Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network: MFAN Hails Reinstatement of U.S. Assistance to Central America, but Joins Call for Study on Lost Resources and Impact
In a statement delivered on behalf of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN), MFAN co-chairs Lester Munson, Larry Nowels, and Tessie San Martin discuss the U.S. Department of State’s recent decision to partially resume foreign assistance funding to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, noting, “While the coalition applauds the reinstatement of some of the assistance, MFAN notes that the resumption should be based on an analysis of priority needs in the region today, especially in light of the coronavirus pandemic, and what specific types of programs offer the best evidence of effectively supporting those priorities. … MFAN applauds House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel for requesting a Government Accountability Office study to assess the full costs of suspending U.S. assistance to Central America. MFAN echoes this call and emphasizes the importance of an assessment of the programs that were forced to close prematurely, and of the programmatic, outcome-based, administrative, and credibility costs of suspending and reinstating U.S. assistance to Central America. This will help guide future investments in the region and may also help future administrations accurately weigh the risks of suspending foreign assistance to obtain policy outcomes” (4/23).