His nomination, announced Nov. 10, to head this vast but troubled organization, is the highest position to which an Indian American has been appointed in the history of this country.
The staff at the agency goes into tens of thousands around the world, and its budget, which is clubbed with all international affairs programs and operations for civilian agencies, stood at $39.5 billion going by the fiscal year 2009 request for the State Department and USAID.
A major part of that amount, $26.1 billion, is for "foreign operations and related agencies," $11.2 billion for the State Department, and $2.2 billion for "other international affairs." Notably, $938 million alone was requested for strengthening USAID's operational capacity, which has come under heavy criticism.
President Obama declared Shah would bring "fresh ideas and the dedication and impressive background" necessary to help USAID reach his goal, and expressed a particular interest in working with him on the new $20 billion agricultural development initiative.
Shah is known particularly for helping raise $5 billion for children's immunization while at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Since June, he has been undersecretary for research, education and economics and chief scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he was managing more than 10,000 federal employees and a budget of more than $2.6 billion, and working closely with Congress, the State Department, the White House and the international development community on issues ranging from health and nutrition to bioenergy and climate change. "I look forward to meeting Dr.
Shah, and to a prompt confirmation hearing, during which we can discuss his vision of how USAID can regain its position as the primary development agency of the U.S. government," said Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Foreign Assistance Subcommittee. The subcommittee works closely with USAID.
Oxfam America, one of the largest international aid agencies, said Shah has his work cut out for him. "For many years, USAID has been underresourced and politically marginalized," and "Shah's challenges are great," Raymond C.
Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America, said in a statement said, adding that the agency's development objectives had become diffuse and unclear, with the Pentagon and more than 20 other federal agencies increasingly engaged in development activities
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The USAID, currently headed by an acting administrator, said it "welcomes the nomination."
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton commended Shah's nomination calling him "a leader in the development community, an innovative and results-oriented manager and someone who understands the importance of providing people around the world with the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty and chart their own destinies."
Shah is a medical doctor and health economist, who Clinton said, "has a record of delivering results in both the private and public sectors, forging partnerships around the world, especially in Africa and Asia, and developing innovative solutions in global health, agriculture, and financial services for the poor."
He has an M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and a Master of Science in health economics from the Wharton School of Business. He also attended the London School of Economics, and is a graduate of the University of Michigan.
Shah has also worked on the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria and the Alliance for a Green Revolution for Africa.
Prior to joining the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2001, he was the health-care policy adviser on the Gore 2000 presidential campaign and a member of Pennsylvania Gov.
Ed Rendell's transition committee on health. He is the cofounder of Health Systems Analytics and Project IMPACT for South Asian Americans. He also served as a policy aide in the British Parliament and worked at the World Health Organization.
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