Speaking at the High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF 4) in Busan, South Korea, “U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that programs to help the world’s poor should be treated as national security priorities as economic turmoil leaves millions struggling to find work and food,” the Associated Press reports, adding, “Clinton, the first American secretary of state to participate in such an aid conference, said in a speech that development is as important as diplomacy and defense in creating a more peaceful world.” Clinton also made remarks at the forum’s Special Session on Gender, and the State Department provides a fact sheet related to her remarks. Inter Press Service examines how, as the HLF 4 “takes shape in Busan, one question is if women and children in Africa can expect any tangible results from the conference” (11/29).

“Fiscal austerity during the current straitened economic times is no excuse for countries not delivering on their aid commitments, [U.N.] Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said [Tuesday at the forum], calling for a united front from the international community to help the poor,” the U.N. News Centre writes (11/29). Ban “underlined the need to move towards a ‘new cooperation partnership’ based on shared responsibility where traditional donors continue aid programs despite the economic crisis; where countries receiving aid set clear development priorities, deliver on commitments and work more with civil society; and where emerging aid donors and the private sector increase aid efforts and commitments,” according to UNAIDS (11/29).