America designates new head of USAID

The US Senate signed off on a new administrator for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) amid a growing Syrian humanitarian crisis.

Despite the bipartisan consensus around her nomination, Gayle Smith was delayed over partisan fighting on unrelated issues for 7 months.

“At a time when continued U.S. leadership in addressing humanitarian crises around the globe is a matter of the greatest urgency, it is critically important that the U.S. Agency for International Development  be led by an Administrator of the best possible qualifications,” National Security Advisor Susan Rice said in a statement. “I am certain Gayle will build on her remarkable record to tackle global challenges and move us closer to a world where all people can reach their full potential.”

Oxfam America’s president Raymond C. Offenheiser remarked that Smith is “an unequivocal champion of those facing poverty and injustice.”

This entry was posted in Humanitarian Aid, International Cooperation by Grant Montgomery.