In the United States, there is a sense of "Afghanistan fatigue." While there are certainly valid criticisms that can be levied against U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, a significant amount of social, economic, political, and public health progress has resulted from our engagement and Afghans' own hard work and commitment. The under-five mortality and maternal mortality rates have nearly halved since 2000. Virtually no one in Afghanistan had electricity in 2000, but by 2016, nearly 85 percent of the population did. Women's education was practically non-existent under Taliban rule, but 3.5 million Afghan women are now enrolled in school. 170 radio stations, hundreds of print media outlets, and dozens of TV stations have opened since 2001 as free media, cell phones, television, and the internet have transformed Afghan society. GDP per capita has tripled since 2001, and official development assistance (ODA) as a percentage of central government expenditure decreased from 206 percent in 2006 to 59 percent in 2015. The Afghan National Army is now the primary group fighting the Taliban, and U.S. troop presence has dropped from 110,000 in 2011 to the current plan of 8,600. But Afghanistan's political progress and social gains are at risk of collapse if the United States chooses to completely disengage from the country. Given the mix of gains and disappointments, how do we establish the correct framework for U.S. engagement with a transitioning Afghanistan in 2020 and beyond? This event is made possible through general support to CSIS.

For the last 20 years, the relationship between Pakistan and the United States has been refracted through the prism of Afghanistan. Pakistan and the U.S. have a shared interest in working toward peace in Afghanistan. Pakistan and the U.S. have an opportunity to reframe the bilateral relationship. Prime Minister Imran Khan's meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House last July is seen as a turning point for the two countries after a difficult period. There is a good case for a broader Pakistan-U.S. partnership: Pakistan is the fifth most populous country in the world, located in a central geographic part of the world, has the largest percentage of young people globally, and is the native land of over one million affluent and politically engaged Pakistani Americans. There is tremendous investment opportunity for U.S. companies in Pakistan’s enormous energy, agriculture, and tourism sectors. Please join us for a conversation with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi of Pakistan as he lays out his vision for the Pakistan-U.S. relationship. This event is made possible through general support to CSIS.

Malnutrition has the potential to bankrupt countries and prevent children from reaching their full potential. Unlike other food groups, fruits and vegetables provide beneficial outcomes across all malnutrition forms. Yet, despite the nutritional punch of fruits and vegetables, current global consumption is far below the minimum daily requirements of five portions. Join the Global Food Security Project for the release of Seeds of Change: The Power of Fruits and Vegetables to Improve Nutrition in Tanzania, a new report focusing on how the United States and other donors are trying to boost fruit and vegetable consumption in Tanzania to improve nutrition through multisectoral and public–private approaches. The event will feature a keynote lecture by the former Tanzanian Prime Minister, the Honorable Mizengo Pinda, which will be followed by an armchair conversation. The subsequent panel discussion will explore the unique challenges to fruit and vegetable consumption and current efforts to change dietary behavior. This event is made possible by the generous support of The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Alexander De Croo, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, in charge of the Fight against Tax Fraud, and Minister of Development Cooperation, Belgium Alexander De Croo, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, in charge of the Fight against Tax Fraud, and Minister of Development Cooperation, Belgium Katarína Mathernová, Deputy Director General, European Commission Moderator: Daniel F. Runde, Senior Vice President, CSIS Liz Lloyd, Chief Impact Officer, CDC Group (UK) Chantal Korteweg, Director, Stakeholders, Strategy & Knowledge Management, FMO (Netherlands) Sanjeev Gupta, Executive Director for Financial Services, Africa Finance Corporation Paul Lamontagne, Chief Executive Officer, FinDev Canada  Moderator: Romina Bandura, Senior Fellow, CSIS Bruno Wenn, Chairman, EDFI On October 8, 2019, the Council of the European Union published a report by a High-level Wise Persons Group on the European financial architecture for development. The report made bold suggestions for setting a stronger policy direction for European development finance and called for consolidating responsibilities between the European Commission, European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). It also called for a greater emphasis on Africa and climate change in investments by all of European development finance institutions (DFIs) and aid agencies. These proposals make it worth reviewing DFIs' role in mobilizing private investment is and in job creation. DFIs are instrumental in bridging investment gaps and steering private capital into developing countries. Many groups reference the transformative power and scale of the private sector as the answer for filling global development investment gaps, but questions remain from these private institutions around risk and other issues. Private sector development funding now outpaces official development assistance (ODA), underlining the important role DFIs can play in the global development community. DFIs are essential to catalyzing private investment and building the relationship between private sector industries and public sector institutions. There are many channels, including financing for policy reforms, that enable investment within the private sector and improve infrastructure. This will ultimately create jobs, boost growth, and set an example for other private businesses and investors. Maximizing private investment in target markets, therefore, will expand job impact and contributions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).   CSIS is hosting this event in partnership with EDFI-the Association of European Development Finance Institutions.   

Climate change is upon us. In places like Nepal, where two-thirds of the labor force rely on agriculture to earn a living, the impacts of rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, and protracted droughts are becoming especially severe. The U.S. government is expanding its investment in programs that build climate resilience, but how can we ensure these investments are inclusive and beneficial to the most vulnerable populations?   Please join us for a panel discussion and the launch of our newest report, Dry Hills, Full Ponds: Climate Change, Resilience, and Agriculture in Nepal, which highlights promising approaches to placing the most vulnerable at the center of resilience-building efforts. This event is made possible through the generous support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The international community predominately sees the private sector as the answer to the gap in financing for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but what other roles can the private sector play in development? Large multinational corporations have been operating in some of the most fragile contexts for years and could offer technical assistance to NGOs and aid agencies. The private sector also supplies 9 out of 10 jobs in developing countries and can help encourage foreign direct investment. Development agencies could also learn from the private sector's longstanding and resilient value chains throughout emerging markets. This event will explore these topics and feature representatives from the U.S. government, multinational corporations, SMEs, and development practitioners. 

