Presidential Candidate Quote Archive - Global Development and Health
Quotes by Candidate:
Senator Joseph Biden:
Biden, Baltimore Sun op-ed: November 12, 2007 - Link
It is time for a new approach. We should triple non-security aid, to $1.5 billion annually, for at least a decade, without conditions. That sounds like a lot, but it is what we spend in Iraq every week. Instead of funding military hardware, it would build schools, clinics and roads. I would provide an additional $1 billion in nonmilitary assistance - a democracy dividend - in the first year after democratic rule is restored. Nothing is more important than helping Pakistan's democratic leaders demonstrate that they can do better than the generals and the fundamentalists in delivering real change for the country.
Biden, Speech at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: April 8, 2007 - Link
Because of our efforts, millions of Afghan children are in school today. We’ve built roads and clinics. We’ve got American troops in Provincial Reconstruction Teams showing that the US military can be a wonderful friend as well as a fearsome enemy.
Biden, Speech at the Council on Foreign Relations: February 15, 2007 - Link
Third, increase economic assistance to Iraq, not diminish it, and economic assistance to its regions.
Senator Hillary Clinton:
Clinton, Compassion Forum: April 13, 2008 - Link
I commend President Bush for his PEPFAR initiative. It was a very bold and important commitment, but it didn't go far enough in opening up the door to generics and getting the costs down. And as president, I will do that.
Clinton, Compassion Forum: April 13, 2008 - Link
Well, let me start by saying, No. 1, I believe strongly that we have to get back to leading on issues like health care and education and women's rights around the world. I have introduced legislation called The Education for All Act. And it's bipartisan. I introduced it first in '04 and then we reintroduced it on a bipartisan basis in '07. And the work that I would want to do to have the United States lead the world in putting the 77 million kids who aren't in school into school, having us lead when it comes to health care, particularly in malaria, T.B., HIV/AIDS, but also women's health which has been woefully neglected. I believe we should demonstrate our commitment to people who are poor, disenfranchised, disempowered before we talk about putting troops anywhere. The United States has to be seen again as a peacekeeper, and we have lost that standing in these last seven years. Therefore, I want us to have a partnership, government to government, government with the private sector, government with our NGOS and our faith community to show the best of what America has to offer.
Clinton, Speech at George Washington University: February 25, 2008 - Link
We need a president who understands there is a time for force, a time for diplomacy, and a time for both, who understands that we enhance our international reputation and strengthen our security if the world sees the human face of American democracy in the good works, the good deeds we do for people seeking freedom from poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, and oppression.
Clinton, Speech at George Washington University: February 25, 2008 - Link
I have been to Africa and have seen how disease —HIV, AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria — undermine progress across an entire continent. I pushed our government to start battling the global AIDS epidemic because this affects our security too. I’m very hopeful that we will make progress in Africa dealing with the multiplicity of challenges that the continent faces. It was my great honor to go to Africa in the mid 1990s as a precursor to my husband’s trip and I applaud President Bush and Mrs. Bush for going back. We need a consistent coherent strategy in dealing with Africa and that is something that I will promote.
Clinton, Speech at George Washington University: February 25, 2008 - Link
We will lead the world in combating AIDS. I was proud to sign a pledge to invest $50 billion by 2013 to combat AIDS across the globe.
Clinton, Speech at George Washington University: February 25, 2008 - Link
We will also lead in providing opportunity to the world’s children. When 100 million children in the developing world don’t attend school and 150 million more drop out before finishing the first grade – that is a recipe for poverty, instability and extremism. That’s why I have introduced the bipartisan Education for All Act; $10 billion over five years for the goal of basic education for every boy and every girl around the world.
Clinton, Speech at George Washington University: February 25, 2008 - Link
It’s also important that we combine all of our tools, economic aid, humanitarian aid, focusing on issues like disease, children’s schooling and women’s place, something that I believe I will be much better able to do.
Clinton, Democratic Debate: January 21, 2008 - Link
HIV/AIDS has become a chronic disease. We're able to keep people alive in the United States. We don't do enough around the world. And we don't do enough yet to get the services as quickly as necessary to a lot of our people who are not given the kind of immediate help that they deserve.
The Clinton Campaign, Press Release: November 29, 2007 - Link
Hillary Clinton will commit $50 billion for global HIV/AIDS by 2013, which will help ensure universal access to treatment, prevention and care. Hillary will double the number of people receiving AIDS treatments through U.S. programs and strengthen prevention programs across Africa and the developing world. She will invest in a major effort to help African countries build their health infrastructures, including by increasing the number of health workers in place or in training in Africa by 1 million.
The Clinton Campaign, Press Release: November 29, 2007 - Link
As President, Hillary Clinton will work to extend access to lifesaving healthcare and treatments for children, and work to ensure that pediatric health services are integrated with other essential care and support services. She is also committed to improving access of children to nutritious food and clean water. Poverty, disease, and conflict have increased instability for far too many of the world’s children. More 200 million worldwide have been orphaned, and another 20 million are estimated to have been forced to leave their homes due to situations of conflict. These children are vulnerable to traffickers, militias, and others who would exploit them. Hillary will work to improve enforcement of anti-trafficking regulations, and create safe spaces for displaced children in schools.
The Clinton Campaign, Press Release: November 29, 2007 - Link
As President, Hillary will ensure complete debt cancellation for all Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) countries, and will expand HIPC to include more than 20 additional poor countries that commit to using the resources freed up from debt relief effectively. Hilary will ensure that this new debt relief results in additional resources for poor countries to invest in health, education and other key priorities.
The Clinton Campaign, Press Release: November 29, 2007 - Link
Hillary Clinton is committed to increasing development assistance and making significant progress toward spending an additional 1% of our budget on foreign assistance.
