Washington, DC
ADMINISTRATOR SAMANTHA POWER: Thank you, Ambassador [Jacques] Pitteloud, for that introduction. I deeply appreciate your partnership, and the cooperation of your government, in helping drive more attention, and more resources, to countries experiencing democratic openings.
And thank you in particular to the representatives of Moldova, Guatemala, and Tanzania for joining us.
On each of my visits to your countries, I was struck by a palpable sense of hope when discussing democracy’s potential – contrasting sharply with the narrative we often hear, which is one of doom and gloom. Secretary [Antony] Blinken said it best at the launch of the Democracy Delivers initiative almost two years ago. “Too often,” he said, “events on the future of democracy can feel like a bit of a funeral for democracy.”
But the truth is, there is absolutely reason for hope when we talk about democracy – and the three countries represented here are among the most notable examples. And by investing in countries like these, that are experiencing democratic openings, we can expand that window of opportunity – and turn it into something more enduring.
That’s the idea at the core of our Democracy Delivers Initiative – to cement communities’ hard-won democratic gains by surging resources to countries where we see democratic progress. And in doing so, we are guided by one simple idea: to show citizens that democracy is, in fact, capable of delivering on their most pressing needs.
We’ve seen it all over the world: autocrats win or seize power when citizens don’t believe that democracy is improving their lives. Autocrats then use their foothold to undermine democratic institutions and cement their grip on power – shutting down avenues for opposition and organizing, and leaving little room for democracy to reemerge.
But as many of you know, democracies are actually uniquely capable of addressing challenges. Compared to authoritarian societies, democracies experience lower rates of conflict, higher economic growth, stronger environmental protections, and longer life expectancies. Yet high debt burdens, corrupt systems, and the actions of those who fear more transparency and citizen agency can keep the benefits of democratic reforms from reaching communities quickly enough for them to recognize that democracy can deliver.
Through the Democracy Delivers Initiative, our aim is to help leaders overcome these barriers, to show citizens that their voices matter and their advocacy for their communities can bring about results, and to build trust that democratic governance can deliver on citizens’ most pressing needs.
We’re starting in nine countries: Armenia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Malawi, Maldives, Nepal, Zambia, and of course Moldova and Tanzania, who are represented here today. And we’re preparing to add other countries where we are already working.
To fully capitalize on these moments of opportunity, we have to quickly mobilize resources to sufficiently meet the needs of newly elected democratic leaders. But how do we do that when our budgets are already tight – already insufficient to meet the scale of need around the world?
At USAID, we’ve mobilized resources and attention through three main methods.
First, beyond increasing the annual resource allocations for our country Missions in our nine Democracy Delivers countries, we’ve allocated additional resources to these countries from centralized funds managed out of Washington that work across sectors – funds that focus on economic resilience, for example, or gender empowerment, or digital development. Over 18 months, we have mobilized at least $120 million from our central funding to help leaders in Democracy Delivers countries better address the priorities of their people.
Second, we’re harnessing other parts of the U.S. government – to make sure that when our colleagues make funding and policy decisions, these countries are top of mind. For example, we’ve partnered with our Development Finance Corporation to scale up their investments and presence in our Democracy Delivers countries. During the first year of the Initiative, the DFC announced over $1.7 billion in new deals that are creating jobs, financing infrastructure, and fighting climate change for these countries.
Supporting reformers can’t be the job of governments alone. So, lastly, we’ve focused on leveraging our relationships to bring in additional resources – by facilitating partnerships with philanthropies, development donors, and the private sector. We’ve built nearly two dozen partnerships with philanthropic and private sector leaders that have brought in over $110 million in additional funding. And we are working now to build coalitions with additional development partners – including many of you – to surge attention, resources, and support to democratic openings.
These investments and partnerships across sectors have already had a significant impact – as you’ll hear more directly from our government representatives later on. But I want to highlight just a few notable examples of how we’re helping leaders respond directly to the needs of the citizens who voted for them.
In Maldives, tourism makes up more than half of the country’s total economy and accounts for nearly three-quarters of its jobs. But those benefits largely bypass smaller islands without resorts – and more inclusive economic opportunity was a key issue in Maldives’ elections last year. To help elected leaders respond to voter demands, we’ve partnered with Marriott to more evenly equitably spread those benefits across the Maldives – by organizing excursions to nearby islands, for example, or hiring residents of smaller islands at major resorts, in collaboration with local councils and women’s committees.
And in Ecuador, voters cast their ballots in the hope that that fresh leadership would bring jobs and opportunities for young people – including in Ecuador’s most remote communities, where small-scale farmers are the backbone of agricultural production but have historically lacked connections to markets where they can profit from their harvests. USAID invested $3 million to connect these smallholder farmers with Ecuador’s leading supermarket chain, La Favorita, who matched our funding with $3 million of their own. In addition to providing agricultural training to increase yields, La Favorita is investing more resources in collecting harvests from farmers in far-flung and marginalized areas such as the Amazon, so that the poorest farmers can grow their incomes and achieve greater economic stability for their families and communities.
So we’ve been able to mobilize significant resources to meet citizens’ priorities and work to help seize and expand moments of democratic opportunity. And by investing in democratic opportunity, we’re investing in development opportunity, as well.
Every now and then, we hear from our partners that they are “not in the democracy business.” These are individuals and organizations deeply committed to fighting hunger, or combating climate change, or curing disease, or ending poverty. But they see their work as siloed from efforts to advance democratic governance.
But that couldn’t be further from the truth – because investing in democratic leaders and institutions can help us all drive tangible, enduring change. Investing in countries where transparency is burgeoning can help bring in private sector partners who may have perceived investments in such communities to be high-risk. Receding corruption can increase government funding for public services like clean water, education, and healthcare. And fewer restrictions and censors on civil society and opposition voices can empower local leaders who are already bringing about real results in their communities.
Every one of us, no matter our primary development focus, has a stake in advancing democratic growth. We are all in the development business – and because of that, we are all in the democracy business.
So today, I’m calling on you to commit your resources and your relationships to help leaders cement their hard-won democratic gains. But more broadly, I’m inviting you to join a coalition of partners standing ready to seize these narrow windows of opportunity – to advance not just democratic governance, but dignity and opportunity across the world.
So where citizens are standing up to corruption and repression, let’s get behind them. Where reformers are governing transparently and inclusively, let’s recognize them. Where elected leaders are trying to prove that democracy works, let’s help them deliver.
Thank you so much.