Regional Development Mission-Asia (RDM-Asia)
The Development Challenge: The East Asia region faces major development challenges including widespread corruption, poor or oppressive governance, the spread of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, and persistent environmental degradation. These challenges hinder the prospects for equitable economic growth and human well being. A lack of transparency in economic and legal institutions and severe restrictions on human freedoms in some countries demonstrate the region's democratic weaknesses. For instance, extrajudicial killings, torture, forced labor, and other abuses occur throughout Burma and have contributed to growing numbers of Burmese refugees in neighboring countries. Parts of the region harbor terrorists often linked to radical Islam who poses significant risks to the United States.
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In the Asia and Pacific region, each day approximately 1,192 people die of AIDS and about 2,685 people become infected with HIV. Population increases, rapid industrialization, and unsustainable energy policies are straining the region's natural resources and environmental systems. Urban air pollution levels are among the highest in the world: it is estimated that China loses as much as 10 percent of its national income to pollution, while the nations of South East Asia lose 5% to 6%. Rapid social and economic changes occurring in the region fuel mobile migrant populations and the growth of both the sex and drug trades.
United States foreign policy priorities in East Asia include supporting the war on terrorism, promoting transparency and democracy, expanding trade and investment, stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS, and halting environmental degradation
The USAID Program: USAID's Regional Development Mission/Asia (RDM/A) opened in Bangkok, Thailand in June 2003. The new mission manages regional and country-specific programs in mainland South East Asia (Burma, China, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam) as well as HIV/AIDS and environmental programs that extend east into the Pacific and west into South Asia. RDM/A also acts as the regional hub for services including contracting, administration, and disaster response.
RDM/A will manage four programs. Two of these programs, "Cleaner Cities and Industries in Asia" and "Effective Responses to HIV/AIDS and Other Infectious Diseases", were previously managed in Washington. RDM/A is redesigning these two objectives to streamline activities and improve performance. In addition, RDM/A is proposing two new programs, "Improved Governance in South East Asia" and "Special Foreign Policy Interests Addressed in South East Asia." These programs will incorporate some ongoing activities as well as allow for new projects to address the development challenges in the region.
USAID programs managed through the RDM/A support five Presidential Initiatives: Clean Energy; Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief; Global Climate Change; Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria; and Mother and Child HIV Prevention.
Other Program Elements: USAID's RDM/A manages the regional programs summarized above in close coordination with bilateral programs in China, Burma, Laos, and Vietnam. USAID's Burma program promotes democracy and addresses humanitarian needs among Burmese populations living outside Burma, and works to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS inside Burma. USAID's activities in China attempt to strengthen the rule of law, aid Tibetan communities, and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in targeted provinces. USAID's work in Laos attempts to develop a viable economic alternative to opium production, hinder the spread of HIV/AIDS, and improve the well-being of vulnerable populations. USAID's program in Vietnam focuses on accelerating Vietnam's transition to an open and market-based economy, improving access to services for selected vulnerable groups, and (through US-AEP) on improving urban and industrial environmental management.
Other Donors: USAID also coordinates closely with other donors in the region when implementing regional activities. The HIV/AIDS and environment activities have especially benefited from regional partnerships with multilateral and bilateral donors that have helped to bolster the results achieved by USAID initiatives. Major donors in the region include the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Union, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the United Nations. USAID coordinates with these donors at both the country and regional levels.
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