The Clinton Campaign, Press Release: November 29, 2007 - Link
Hillary Clinton will engage in a comprehensive review of U.S. assistance efforts, in consultation with experts and those carrying out programs at the country level, to identify areas where our development goals are at odds with our development bureaucracy. As part of this review, she will consider consolidating program authority under a single cabinet-level poverty and international development agency. She will also seek to improve coordination with other donor governments, so as to minimize the administrative burdens on recipient countries, and also examine ways in which we can make US aid more efficient and better track, monitor and evaluate the use of U.S. funds. In addition, Hillary would improve operations research, so that we can easily identify and replicate successful programs.
Clinton, Foreign Affairs article: November/December 2007 - Link
Gnawing hunger, poverty, and the absence of economic prospects are a recipe for despair. Globalization is widening the gap between the haves and the have-nots within societies and between them. Today, there are more than two billion people living on less than $2 a day. These people risk becoming a vast permanent underclass. Calls for expanding civil and political rights in countries plagued by mass poverty and ruled by tiny wealthy elites will fall on deaf ears unless democracy actually delivers enough material benefits to improve people's lives.
Clinton, Foreign Affairs article: November/December 2007 - Link
Finally, we need to engage the world in a global humanitarian effort to confront the human costs of this war. We must address the plight of the two million Iraqis who have fled their country and the two million more who have been displaced internally. This will require a multibillion-dollar international effort under the direction of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Meanwhile, the United States, along with governments in Europe and the Middle East, must agree to accept asylum seekers and help them return to Iraq when it is safe for them to do so.
Clinton, Foreign Affairs article: November/December 2007 - Link
Our interests in Africa are strategic, not just humanitarian. They include al Qaeda's efforts to seek safe havens in failed states in the Horn of Africa and the growing competition with other global players, including China, for Africa's natural resources. The long-term solution, for us as well as for Africa, is to help Africans develop both the will and the capability to address their own problems and help the continent live up to its vast potential.
Clinton, Foreign Affairs article: November/December 2007 - Link
Education is the foundation of economic opportunity and should lie at the heart of America's foreign assistance efforts. More than 100 million children in the developing world are not in school. Another 150 million drop out before they finish grade school. By failing these children, we sow the seeds of lost generations. As president, I will press for quick passage of the Education for All Act, which would provide $10 billion over a five-year period to train teachers and build schools in the developing world. This program would channel funds to those countries that provide the best plans for how to use them and rigorously measure performance to ensure that our dollars deliver results for children.
Clinton, Foreign Affairs article: November/December 2007 - Link
The fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other dreaded diseases is both a moral imperative and a practical necessity. These diseases have created a generation of orphans and set back economic and political progress by decades in many countries.
Clinton, Foreign Affairs article: November/December 2007 - Link
We can set specific targets in areas such as expanding access to primary education, providing clean water, reducing child and maternal mortality, and reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS and other diseases. We can strengthen the International Labor Organization in order to enforce labor standards, just as we strengthened the World Trade Organization to enforce trade agreements. Such policies demonstrate that by doing good we can do well. This sort of investment and diplomacy will yield results for the United States, building goodwill even in places where our standing has suffered.
Clinton, Speech at the Center for New American Security: June 27, 2007 - Link
Our increasingly interconnected world demands an interconnected strategy that takes into account political, economic, diplomatic and military concerns. When developing military strategy, our military leaders no longer speak of the battlefield, but they talk about the situation. They are much more adept than many people actually understand, that the battlespace goes far beyond the battlefield. And we need that kind of multidimensional thinking, both inside and outside the walls of the Pentagon.
Senator John Edwards:
Democratic Debate Transcript, South Carolina 21 January 2008 - Link
But if we have a visionary foreign policy, where we re- establish America as a moral leader in the world, where we do the things that we need to do to combat global poverty, to deal with the spread of HIV/AIDS, the spread of disease at large, economic development, what it does is it takes an entire generation of young people who are sitting on the fence as I speak and on one side is Al Qaida and Bin Laden, Islamic jihad, and on the other side is the United States of America, which way do they go? That depends entirely on us. If they continue to see this foreign policy of belligerence, selfishness, only interested in the expansion of American power, we will drive them in the other direction. If, on the other hand, they see America as the light, the source of hope and opportunity, it will pull them to us like a magnet. We need to be that light again.
Edwards, Statement on World Aids Day: December 1, 2007 - Link
The cause of World AIDS Day has always been to break the silence - because as with any moral issue, silence is betrayal. The theme of this year's World AIDS Day is 'leadership,' and I couldn't agree more that strong leadership is key to combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic. I believe the United States must be a leader in the global fight against HIV/AIDS.
Edwards, Article in Foreign Affairs: Sept/Oct 2007 - Link
We can begin by leading the fight to eradicate global poverty and provide universal primary education. At first glance, these areas might not seem directly related to our self-interest. But they are in fact intimately tied to our present and future national security. Unsurprisingly, we see radicalism rising today in unstable countries such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and, of course, Iraq and Afghanistan. This illuminates the importance of foreign and national security policies that seek to prevent terrorism, not just respond to it.
Edwards, Article in Foreign Affairs: Sept/Oct 2007 - Link
As president, I will create a new cabinet-level position to coordinate global development policies across the government. I will also replace Kennedy's Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 with a Global Development Act to modernize and consolidate development assistance, and I will ask Congress to improve its oversight and revamp its committee structure so that it can be a more effective partner in this effort. With measures like these, we can reclaim our historic role as a moral leader of the world while at the same time making the world safer and more secure for the United States.
Edwards, Article in Foreign Affairs: Sept/Oct 2007 - Link
Education is one of the most critical ways we can reverse the effects of poverty. According to UNICEF (the United Nations Children's Fund), the mortality rate for children under five years of age decreases by half if their mothers have received a primary school education. As president, I will increase our funding for global primary education six fold, with a $3 billion annual effort to educate poor children in countries with a history of violent extremism. Through the U.S. Agency for International Development and multilateral aid organizations, I will also pursue reform of the school systems in developing countries, working to eliminate school fees and required expenses for books and uniforms, which effectively bar millions of children from enrolling; investing in teacher education, classroom expansion, and teaching materials; and helping to provide safe and hygienic facilities for all students. Finally, as president, I will lead an effort to increase opportunity for millions of people by adding $750 million annually for microcredit programs.
