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From the Secretary
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The world is clearly better off because we have chosen to stay involved.
he United States enters this last holiday season of the 20th century richly blessed. We are wealthy, powerful and free. We have interests and influence around the globe. And the democratic values we champion have taken root on every continent. We are, as we should be, grateful for what we have. But our thoughts this holiday season extend far beyond our borders. Many of you, especially those reading this letter overseas, need no reminder that millions of people around the globe will begin the new century with little or nothing to call their own. In developing nations, one child in three has no access to safe drinking water. One in four has inadequate shelter. One in five receives no basic health care. It would cost $6 billion a year to provide basic education to all the world's children who do not now receive it. Twice that amount is spent annually on perfume in the United States and Europe alone. We all know there are those in our country who believe that the hardships faced by people overseas are not our concern. But they are wrong. Ninety-five percent of world population growth is occurring in developing nations. Americans cannot prosper nor be secure indefinitely in a world where the majority is in desperate need and where the gap between haves and have nots is both increasing and increasingly visible. Others say there is nothing we can do, because poverty is too ingrained, societies too ravaged, and ignorance too widespread. They, also, are wrong. The story of U.S. development assistance is the story of progress beginning with the Marshall Plan in the 1940s and the start of the Truman Administration's "Four Point Program" exactly half a century ago. In the 1950s, we began an assistance program for the Republic of Korea, a country that was then devastated by war and mired in rural poverty and is now among our most important democratic allies and trading partners. In the 1960s, we sponsored the agricultural research that sparked the Green Revolution in India, resulting in the most dramatic increase in crop yields in human history. In the 1970s, we helped eradicate smallpox and developed an oral rehydration therapy that now makes the difference between death and life for more than a million young people every year. In the 1980s, our support for elections and democratic institutions helped spark positive political change across Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa and the Pacific Rim. And in the 1990s, our micro-credit and other small-business initiatives have provided opportunities for millions of entrepreneurs around the world (many of them women). Of course, not every effort has been successful. Some lessons have been learned painfully and only after years of experience, and there is still much to be done. But the world is clearly better off because we have chosen to stay involved. The United States is clearly better off as well. Americans benefit from an expanding world economy. We benefit from having democratic partners who can help us fight evils such as drug trafficking and terrorism. Increases in international travel underscore our interest in halting the spread of infectious disease. And in a world with fewer conflicts, our armed forces will be called upon less often to respond to threats. In recent years we have heard a lot about globalization and about how trade, not aid, holds the key to future prosperity. There is much truth in this. But to imply that development work and humanitarian assistance are no longer needed is utter nonsense. The future we want to help build will not materialize without great effort. It will require a concerted campaign in every part of every continent to strengthen democracy, create jobs, educate children, preserve the environment, combat exploitation of all kinds, and establish the rule of law. These are not jobs for the private sector alone, nor for diplomats alone, nor development experts alone, nor for Americans alone, nor for governments alone. We all have a responsibility and a role to play. We have much to be grateful for this holiday season. And we know that to fairly represent the American people to the world, we must extend our hand to those around the world who need and deserve our help. That is one reason that the quest for resources to support our foreign policy is so important. And why we will pursue it with renewed vigor during the coming year.
Happy Holidays to you all. And see you next century!
Madeleine K. Albright
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