Agriculture Undersecretary Tapped To Be USAID Administrator

November 11, 2009 7:20 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - A young medical doctor currently serving as Agriculture Department undersecretary and who was a director at the Bill Gates Foundation was nominated on Tuesday as to the nation's leading foreign aid administrator.

The 36-year-old Rajiv Shah is the White House's nominee for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). His appointment comes 10 months after the Obama administration assumed office with the aim of reforming the aid agency, and amid calls from lawmakers such as Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) about the need to fill the key post immediately.

If confirmed by the Senate, Shah succeeds Acting USAID Administrator Alonzo Fulgham.

"The mission of USAID is to advance America's interests by strengthening our relationships abroad," President Barack Obama said in a statement. "Rajiv brings fresh ideas and the dedication and impressive background necessary to help guide USAID as it works to achieve this important goal."

Shah is chief scientist and undersecretary for research, education and economics at the Agriculture Department. He oversees several agencies and a budget of more than $2.6 billion in his current post.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Medical School who earned his master's in health economics from the Wharton School of Business, Shah previously was director for agriculture development at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's largest non-profit, and was part of the healthcare policy team of the 2000 presidential campaign of former Vice President Al Gore.

With his nomination "President Obama has reaffirmed that development must be a core pillar of American foreign policy," said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

David Lane, President and CEO of ONE, a global advocacy organization, called on lawmakers for a speedy action on the nomination.

"This agency is a lifeline for many people living in extreme poverty and critical to the implementation of smart American investments," Lane said in a statement. "USAID's dedicated staff have been without an Administrator for too long. I hope the Senate--who unanimously confirmed Dr. Shah for his current position at the U.S. Department of Agriculture-will again move quickly to confirm him."

The USAID works in 100 developing countries in collaboration with non-profit groups, businesses, international organizations, trade groups and other governments, to provide food aid, disaster relief, training and technical assistance. It is currently implementing a $20 billion global food initiative along with the world's richest nations.

The Group of Eight agreed during a July summit to the L'Aquila Food Security Initiative, which provides aid to develop agriculture in Africa and poor countries.

The United States committed at least $3.5 billion for the program, a pledge that Obama had made clear, "We do not view this assistance as an end in itself. We believe that the purpose of aid must be to create the conditions where it's no longer needed -- to help people become self-sufficient, provide for their families, and lift their standards of living."