Edwards, Article in Foreign Affairs: Sept/Oct 2007 - Link
Clean water and sanitation are also necessary to improve health, education, and economic prosperity. Women and children bear the burden of poverty and disease in the developing world. Women in the poorest countries have a ten percent chance of dying during childbirth. More than ten million children die each year from preventable diseases. Developing countries suffer enormously from the top three killer diseases: AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. As president, I will concentrate on reversing the spread of these three deadly diseases by guaranteeing universal access to preventive drugs and treatment by 2010. I will also substantially increase U.S. funding for clean-water programs. Finally, I will direct U.S. agencies to lead an international effort to dramatically increase preventive care, beginning with increased vaccinations and the provision of sterile equipment and basic medications.
Edwards, plan for HIV/AIDS, Press Release September 24, 2007 - Link
The loss from HIV/AIDS is almost beyond understanding," said Edwards. "This is a fight for people's lives. HIV is a preventable disease – but an estimated 40,000 new HIV cases were reported in the U.S. last year, and 4.3 million were reported around the world. What's more, HIV/AIDS is a treatable disease – yet 17,000 Americans and 3 million people globally died from it in 2005. We have a moral imperative to do much more and do it much better.
Edwards, Speech at Pace University, September 7, 2007 - Link
I proposed a sweeping effort to eliminate the poverty and instability that create the conditions for extremism, including increasing our funding for global primary education to $3 billion a year, expanded microfinance programs, ramping up our support for sanitation and preventive health care in developing nations, and dramatically increasing our promotion of constitutional democracies and the rule of law across the developing world.
Edwards, Democratic Debate at Howard University June 28, 2007 - Link
Instead of spending $500 billion in Iraq, suppose America led an effort to make primary school education available to 100 million children in the world who have no education, including in Africa. Suppose we led on stopping the spread of disease, sanitation, clean drinking water and economic development.
Edwards, Speech at the Council on Foreign Relations: May 23, 2007 - Link
Civilians with training and experience need to be involved in stabilizing states with weak governments, and providing humanitarian assistance where disasters have struck. We need bankers to set up financial systems, political scientists to implement election systems, and civil engineers to design water and power systems. As president, I will create a "Marshall Corps," modeled on the military Reserves, of up to 10,000 expert professionals who will help stabilize weak societies, and who will work on humanitarian missions.
Edwards, speech to the Council on Foreign Relations: May 23, 2007 - Link
Any new strategy must include new preventive measures to win the long-term struggle and fuel hope and opportunity. This includes strong and creative diplomacy, and also new efforts to lead the fight against global poverty. I've proposed a plan to lead an international effort to educate every child in the world. As president, I would increase foreign assistance by $5 billion a year to make millions of people safer, healthier, and more democratic, and by creating a cabinet-level post to lead this effort.
Edwards, Speech in Manchester NH: March 15, 2007 - Link
Global poverty is not just a moral issue for the United States – it is a national security issue for the United States.
Edwards, Speech in Manchester NH: March 15, 2007 - Link
When you understand that, it suddenly becomes clear: global poverty is not just a moral issue for the United States – it is a national security issue for the United States. If we tackle it, we will be doing a good and moral thing by helping to improve the lives of billions of people around the world who live on less than $2 per day – but we will also begin to create a world in which the ideologies of radical terrorism are overwhelmed by the ideologies of education, democracy, and opportunity. If we tackle it, we have the chance to change a generation of potential enemies into a generation of friends. Now that would be transformational.
Rudy Giuliani:
Giuliani, Statement on World AIDS Day: December 1, 2007 - Link
Over 33 million people are infected with HIV around the world. More than 2 million people have died of AIDS in 2007 alone. Thanks to the dedicated health professionals, researchers, and innovators in the United States, many HIV-positive people are able to live longer and more fulfilling lives. But our work is far from done – especially in addressing the unique challenge which HIV/AIDS presents to developing countries. As President, I will continue America’s life-saving role as a leader in the global fight against HIV/AIDS until the day humanity can declare victory against this deadly disease.
Giuliani, Article in Foreign Affairs: Sept/Oct 2007 - Link
More people in the United States need to understand how helping Africa today will help increase peace and decency throughout the world tomorrow. The next president should continue the Bush administration's effort to help Africa overcome AIDS and malaria.
Giuliani, Article in Foreign Affairs: Sept/Oct 2007 - Link
Ultimately, the most important thing we can do to help Africa is to increase trade with the continent. U.S. government aid is important, but aid not linked to reform perpetuates bad policies and poverty. It is better to give people a hand up than a handout.
Giuliani, Republican Debate in New Hampshire: June 5, 2007 - Link
We need to look at nation-building as part of what we have to teach our military.
Giuliani, Opinion Journal Editorial: January 12, 2007 - Link
The administration should direct a small percent of that amount to create an Iraqi Citizen Job Corps, along the lines of FDR's Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. The Job Corps can operate under the supervision of our military and with its protection. The Army Corps of Engineers might be particularly helpful in directing this effort. It will place our military in a constructive relationship with the Iraqis--both literally and figuratively.”
Governor Mike Huckabee:
Huckabee, Foreign Affairs Article: January/February 2008 - Link
And we must stop using active-duty forces for nation building and return to our policy of using other government agencies to build schools, hospitals, roads, sewage treatment plants, water filtration systems, electrical facilities, and legal and banking systems. We must marshal the goodwill, ingenuity, and power of our governmental and nongovernmental organizations in coordinating and implementing these essential nonmilitary functions.
Huckabee, Foreign Affairs Article: January/February 2008 - Link
Since 9/11, the United States has given Pakistan about $10 billion, including some $5.6 billion to pay for counterterrorism activities against al Qaeda and the Taliban. Less than $1 billion has gone to projects that directly help the Pakistani people by providing them with schools, food, or medical aid. The lack of schools creates demand for the madrasahs that produce terrorists. We have wasted money on counterterrorism that has not happened and spent precious little on projects to win hearts and minds.
