The Hill: Foreign aid is fundamental, but can do more with less
Sada Cumber, founder, chair, and CEO of SozoTek, Inc.

“Foreign aid needs smart thinking, not more money. … Aid is important for advancing U.S. foreign policy and interests. Though foreign aid has limitations, its benefits are powerful. Foreign aid can be transformative in ways other foreign policy tools are not. … These strengths don’t preclude improvements or reforms. Americans deserve … reforms to ensure foreign aid does all it can to advance their interests and security. Significant operational insufficiencies exist in how we deploy foreign aid. These cannot be fixed by more money. Further increases in accountability and effectiveness are needed. … America needs to eliminate the middleman, delivering aid to transparent and reputable local partners. … We need to ensure consistency in allocating funds. … Eliminating foreign aid, as a few have suggested, would be disastrous. Aid’s existing benefits in advancing U.S. interests, combating extremism, and creating economic opportunity would cease. However, the idea that more funding equals better results never works. The president knows that. Prudence must be the word always on our tongues” (4/14).