by Janine Kossen, Director, Public Policy

On July 31st, the Obama Administration released its strategy for achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals, the eight goals 192 nations agreed to achieve by the year 2015. They include eradicating poverty, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, ensuring environmental sustainability, and forging a global partnership.

This strategy should not become just another piece of paper to read and then file away in cabinets filled to the brim with policy statements that never see the light of day again. This document is intended to be a declaration of the priorities of the US government as it moves forward in unveiling its development agenda. It is our duty, as civil society members, to examine it with a fine-tooth comb to determine if our leaders are on the right track or if they have missed the mark entirely. In my opinion, this one is certainly a swing and a miss.

Essentially, the strategy calls for a new model of doing business—one that views development as precisely that—a business. Its four cornerstones include leveraging innovation, investing in sustainability, tracking development outcomes, and enhancing mutual accountability. While it is, of course, important to invest in technology, innovation, and infrastructure as well as policies that will drive economic growth, access to credit, and sustainability, we cannot forget that once you peel away all the layers of the business model, what’s left are the lives of men, women, young adults, and children.