Huckabee, Foreign Affairs Article: January/February 2008 - Link
Much of the aid is made up of cash transfers that are not monitored by any U.S. government agency; we must improve transparency and accountability in this area. If we consider cutting aid to Pakistan, we must distinguish among different kinds of funds. We should not cut money for projects that alleviate poverty. Money designated for counterterrorism must be spent for that purpose and with quantifiable results. Money designated for weapons not suited to fighting terrorists should be used as a carrot to reward the Pakistani government for demonstrated progress in strengthening moderate forces, improving its citizens' quality of life, and fighting terrorism.
Huckabee Speech at CSIS: September 28, 2007 - Link
My goal in the Muslim world would be to correctly calibrate a course between maintaining stability and promoting democracy. It’s self-defeating to try and accomplish too much, too soon – you’d just have elections where extremists end up winning – but it’s equally self-defeating to do nothing. First, we have to destroy the terrorists who already exist. Then, we have to attack the underlying conditions that breed terror by helping to improve health and a basic quality of life; creating schools that offer an alternative to the extremist madrasas that turn impressionable children into killers, then create jobs and opportunity and hope; to encourage a free press, fair courts, and other institutions that promote democracy.
Huckabee Speech at CSIS: September 28, 2007 - Link
We have to help other governments mount an active counterinsurgency wherever the terrorists are to be found. But we also have to help them improve their infrastructure to make future terrorists unwelcome. Our strategic interest as the world’s most powerful country coincide with our moral obligations as the world’s richest country. If we don’t do the right thing to make life better in the Islamic world, the terrorists will step in, and they’ll do the wrong thing. We need to support moderates with no favor of Sunnis or Shiites
Senator John McCain:
McCain, America's Leadership in the Global Economy, Chicago Illinois, May 19 - Link
We're going to help developing countries in every way we can -- by sharing our technologies, by supporting micro-credit banking programs in Africa and elsewhere, and above all by setting an example of fair dealing with other nations.
McCain, Remarks at the VFW Headquarters in Kansas City: April 7, 2008 - Link
The international community should augment Iraqi efforts by broadly enhancing the proven success of microfinance programs to spur entrepreneurship at local levels throughout the country and Iraq's Arab neighbors should invest in regional stability by using the fruits of their oil exports to directly invest in Iraq. As these efforts begin to take hold in Iraq, it will be -- as in all countries -- the private sector that creates the vast majority of jobs and propels the growth that will end reliance on outside aid.
McCain, Speech at the Naval Academy: April 2, 2008 - Link
That is the good cause that summons every American to service. If you find faults with our country, make it a better one. If you are disappointed with the mistakes of government, join its ranks and work to correct them. I hope more Americans would consider enlisting in our Armed Forces. I hope more would consider running for public office or working in federal, state and local governments. But there are many public causes where your service can make our country a stronger, better one than we inherited. Wherever there is a hungry child, a great cause exists. Where there is an illiterate adult, a great cause exists. Wherever there are people who are denied the basic rights of Man, a great cause exists. Wherever there is suffering, a great cause exists.
McCain, Remarks To The Los Angeles World Affairs Council: March 26, 2008 - Link
While Africa's problems -- poverty, corruption, disease, and instability -- are well known, we must refocus on the bright promise offered by many countries on that continent. We must strongly engage on a political, economic, and security level with friendly governments across Africa, but insist on improvements in transparency and the rule of law. Many African nations will not reach their true potential without external assistance to combat entrenched problems, such as HIV/AIDS, that afflict Africans disproportionately. I will establish the goal of eradicating malaria on the continent -- the number one killer of African children under the age of five. In addition to saving millions of lives in the world's poorest regions, such a campaign would do much to add luster to America's image in the world.
McCain, Statement on World AIDS Day: December 1, 2007 - Link
Today we offer our thoughts and prayers to the over 33 million people around the world that struggle to live each day with HIV/AIDS, and we mourn the millions of lives lost to the deadly virus. Today is a day to give comfort, and recognize the caregivers, and over 40 million AIDS orphans on this planet whose lives have been forever altered by this killer that respects no international or economic borders. Each and every life lost, infected and impacted by HIV/AIDS, is a loss to our common humanity...America's response to this crisis reflects the values and respect for life, upon which this nation was founded. Today is a call to action to roll-back the scourge of HIV and save lives. It's critical that we face this crisis head-on, which is why I have consistently supported the most aggressive global AIDS program in the history of this pandemic, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Afflicted nations with whom we partner to fight this disease must also know that we expect a level of governance, transparency and effectiveness from them in order to make the fullest use of AIDS assistance so we can make the greatest impact on people's lives. Our commitment must be sustained, and our nation must always be faithful to those at home and abroad as they cope with the ravages of HIV/AIDS.
McCain, Foreign Affairs article: November/December 2007 - Link
As we increase our military capacity, we must also enhance our civilian capacity. As president, I will energize and expand our post conflict reconstruction capabilities so that any military campaign would be complemented by a civilian "surge" that would build the political and economic foundations of peace. To better coordinate our disparate military and civilian operations, I will ask Congress for a civilian follow-on to the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act, which fostered a culture of joint operations within the military services. The new act would create a framework for civil servants and military forces to train and work together in order to facilitate cooperation in post conflict reconstruction.
McCain, Foreign Affairs article: November/December 2007 - Link
Like-minded nations working together for peace and liberty. The organization could act when the UN fails -- to relieve human suffering in places such as Darfur, combat HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, fashion better policies to confront environmental crises, provide unimpeded market access to those who endorse economic and political freedom, and take other measures unattainable by existing regional or universal-membership systems.
