Timothy E. Wirth, President of the United Nations Foundation, today issued the following statement on the nomination of Rajiv Shah:

News Image“I congratulate President Obama for the nomination of Rajiv Shah as the administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development. Reform of U.S. foreign aid is urgently needed and we hope the long-awaited appointment of a new administrator will help in this endeavor.

“The United Nations Foundation is particularly focused on development goals related to global health, including our efforts to eradicate polio, reduce measles mortality, and eliminate malaria worldwide. In light of the unmet need in the world for maternal health and family planning, I hope that USAID’s new leadership will keep women’s health and international family planning a priority.

“It is my hope that Dr. Shah moves to dramatically increase cooperation with multilateral agencies to ensure that American development priorities and those of the UN are closely coordinated. This is particularly important as we approach the 10th anniversary of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the summit to be held during the UN General Assembly in September 2010.

“The Administration must empower Dr. Shah to focus on making the MDGs a reality, and play a leadership role in the current reviews underway at the White House and State Department. By empowering Dr. Shah, he can be an advocate for system-wide policy coherence for development and aid effectiveness, and innovative financing mechanisms to help achieve the MDGs.

“We look forward to working with Dr. Shah and USAID to address the global challenges and opportunities posed by global poverty, health pandemics, acute hunger, and climate change.”