-trafficking activities in 30 countries in 2006. Supported legislation supporting women in Albania, Benin, Mozambique, and Madagascar.

USAID program examples

PEPFAR (USG)Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief / Phase II

PEPFAR's Goals:

Transition from an emergency response to promotion of sustainable country programs.

Strengthen partner government capacity to lead the response to this epidemic and other health demands.

Expand prevention, care, and treatment in both concentrated and generalized epidemics. Integrate and coordinate HIV/AIDS programs with broader global health and development programs to maximize impact on health systems.

Invest in innovation and operations research to evaluate impact, improve service delivery and maximize outcomes.

PEPFAR, Phase ILaunched in 2003, PEPFAR largest effort by any nation to combat a single disease, HIV/AIDS.

First five years, PEPFAR focused on expanding access to HIV prevention, care and treatment in low-resource settings.

PEPFAR supported treatment to 2 million people, care to 10 million people, including more than 4 million orphans and vulnerable children, and prevention of mother-to-child treatment services during 16 million pregnancies.

About $15 billion in five years.

Peace Corps (USG)

• Independent USG agency, NOT part of US foreign policy • 8,000 Volunteers in 74 countries• 200,000 have served since 1961• Mission and three goals: – World peace and friendship

• To help people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women

• To help promote a better understanding of Americans on part of peoples served

• To help promote better understanding of peoples on part of Americans

United Nations Agencies (180 govs)

• Social welfare / development purposes: to achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character and in promoting respect for human rights.

• Best source for global development data (Human Development Report)

• Originator of the Millennium Development Goals

UN Development related agencies

• Best known agencies within UN– UN Development Programme (UNDP)– UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF)– World Health Organization (WHO) – UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)– UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) – Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

• UN MDG conference concluded Sept. 21, renewed effort for next five years:

• Ex: “Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health” draws more than $40 Billion in Resources”– “The Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health,

identifies finance and policy changes needed as well as critical interventions that can and do improve health and save lives.

– Global Strategy lays out approach for global, multi sector ‐collaboration.”

– Global strategy sets goal to save lives of more than 16 million women and children

MDG 2 & 3: universal primary education; gender equality

• A girl with a 5th grade education is likelier to:• marry at a later age• have fewer children• decrease her chances of being infected with

HIV/AIDS• find employment later in life• seek medical care• vote in her community• gain access to credit

• Multi-national government organization which provides loans to encourage economic development including for example in rural and urban development, housing, education, health and nutrition.

(180 nations)

Provide low-interest loans, interest-free credits and grants to developing countries for investments in education, health, public administration, infrastructure, financial and private sector development, agriculture and environmental and natural resource management.

• Our mission: fight poverty with passion and professionalism for lasting results and help people help themselves and their environment by providing resources, sharing knowledge, building capacity and forging partnerships in the public and private sectors.

Membership

• Over 180 member countries; voting and leadership weighted to countries contribution most shares ($$)

• United States, Japan, Germany, France and the United Kingdom are five largest voting countries.

International Monitory Fund

• “187 member countries, fostering global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.”

• Funded through capital subscriptions member that countries pay

• Staff are from member countries BUT responsible to IMF and not countries of citizenship

IMF Responsibilities

• Surveillance: oversees international monetary system; monitors financial and economic policies of its members

• Technical Assistance: assist low- and middle-income countries in effectively managing their economies, help design structural policies

• Lending: Loans to countries that cannot meet international payments; cannot otherwise find sufficient financing on affordable terms.

Current Challenges • Reinforcing multilateralism

– Ex – G – 20 working toward shared objectives• Rethinking macroeconomic principles

– Monetary policy, fiscal policy, regulation, etc.• Stepping up crisis lending

– Doubling lending access limits, flexible credit line, modernizing conditionality, etc.

• Strengthening international monetary system– Resolving the real and financial imbalances, volatile capital flows and

exchange rates, etc. • Supporting low-income countries

– Changed lending instruments to meet needs for short-term and emergency support.

Non-government Organizations (NGOs)

• Tens of millions of local, national, international NGOs. Rapid increase in numbers of organizations over past 10 yrs.

• Types of NGOs: – Relief & development– Advocacy – Exchange– International networks of social agencies– Cross-national work of domestic agencies targeting

international issues (ISS for example)– Professional associations

NGOs

• Funding from private donations (up to 25% of those receiving grants from USG)

• Contract and grant funding from WB, UN, USAID, PEPFAR, etc. NGOs carry out most work of donor agencies; USAID, WB, PEPFAR, etc.

• Perception that NGOs are more innovative, flexible, cost-effective and better able to reach poor grassroots work than governmental agencies.

NGOs

• Structural requirements – Public funding / have tax free status– Financial transparency – annual reports, audits to

show where $ went– Clearly stated purpose and mission; most likely

related to grassroots and hands on activities – Publically elected board of directors– Accountable to local, regional, national publics

because of tax free status (501(c)3)

International NGOs

• Are NGOs examples of belief that problems better solved through private sector?

• If NGO receives government $, must it carry out gov. foreign policy priorities?

• What are donor agencies working increasingly through NGOs?