McCain, Foreign Affairs article: November/December 2007 - Link
Africa's problems -- poverty, corruption, disease, and instability -- are well known. Less discussed is the promise offered by many countries on that continent. My administration will seek to engage on a political, economic, and security level with friendly governments across Africa. Many African nations will not reach their true potential without external assistance to combat the entrenched problems, such as HIV/AIDS, that afflict Africans disproportionately. I will establish the goal of eradicating malaria -- the number one killer of African children under the age of five -- on the continent. In addition to saving millions of lives in the world's poorest regions, such a campaign would do much to add luster to America's image in the world. These and other efforts, including enhancing trade and investment, would assist Africans in sparking a renaissance that would enable the continent's people to achieve their potential.
McCain, Speech to the Florida Association of Broadcasters: June 20, 2007 - Link
The United States should launch a major program designed not to increase handouts but rather to build capacity, improve education, cut red tape, and reduce the corruption that is the foremost impediment to economic growth. We should target assistance and micro-lending to the economically isolated and often indigenous populations among our free trade partners.
McCain, Speech to the Florida Association of Broadcasters: June 20, 2007 - Link
Our security priority in this hemisphere is to ensure that terrorists… have nowhere to hide. One element of this effort requires a new approach to the region's ungoverned areas. We must help governments establish sovereignty over the land, sea, and air, through broader partnerships with willing countries. This means defense assistance, but also measures designed to accelerate broad economic growth, build the rule of law, and extend the scope of government authority to lawless areas.
Senator Barack Obama:
Obama, Commencement Speech at Wesleyan University, Connecticut , May 26 - Link
As president, I intend to grow the Foreign Service, double the Peace Corps over the next few years, and engage young people of other nations in similar programs, so that we work side by side to take on the common challenges that confront all humanity.
Obama, Unveils Latin American Policy, Miami FL, May 23 - Link
I will substantially increase our aid to the Americas, and embrace the Millennium Development Goals of halving global poverty by 2015. We'll target support to bottom-up growth through micro financing, vocational training, and small enterprise development. It's time for the United States to once again be a beacon of hope and a helping hand.
Obama, Compassion Forum: April 13, 2008 - Link
I actually think that the PEPFAR program is one of the success stories of this administration. We've seen a drastic increase in funding. And terrific work is being done between the CDC, the NIH, local AIDS organizations, NGOs. My view is, is that we should use whatever the best approaches are, the scientifically sound approaches are, to reduce this devastating disease all across the world. And part of that, I think, should be a strong education component and I think abstinence education is important. I also think that contraception is important; I also think that treatment is important; I also think that we have to do more to make antiviral drugs available to people who are in extreme poverty. So I don't want to pluck out one facet of it. Now, that doesn't mean that non-for-profit groups can't focus on one thing while the government focuses on other things. I think we want to have a comprehensive approach. I do think that -- and I've said this when I was in Kenya -- that there is a behavioral element to AIDS that has to be addressed. And if there is -- if there's promiscuity and we are pretending that that's not an issue in spreading AIDS, then we're missing part of the answer.
Obama, pledge for leadership on Global AIDS and poverty: October 27, 2007 - Link
I pledge to improve the coordination and effectiveness of US development assistance by exploring the creation of a cabinet-level poverty-focused development agency; make significant progress toward providing an additional 1% of the U.S. budget to fighting poverty in impoverished countries; and back the elimination of debt for a broader range of countries that have so far been considered eligible for debt relief, in order to free up resources to fight AIDS and poverty.
Obama, Remarks on the World after Iraq: March 19, 2008 - Link
The danger of weak and failed states risks spreading poverty and refugees; genocide and disease. Now is the time to meet the goal of cutting extreme poverty in half, in part by doubling our foreign assistance while demanding more from those who receive it. And now is the time to build the capacity of regional partners in conflict prevention, peacekeeping, and the reconstruction of ravaged societies.
Obama, Remarks on the World after Iraq: March 19, 2008 - Link
I will invest in our civilian capacity to operate alongside our troops in post-conflict zones and on humanitarian and stabilization missions. Instead of shuttering consulates in tough corners of the world, it's time to grow our Foreign Service and to expand USAID. Instead of giving up on the determination of young people to serve, it's time to double the size of our Peace Corps. Instead of letting people learn about America from enemy propaganda, it's time to recruit, train, and send out into the world an America's Voice Corps.
The Obama Campaign, Strategy Paper for Global Development: November 27, 2007 - Link
As president, Barack Obama will double our annual investments in foreign assistance to $50 billion by 2012 and ensure that these new resources are invested wisely with strong accountability measures and directed towards strategic goals.
The Obama Campaign, Strategy Paper for Global Development: November 27, 2007 - Link
Barack Obama will target new U.S. assistance to help the world’s weakest states to build healthy and educated communities, reduce poverty, develop markets, and generate wealth. He will also work to ensure that increases in U.S. assistance are matched by our partners in the G-8 so that developed countries truly live up to their stated commitments.
The Obama Campaign, Strategy Paper for Global Development: November 27, 2007 - Link
Barack Obama will spearhead an initiative to eliminate the global education deficit by 2015. An Obama administration will establish at least a $2 billion Global Education Fund to help fill the financing gap for primary education. He will lead efforts to leverage American commitments through the World Bank’s Fast Track Initiative to ensure that funding shortfall is no longer the main impediment to progress on basic education.
The Obama Campaign, Strategy Paper for Global Development: November 27, 2007 - Link
Barack Obama believes that we must do more to fight the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, as well as malaria and tuberculosis. The first priority should be to reauthorize the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) when it expires in 2008, but also to rewrite much of the bill to allow best practices – not ideology – to drive funding for HIV/AIDS programs. In that context, Obama will commit $50 billion over five years to strengthen the existing program and expand it to new regions of the world, including Southeast Asia, India, and parts of Europe, where the HIV/AIDS burden is growing. An Obama administration will also increase U.S. contributions to the Global Fund to ensure that global efforts to fight endemic disease continue to move ahead.
