As Washington debates the costs and consequences of restructuring American foreign assistance, it is missing a far more important question: What strategic opportunities has that restructuring created?
One answer is hiding in plain sight: the Geneva Consensus Declaration, a coalition of 41 nations representing more than 2.5 billion people. Launched in 2020 by the Trump administration alongside five partner nations, it stands as a rare example of a values-based international coalition formed not through pressure, but through shared conviction.
These countries did not join because they were forced to. They share foundational commitments to better health for women, national sovereignty, family-centered policy, and the right to determine their own domestic course without external ideological pressure. Many had grown frustrated with decades of foreign aid models that tied partnership to policy conformity. They are now watching to see whether the U.S. is prepared to offer something different.
That question is becoming more urgent as global competition intensifies. China is not exporting ideology. It is offering infrastructure, investment, and the perception of partnership without conditions. The U.S. response cannot simply be a revised version of conditionality. It must be a fundamentally different approach grounded in mutual respect and shared interest. The Geneva Consensus Declaration offers a framework for exactly that kind of engagement.
Its affirmation that there is no international right to abortion illustrates the point. This is not a position imposed by the U.S. It is the collective judgment of 41 sovereign governments across multiple regions that rejected efforts to establish abortion as a universal right through treaty interpretation and multilateral pressure rather than through domestic democratic processes. Each nation retains full authority over its own laws. What unites them is a shared rejection of external coercion. That principle provides a foundation for partnerships that respect sovereignty while advancing common priorities.
The strategic implications extend well beyond any single policy issue. Countries with stable families and healthy populations are more economically productive, less prone to civil conflict, and better equipped for durable institutional partnerships. These are not abstract social outcomes—they are directly tied to economic growth and national stability. Research from the Council on Foreign Relations finds that countries where women participate more fully in peace and security processes are significantly less likely to experience civil conflict. Meanwhile, the World Bank estimates that closing gender gaps in human capital could add as much as $160 trillion to global wealth. These are not soft development metrics; they are core inputs to the economic strength and political stability that underpin U.S. national security interests.
The question is how to translate shared commitments into lasting institutional capacity. The Protego framework, developed by the Institute for Women’s Health and implemented in countries across Africa and Latin America, offers one model. It works alongside national governments, ministries, faith-based organizations, and civil society to build solutions from within rather than imposing them from outside. The emphasis is on local ownership, sustainability, and alignment with each nation’s values and priorities.
This approach reflects a broader shift that American foreign policy now has the opportunity to make. The Geneva Consensus Declaration coalition is uniquely positioned for this next phase. Forty-one nations, already aligned on core principles and seeking practical pathways forward, represent a ready-made foundation for deeper engagement. At a time of intensifying great power competition, that kind of alignment is a strategic advantage. As the U.S. counters China's sway in Latin America and elsewhere, this coalition could be a critical asset.
The recent restructuring of foreign assistance has created space to rethink how the United States engages globally. The opportunity now is to move beyond a model centered on funding flows and toward one focused on building capable, sovereign partners. The Geneva Consensus Declaration is not simply a statement of shared values. It is a platform for a different kind of foreign policy—one that prioritizes partnership over pressure and long-term capacity over short-term compliance. The coalition is already in place. The question is whether the U.S. will fully use it.
Valerie Huber is President and CEO of The Institute for Women’s Health. She served as U.S. Special Representative for Global Women’s Health during the first Trump Administration, where she was given the responsibility to begin the Geneva Consensus Declaration.