While the world has seen tremendous improvement in the availability of life-saving vaccines, new, targeted approaches are needed to address remaining gaps in immunization coverage. Among pressing challenges are completing polio eradication; reaching the disenfranchised, including those in fragile and disordered settings; supporting governments as they develop their own sustainable immunization systems, and; addressing vaccine hesitancy. The World Health Organization (WHO), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the U.S. government, and other global immunization organizations are striving to meet these demands as they develop new strategies and programmatic enhancements for the next decade of global immunization. If successful, these advances have the potential to significantly enhance global stability and health security.   The CSIS Global Health Policy Center will host a major conference on September 27 that will examine the innovations that will shape this future. The conference will feature keynote presentations by Seth Berkley, Chief Executive Officer of Gavi; Kate O’Brien, Director of Immunization, Vaccines, and Biologicals at the WHO; and Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF. Registration will open at 8:30am. Light refreshments will be served in the morning and lunch will be served at 11:30am. J. Stephen Morrison Senior Vice President and Director, CSIS Global Health Policy Center   Kate O'Brien Director, Immunization, Vaccines, and Biologicals, World Health Organization Seth Berkley Chief Executive Officer, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance Moderated by: Nellie Bristol Senior Fellow, CSIS Global Health Policy Center   Edna Yolani Batres Presidential Adviser of  Health, Former Minister of Health, Republic of Honduras Muhammad Ali Pate Global Director, Health, Nutrition, and Population, World Bank, and Director of the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children, and Adolescents (GFF) Kerry Pelzman Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Global Health, U.S. Agency for International Development Anne Schuchat (RADM, USPHS, RET) Principal Deputy Director, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Moderated by: Amanda Glassman Executive Vice President and Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development Henrietta Fore Executive Director, UNICEF   Emilie Karafillakis Research Fellow, Vaccine Confidence Project, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Rina Dey Communication Director, CORE Group Polio Project, India David Broniatowski Associate Professor, George Washington University   with a video message from: Congressman Adam B. Schiff (D-CA-28) Moderated by: J. Stephen Morrison Senior Vice President and Director, CSIS Global Health Policy Center Nahid Bhadelia Medical Director, Special Pathogens Unit, Boston University School of Medicine Rebecca Martin Director, Center for Global Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Violaine Mitchell Interim Director, Vaccine Delivery, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with a video message from: Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) Moderated by: Katherine Bliss Senior Fellow, CSIS Global Health Policy Center Nellie Bristol Senior Fellow, CSIS Global Health Policy Center   This event is made possible through the generous support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  

The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) is celebrating 60 years of existence. The IADB is the largest source of development financing for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. 19 of the 26 borrowing countries in the region are defined as “small states.” These small states rely on the IADB’s deep expertise and long-term partnership in ways that larger borrowing countries do not. Since the IADB’s Ninth General Capital Increase, the IADB has aimed to dedicate at least 35 percent of its annual lending approval volume to the small states of Latin America and the Caribbean. In conjunction with the 60 anniversary celebration of the IADB, CSIS is hosting this public event to explore the contributions, challenges, and opportunities of the IADB in small states. Agenda:   3:30 PM-3:45 PM: Opening Remarks 3:45 PM-4:45 PM: Panel Discussion 4:45 PM-5:00 PM: Audience Q&A 5:00 PM-6:00 PM: Event Reception Please join us for this timely discussion on Wednesday, September 25. Upon conclusion of the event, a reception from 5:00-6:00 PM will take place on the first floor. This event was made possible through general support to CSIS.  

Please join the CSIS Global Food Security Project for a discussion with a panel of experts on the relationship between climate change, political instability, and food security using current events on the African continent as a lens. The emerging consensus is that climate change poses significant national security threats. However, specific linkages between climate change and political instability are still opaque. As climate change reshapes the agricultural landscape across Africa, there is concern that higher food prices and falling yields will lead to widespread urban unrest and catalyze participation in armed extremist movements. Preceded by a keynote from Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), the discussion will examine how climate change is interacting with demographic trends in Africa to both heighten risks associated with agriculture in rural areas and those associated with dependence on global markets in urban areas. Our panelists will explore several issues such as how averting crisis in the face of climate change and food insecurity will require:   Better incorporation of agricultural production and food prices—both global and local—into risk assessments. Reinvestment in agricultural and transport infrastructure to reform global agricultural trade to make it more climate-resilient for consumers and producers in the developing world. Opportunities to work with regional governments to develop more inclusive responses to manage political and economic instability. This event was made possible through general support to CSIS.

The United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which starts operations in October 2019, will modernize the U.S. development finance architecture. The DFC will expand the size and capabilities of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and will seek to crowd-in vitally needed private sector investments in low- and lower-middle income countries through new tools such as local currency loans, first-loss guarantees, and equity investments. The DFC is expected to help solidify the work of different U.S. agencies that work on fostering the private sector abroad. During this armchair conversation and panel discussion, the Project on Prosperity and Development will share its findings on how the DFC can work more effectively in the modern international development arena, improve coordination among U.S. allies and local businesses, and better support U.S. national security interests. Please join us for this timely discussion and the launch of our report on September 24th. This event is made possible by the Smith Richardson Foundation's generous support to CSIS.