The Obama Campaign, Strategy Paper for Global Development: November 27, 2007 - Link
Barack Obama wants to see 100 percent debt cancellation for the world’s heavily-indebted poor countries. He is committed to living up to the promise to fully fund debt cancellation for Heavily-Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC). An Obama administration will also dedicate itself to preventing a future in which poor countries face pressing debt burdens again. He will press for reforms at the World Bank to ensure that poor countries receive grants rather than loans, and that countries have the resources they need to respond to the external shocks that threaten to derail economic progress. And as president, Barack Obama will lead a multilateral effort to address the issue of “odious debt” by investigating ways in which “loan sanctions” might.
The Obama Campaign, Strategy Paper for Global Development: November 27, 2007 - Link
Building on the growing evidence that micro finance works, an Obama administration will provide initial capital for an SME Fund. Administered through the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, an independent U.S. government agency, the government will provide seed capital matched by a larger portion from the private sector. The SME Fund will be designed to provide seed capital and technical assistance to catalyze the establishment of job-creating small and medium enterprises, and to build the capacity of entrepreneurs to translate their ideas into viable businesses, including through the creation of regional “SME Universities” supported by America’s business schools.
The Obama Campaign, Strategy Paper for Global Development: November 27, 2007 - Link
As president, Barack Obama will lead an effort in the G-8 to achieve a new consensus on the missions of the IMF and the World Bank, while at the same time securing necessary changes in how both institutions are governed to reflect the increasing influence of middle-income countries.
Obama MTV/MySpace Forum. October 29,2007 - Link
We spent more on military than next 30 countries combined. The next 30 countries combined. And so we are not endanger of losing our military primacy. But what we do have to recognize that the military is just one tool for our security, and if you overuse that tool first of all tool starts getting blunt and worn down, the other thing is that there are other tools in the tool box. We have got to pick up diplomacy we’ve got to pick up on humanitarian efforts because all those have an impact on our security. And Nobody understands this actually better than the military. When you talk to generals one of the things they’ll say is that if we invested more in building schools and digging wells in some of these poor countries, then we can put off conflict that might ultimately lead us to have to send military folks in so it’s like an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The military option is always t he most expensive option, both in terms of blood and in term of treasure. So if we are working more effectively diplomatically then we can potentially save lives and money.”
Obama MTV/MySpace Forum. October 29,2007 - Link
I think this is the single most important issue that we are facing in this election. Is who is the person that is going to be best equipped as president to repair all of the damage that has been done to America’s reputation overseas. Because all of you know the world is shrinking, it’s getting smaller and you are part of this global community. And as a consequence of the war in Iraq, as a consequence of repeated unilateral action by this administration emphasizing military action over diplomacy, as a consequence of our unwillingness to uphold I think some of our core values around civil liberties and rule of law our standing has plummeted around the world and so I believe that the next president has to engage in some very personal aggressive diplomacy to bring about those changes. A couple things I would do very specifically: I would double foreign aid because I want to send a message that we are concerned about other people and we are not always just talking about our agenda but we want to build schools around the world to teach math and science instead of hatred of America. We want to deal with HIV AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa not only because it is the right thing to do but because diseases get on a plane and they end up in Iowa in about 10 hours. We should be focused on the genocide in Darfur and put an end to it because it is the right thing to do but also because and because chaos and violence begets chaos and violence and that ultimately that has an effect on us
Obama , Speech at DePaul University: Oct 2, 2007 - Link
We need new approaches to help people to help themselves. The United Nations has embraced the Millennium Development Goals, which aim to cut extreme poverty in half by 2015. When I’m President, they will be America’s goals. The Bush Administration tried to keep the UN from proclaiming these goals; the Obama Administration will double foreign assistance to $50 billion to lead the world to achieve them.
Obama, speech at DePaul University October 2, 2007 - Link
In the 21st century, progress must mean more than a vote at the ballot box - it must mean freedom from fear and freedom from want. We cannot stand for the freedom of anarchy. Nor can we support the globalization of the empty stomach. We need new approaches to help people to help themselves. The United Nations has embraced the Millennium Development Goals, which aim to cut extreme poverty in half by 2015. When I'm President, they will be America's goals. The Bush Administration tried to keep the UN from proclaiming these goals; the Obama Administration will double foreign assistance to $50 billion to lead the world to achieve them.
Obama, speech at DePaul University October 2, 2007 - Link
It's time to make diplomacy a top priority. Instead of shuttering consulates, we need to open them in the tough and hopeless corners of the world. Instead of having more Americans serving in military bands than the diplomatic corps, we need to grow our foreign service. Instead of retreating from the world, I will personally lead a new chapter of American engagement.
Obama, Foreign Affairs article: July/August 2007 - Link
Finally, to renew American leadership in the world, I will strengthen our common security by investing in our common humanity. Our global engagement cannot be defined by what we are against; it must be guided by a clear sense of what we stand for. We have a significant stake in ensuring that those who live in fear and want today can live with dignity and opportunity tomorrow.
Obama, Foreign Affairs article: July/August 2007 - Link
We can help build accountable institutions that deliver services and opportunity: strong legislatures, independent judiciaries, honest police forces, free presses, vibrant civil societies. In countries wracked by poverty and conflict, citizens long to enjoy freedom from want. And since extremely poor societies and weak states provide optimal breeding grounds for disease, terrorism, and conflict, the United States has a direct national security interest in dramatically reducing global poverty and joining with our allies in sharing more of our riches to help those most in need. We need to invest in building capable, democratic states that can establish healthy and educated communities, develop markets, and generate wealth. Such states would also have greater institutional capacities to fight terrorism, halt the spread of deadly weapons, and build health-care infrastructures to prevent, detect, and treat deadly diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and avian flu.
Obama, Foreign Affairs article: July/August 2007 - Link
Our rapidly growing international AIDS programs have demonstrated that increased foreign assistance can make a real difference. As part of this new funding, I will capitalize a $2 billion Global Education Fund that will bring the world together in eliminating the global education deficit, much as the 9/11 Commission proposed. We cannot hope to shape a world where opportunity outweighs danger unless we ensure that every child everywhere is taught to build and not to destroy.
