760 



Organization. Various studies have recommended this approach. In 

 particular, President Nixon's initiatives along these lines appear to 

 be based on the report of the Peterson task force,^- the study group 

 which was appointed by the President to advise him on the appropri- 

 ate role of the United States in foreign assistance. The report repeat- 

 edly urged that bilateral assistance be decreased and that multilateral 

 assistance be increased. The move in this direction has already started, 

 beginning with the multilateralization of the malaria eradication 

 programs — 



Current U.S. policy indications are for as rapid a thrust 

 toward withdrawal of U.S. technicians as may be consistent 

 with minimum determined staffing requirements. This will be 

 carefully managed to avoid too precipitous withdrawal of 

 U.S. staff with undesirable effects on the program and the 

 individuals involved. A sufficient interim j>eriod is required 

 for the necessary services to be transferred to an effective level 

 of "WHO financial and manpower resources; however, this 

 need not be a long or difficult transition. 



While WHO budget development and approval are lengthv 

 processes, WHO has a considerable field force already at work 

 in country malaria programs, and host governments may have 

 improved technical capacity reducing advisory needs * * *. 



A major trend in U.S. foreign assistance is toward 

 reducing overseas U.S. personnel in bilateral assistance 

 programs while encouraging increased responsibility of 

 multilateral agencies for development programs. The world- 

 wide malaria eradication program is a case in point * * *. 

 A.I.D. fully supports this important effort. However, we now 

 are looking to WHO to take greater responsibility for most 

 technical assistance to host governments in their malaria 

 programs. 



In conformance with the resolutions of the World Health 

 Assembly for malaria eradication, WHO is already providing 

 the greater part of the technical services requested by 

 participating governments in this program * * *.-''^ 



Peterson's point that "a predominantly bilateral U.S. program is 

 no longer politically tenable in our relations with many developing 

 countries * * *," ^o* is partly undone by another reality, namely that 

 the Peterson "approach is not certain to commend itself to Con- 

 gress." 205 Certainly the hearings records examined during the prep- 

 aration of this study show Congress to be clearly on the side of 

 bilateral programs. For this reason one might be expected to dis- 

 miss a report like Peterson's, especially since it does not even mention 

 international health institutions. But there is cause to continue along 

 two lines : 



First, and almost surely without knowing it, a good deal of the 

 "thrust*" of the Peterson report, matches the mode of oi>eration of the 



«"' "U.S. Foreign Assistance in the 1970's" op. clt. 



*^ "A.I.D. Policy for Malaria Eradication — Multilateralization of Technical Services." 

 Airgram Department of State, August 8, 1970. (Quoted in part.) 



2IH "XT.s. Foreign Assistance in the 1970s," op. clt., page 22. 



»»John Franklin Campbell. "What is to be Done?" Foreign Affairs (October 1970), 

 page 97. 



