Contact: Press Office, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), 202-712-4320; Public Information: 202-712-4810

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28 /Standard Newswire/ -- Henrietta Fore, Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance and Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will lead the U.S. delegation attending the Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, scheduled to take place in Accra, Ghana from September 2-4, 2008.

Attended by developing country ministers, heads of bilateral and multilateral development agencies, donor organizations, and civil society organizations from around the world, the common objective of the Forum is to help developing countries and marginalized people in their fight against poverty by making aid more transparent, accountable and results-oriented.

"We have undertaken major reforms to improve our internal processes with the aim of bringing better coordination to the foreign assistance we provide throughout the world," said Fore. "Accra is a vital stepping stone in U.S. efforts to build on and re-energize our mission to ensure that aid is effective."

Though the U.S. is the single largest bilateral provider of foreign assistance, it continues to believe that simply providing increased resources will not, in and of itself, reduce global poverty, eliminate diseases, increase global food security or stimulate economic growth in the developing world.

In addition to increasing the resources for foreign assistance, the U.S. is also firmly committed to improving the quality of its aid in order to maximize development benefits through:

Strengthening partner country ownership of development policies and programs
Promoting more effective and inclusive partnerships
Accountability for resources and results
For more information about USAID, please visit www.usaid.gov.