Obama, Speech at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs: April 23, 2007 - Link
As President, I will double our annual investments in meeting these challenges to $50 billion by 2012 and ensure that those new resources are directed towards these strategic goals. For the last twenty years, U.S. foreign aid funding has done little more than keep pace with inflation. Doubling our foreign assistance spending by 2012 will help meet the challenge laid out by Tony Blair at the 2005 G-8 conference at Gleneagles, and it will help push the rest of the developed world to invest in security and opportunity. As we have seen recently with large increases in funding for our AIDS programs, we have the capacity to make sure this funding makes a real difference.
Obama, Speech at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs: April 23, 2007 - Link
In today's globalized world, the security of the American people is inextricably linked to the security of all people. When narco-trafficking and corruption threaten democracy in Latin America, it's America's problem too. When poor villagers in Indonesia have no choice but to send chickens to market infected with avian flu, it cannot be seen as a distant concern. When religious schools in Pakistan teach hatred to young children, our children are threatened as well.
Obama, World Aids Day Speech: Dec 1, 2006 - Link
We are all sick because of AIDS - and we are all tested by this crisis. It is a test not only of our willingness to respond, but of our ability to look past the artificial divisions and debates that have often shaped that response. When you go to places like Africa and you see this problem up close, you realize that it's not a question of either treatment or prevention - or even what kind of prevention - it is all of the above. It is not an issue of either science or values - it is both. Yes, there must be more money spent on this disease. But there must also be a change in hearts and minds; in cultures and attitudes. Neither philanthropist nor scientist; neither government nor church, can solve this problem on their own - AIDS must be an all-hands-on-deck effort.
Governor Bill Richardson:
Richardson, Speech in Iowa: December 29, 2007 - Link
What Iraq needs now is not more troops, more guns, more fighting. What Iraq needs now is more money for its economy, for roads, for schools. Iraq will not be rebuilt at the point of a gun. We need an international donors' conference to share the burden of stabilizing Iraq.
Richardson, Speech in Iowa: December 29, 2007 - Link
These are not just the problems of individual nations. They are the problems of an interdependent world. Consider that more than a billion people survive on less than a dollar a day, and that nearly half of the world's 2 billion children live in poverty. In my travels abroad, I have seen human desperation -- first hand. In the Sudan, I have been to camps filled with families who have lost every worldly possession.
Richardson, Speech in Iowa: December 29, 2007 - Link
A hungry world will also hunger for scapegoats. A thirsty world will thirst for revenge. A world in crisis will be a world of anger and violence and terrorism.
Richardson, Foreign Affairs Article: January/February 2008 - Link
The sixth trend we face is that of grave global environmental and health problems. Climate change and pandemics such as AIDS do not respect national borders. Poverty, ethnic conflict, and overpopulation spill over national boundaries, feeding into a growing underground economy of money launderers, counterfeiters, and smugglers of drugs, arms, and human beings.
Richardson, Foreign Affairs Article: January/February 2008 - Link
The United States of America also needs to start paying attention to the Americas…And to reduce both illegal immigration and anti-American populism in Latin America, we must work with reform-minded governments there to alleviate poverty and promote equitable development. We need to strengthen energy cooperation in the region and foster democracy and fair trade. Our efforts to promote democracy must include Cuba. We should reverse the Bush administration's policies restricting remittances to and travel to visit loved ones in Cuba, and we should respond to steps toward liberalization there with steps toward ending the embargo.
Richardson, Foreign Affairs Article: January/February 2008 - Link
Finally, the United States should lead the global fight against poverty, which is the basis of so much violence. Through example and diplomacy, we must encourage all developed countries to honor their commitments to the UN Millennium Development Goals. A commission on the implementation of sustainable-development goals, composed of world leaders and prominent experts, should recommend ways of meeting those commitments. The United States should lead donors on debt relief, increase assistance to very poor countries, and focus aid programs more on primary health care and affordable vaccines. We should double our development assistance and encourage other rich nations to do the same.
Richardson, Foreign Affairs Article: January/February 2008 - Link
We need a World Bank focused on poverty reduction and an International Monetary Fund that has a more flexible approach to preserving and building social safety nets. We must promote equitable multilateral and bilateral trade agreements that create jobs in all the countries involved and that protect workers and the environment. We should encourage the expanded use of generic drugs in poor countries, and we should stimulate public-private partnerships to reduce the costs of and enhance access to HIV antiretroviral drugs, antimalaria drugs, and bed nets.
Richardson, Foreign Affairs Article: January/February 2008 - Link
Most important, the United States should lead a multilaterally funded Marshall Plan for Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa. For a small fraction of the cost of the Iraq war, which has made us so many enemies, we could make many friends. A crucial effort in fighting terrorism must be support for public education in the Muslim world, which is the best way to mitigate the role of those madrasahs that foment extremism. Development alleviates the injustice and lack of opportunity that proponents of violence and terrorism exploit.
Richardson, Plan to fight HIV/AIDS: December 1, 2007 - Link
HIV/AIDS has taken a terrible toll on too many for too long. It is past time that we take bold action to prevent, treat, and ultimately cure this disease. We must also let science, not a politically-based ideology, determine how we move forward. When I am President, I will make this fight a priority...America must never forget our responsibilities abroad, and this includes leading the worldwide fight against HIV/AIDS. I will push the International Monetary Fund to cancel 100% of the debt of impoverished nations contingent upon their agreement to implement specific AIDS programs and measure the degree of progress made. I will also invest in the training of health care workers in developing countries and make sure that we meet and exceed our commitments to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria....To resolve the HIV/AIDS crisis in the developing world, we need a multi-faceted approach. First, we must fund prevention, treatment, and care worldwide. Second, we must reduce the number of people living with AIDS who die from a tuberculosis infection. Third, to allow impoverished nations to implement specific AIDS programs, I will urge the International Monetary Fund to cancel 100% of the debt that they owe. Most importantly, we must protect the rights of women and children to reduce the risk that they will become infected.
