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Transition Initiatives

The Transition Initiatives (TI) account is one important means by which USAID implements its Fragile States Strategy. It is through this account that the Agency provides support to countries that are facing crisis or are in transition from crisis to stability. The extent to which fragile, failed and failing states can successfully make the transition to and maintain democratic governance will significantly influence the achievement of United States' security objectives in transformational diplomacy. Countries failing to make the transition are more likely to embrace destructive nationalistic policies. Like humanitarian assistance, the TI account has special programming flexibility, allowing the Agency to put staff on the ground swiftly to identify and act on what are often fleeting opportunities for systemic change. There are now active programs in Bolivia, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Iraq, Liberia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Venezuela, and West Bank and Gaza. In providing this assistance, Transition Initiative short-term programs support longer-term interventions aimed at building capable states and addressing root causes of fragility.

Since the start of the Transition Initiatives funding account in 1994, USAID has successfully implemented transition initiatives in 31 countries around the world. Examples of TI programs include:

• Funding reintegration of ex-combatants into their communities as productive citizens;
• Backing alternative media and public information campaigns to encourage peace, reconciliation, and informed participation in elections;
• Assisting local efforts to fight corruption and promote transparent, accountable governance;
• Helping governments develop action plans for key reforms, translating ideas into practice;
• Building the capacity of civil society organizations to engage effectively government officials in dialogue and debate;
• Supporting community development programs that encourage political participation of previously marginalized groups and link constituents with their elected representatives;
• Promoting human rights through education, advocacy, monitoring, reporting, and service to survivors of rape and torture; and
• Supporting local efforts to mitigate and manage ethnic and religious conflict through training, improved communication and confidence-building measures.

One example of assistance provided by TI funding includes support to the ongoing peace process in Burundi by strengthening local capacities to benefit from and contribute to the peace process. USAID's partners implement a Community-Based Peace and Reconciliation Initiative (CPRI) that has four components - the community-based leadership program, vocational skills training, community initiatives, and media. CPRI strengthens local-level cooperation for conflict mitigation, helps diverse groups generate non-farm income and increases knowledge and participation in public dialogue on current issues.

A second example is furthering the Agency's goal in transitions to democracy that can occur when a seminal event, i.e., the sudden demise of autocratic rule or new elections, ushers in a democratic government after a long period of military or autocratic rule. These types of change offer the opportunity to sustain support for democracy until economic and social reforms take hold. In Afghanistan, TI funding addressed citizens' pressing needs and began the process of creating and strengthening democratic institutions. Under the now closed-out Afghanistan transition program, the TI account funded 734 small grants totaling $50,607,174 from October 2001 to June 2005 to increase the Afghan Government's responsiveness to citizens' needs, increase citizen awareness and participation in the democratic process, and increase the capacity of Afghan media. One result of this transition assistance is that the national radio station of Afghanistan, Radio Afghanistan, began broadcasting nationwide in May 2002, with OTI technical and financial support. A satellite terminal has been installed at Radio Afghanistan, linking Radio Afghanistan's programming signal to offshore short-wave transmitters that broadcast the station's programming throughout Afghanistan.

USAID's TI activities, funded by Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Funds (IRRF), worked with local and national governments to provide essential services and support citizens' groups working to improve social, political, and economic standards. In May 2005, the program focus shifted to emphasize the generation of short-term employment opportunities in several unstable areas. These activities focused on restoring essential services through labor-intensive projects that engaged large numbers of local residents.

In FY 2005, one of USAID's TI-funded programs in Haiti was the "Play for Peace" program that engaged targeted young people susceptible to gang violence and provided them with constructive alternatives, including short-term employment, sports, and community activities. Approximately 350 individual sports tournaments took place in target neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince, Cap Haitien, St. Marc, and Petit Goave through USAID's summer camps.

In Sri Lanka, using TI funds in the immediate aftermath of the December 2004 tsunami, USAID bolstered the role of local government officials in affected coastal communities by ensuring relief assistance was properly targeted and promptly delivered. USAID supported local government offices in five affected districts hardest hit by the tsunami with information technology equipment, telephone and internet access, and relevant training. The equipment and training allowed local government officials to process and share critical information from the affected areas in a timely manner with the Government's Colombo-based tsunami response unit. This support to local government helped improve transparency and accountability, giving the public more confidence in their public servants, and building emergency response capacity where it was most required under a more decentralized political structure.

In FY 2005, the TI-funded program in Sudan supported protection activities for vulnerable populations in Darfur, including protection against severe human rights violations. Activities included the training of local human rights monitors in the region, income-generation activities to reduce women's exposure to rape outside of internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, and support to legal aid offices and lawyers groups. One of the chief sources of insecurity for women in Darfur's IDP camps is the threat of violence when women collect firewood outside the camps. Yet firewood is an important source of income for women. In direct response to the threat to their safety, USAID provided targeted assistance to women allowing them to earn income by making and selling grass mats, thereby reducing their dependence on firewood collection as a source of income.

The FY 2006 appropriation for TI funding is $40 million, and the request level for FY 2007 is $50 million. For a complete listing of TI assistance levels by country for FY 2004 through FY 2007, please see the Transition Initiatives table in the Summary Tables volume of this Congressional Budget Justification. Provided below is the TI Program Summary table.

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