Richardson, Speech at UCLA: October 24, 2007. - Link
We must lead the hemisphere in promoting economic development and reducing poverty. In an interdependent world, extreme poverty in one nation is the concern of all nations. Strong and equitable economic growth in Latin America is in the US national interest. It must be a priority. Those who think we can keep poor immigrants out with walls ... do not understand the desperate will of starving men and women.
Richardson, Speech at UCLA: October 24, 2007. - Link
And we must remember that a farmer who can make a living doing something legal, is far less likely to choose drugs production. A worker with a good job is less likely to fall into the clutches of drug smugglers. Stronger Latin American economies will be less vulnerable to drug lords.
Richardson, Press Release: August 24, 2007 - Link
“Anyone with a heart cares about Darfur -- anyone with a conscience must and should care about this suffering. America cares -- it is the current administration that hasn't lived up to America's tradition of compassion. I've been saying for months we must keep the pressure on China, Russia and Sudan. We can resolve this crisis through diplomacy, just as we should have done with Iraq -- our kids don't need to be sent into the middle of a civil war. Only when US foreign policy is based on our American principles will the world again respect American leadership and only then will we have the credibility to stop international crises and humanitarian disasters. "
Richardson, Democratic Debate on CNN: July 23, 2007 - Link
The answer here is not just thinking of our strategic interests as a country, as oil and Europe and the Middle East. It should be Africa, Asia and Latin America, doing something about poverty, about AIDS, about refugees, about those that have been left behind. That's how we restore American leadership in this country.
Richardson, Speech at the Center for National Policy: June 27, 2007 - Link
America should spearhead a multilateral Marshall Plan for the Middle East and North Africa. For a small fraction of the cost of the Iraq war, which has made us so many enemies, we could make many friends. A crucial effort in fighting terrorism must be support for public education in the Muslim world, which is the best way to mitigate the role of madrasas that foment extremism.
Richardson, Article in the Harvard International Review: Summer 2007 - Link
Global warming and pandemics like AIDS do not respect national borders. Poverty, ethnic conflict, and overpopulation also spill over borders.
Richardson, Article in the Harvard International Review: Summer 2007 - Link
The United States needs to lead the global fight against poverty, which is the basis of so much violence. By example and diplomacy, the United States can encourage all rich countries to honor their UN Millennium goal commitments. A Commission on the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals, composed a world leaders and prominent experts, should be created to recommend ways of meeting Millennium commitments.
Richardson, Speech on New Realism: February 8, 2007 - Link
America needs to lead the global fight against poverty – which is the basis of so much violence. We must promote equitable trade agreements, to create more jobs in all countries. And through our example and our diplomacy we must encourage all rich countries honor their UN Millennium goal commitments. A Commission on Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals, composed of world leaders and prominent experts, should be created to recommend ways of meeting Millennium commitments.
Richardson, Speech on New Realism: February 8, 2007 - Link
America needs to lead donors on debt relief, shifting aid from loans to grants, and toward greater focus on primary health care and affordable vaccines. We should pressure pharmaceutical companies to allow expanded use of generic drugs, and we should stimulate public-private partnerships to reduce costs and enhance access to anti-malarial drugs and
Richardson, Speech on New Realism: February 8, 2007 - Link
America should spearhead a multilateral Marshall Plan for the Middle East and North Africa. For a small fraction of the cost of the Iraq war, which has made us so many enemies, we could make many friends. A crucial effort in fighting terrorism must be support for public education in the Muslim world, which is the best way to mitigate the role of madrasas that foment extremism. Development alleviates the injustice and lack of opportunity that proponents of violence and terrorism exploit. To those who say we cannot afford an aid program to build pro-American sentiment in the developing world, I say we cannot afford not to.
Richardson, Speech on New Realism: February 8, 2007 - Link
And the sixth trend we face is that of urgent and worsening health and environmental problems which are truly global in scope. Global warming and pandemics like AIDS do not respect national borders. And poverty, ethnic conflict and overpopulation also spill over borders, feeding what Moises Naim has called the “five wars of globalization” (over drugs, arms trafficking, money laundering, intellectual property and alien smuggling). These six transformative trends present us with problems which are international in their origins and which will require international solutions.
Governor Mitt Romney:
Romney, Statement on World AIDS Day: December 1, 2007 - Link
On World AIDS Day, we are reminded of the importance of America's commitment to fighting one of mankind's most deadly infectious diseases. Around the world, over 33 million people are living with HIV/AIDS. In 2007 alone, 2.5 million people became infected with HIV and another 2.1 million died from AIDS. To strengthen our fight against HIV/AIDS and bring hope to those afflicted with this disease, we need strong executive leadership that can build on President Bush's groundbreaking efforts...As President, I will mobilize our civilian instruments of power to address HIV/AIDS, poverty and other challenges across Africa by empowering a single U.S. official with the responsibility and authority to lead all of America's civilian efforts in the region.
Romney, National Review Article. September 25, 2007. - Link
Our strategy should be integrated with an expansive approach to the entire world of Islam. The United States, our allies and friends must support progressive Muslim communities and leaders battling radical jihadists. I have called for the creation of a Partnership for Prosperity and Progress that would help provide the tools and funding to provide secular public schools, micro credit and banking, the rule of law, adequate health care, human rights, and competitive economic policies. We must also strengthen public diplomacy through both government and independent foundations. We should establish regional security arrangements that unite and solidify our alliances. Only Muslims will be able to permanently defeat the radical jihadist threat. We should help them any way we can.
Romney, Speech at Yeshiva University: April 26, 2007 - Link
This Partnership would assemble the resources of all the nations of the world to work to assure that Islamic states that are threatened with violent jihad have public schools that are not Wahhabi madrases; that they have micro credit and banking, the rule of law, human rights, basic healthcare, and competitive economic practices.
|
|