Africa Regional
The Development Challenge: With the world's highest rates of poverty, illiteracy, hunger and disease, Africa faces numerous and complex challenges. Yet there is also promise that increased economic growth and new development opportunities will herald a better future for Africa's people. Since investing in people is perhaps the single most important factor in economic growth, USAID will continue to support greater access to basic education and health services to build a better-educated and healthier workforce. The HIV/AIDS pandemic threatens the economic, social, and democratic gains made in Africa in recent decades; new funds and programs will work to contain its spread. At the same time, because agriculture is the backbone of most African economies, raising smallholder productivity and income is critical to reducing poverty and increasing food security. Violent conflict and instability will remain a serious risk for almost half of the countries in Africa for the foreseeable future, yet there are promising signs that democracy is putting down roots across the continent, and research is revealing new ways to help it grow.
 |
|
Please note: All documents are in pdf format |
For the United States, African development assistance is not charity; it represents a vital investment in global peace and security, in a region that is a growing source of goods as well as a huge potential market. Reducing poverty, mitigating conflict, promoting democracy, and reducing HIV/AIDS are all vitally important to U.S. national security and regional stability, integral to our efforts to encourage worldwide economic growth and combat transnational security threats.
The USAID Program: The following data sheets give an overview of the 12 objectives for which USAID is requesting funds in the Africa Regional Program. Several common themes reflect USAID's approach: (1) increase Africans' capacity to design and manage their own programs; (2) maintain a focus on sustainability; (3) connect more programs across sectors (e.g., health and education) to multiply their effects; and (4) create new partnerships with other development organizations and the private sector--U.S., African and worldwide--to maximize the impact of USAID resources. USAID also emphasizes environmentally sound program design, recognizing Africa's fragile ecology and the importance of preserving global biodiversity and stemming global climate change. Finally, USAID is taking the leadership role on the Presidential initiatives for education and trade, as well as important initiatives on agriculture and anti-corruption.
USAID's program for Africa comprises three distinct types of activities. First, USAID provides relevant information and helps African countries and partners use it to improve their policies, programs and strategies for development. Second, it builds Africa's capacity to manage its own development by strengthening African institutions. Third, it helps African countries and institutions build more effective regional networks for economic and technical cooperation.
Agricultural Development: Hunger remains one of sub-Saharan Africa's most significant problems. Agriculture affects virtually all Africans, underpinning household income, food security, and national economies. Food insecurity often results in malnutrition and conflict, while good nutrition is needed to resist disease. Conversely, agricultural growth depends on better health and education, a healthy environment and good governance. USAID's agricultural programs in Africa, including the Initiative to End Hunger in Africa, thus link several sectors in helping agriculture generate more income and employment; strengthening regional collaboration; and promoting changes in policies and programs in order to liberalize trade, improve market access and foster innovation.
Economic Growth: Building free markets in Africa is a prerequisite for sustainable economic prosperity. In FY 2002, USAID began full implementation of the Trade for African Development and Enterprise (TRADE) Initiative, which supports six themes: promote U.S.-African business linkages; raise competitiveness of African products and services; expand the role of trade in African poverty reduction strategies; improve the delivery of public services supporting trade; strengthen African capacity to create and carry out trade policy; and improve the infrastructure and policy climate for African businesses. Led by USAID's three regional TRADE Hubs, activities include building ties between U.S. and sub-Saharan African firms, strengthening African business groups to foster joint ventures, and increasing access to the Internet and other information technologies.
Human Capacity: Three-fifths of all Africans have never been to school, and AIDS threatens to worsen the situation. To address these challenges, USAID has combined the best elements of its just-completed Education for Development and Democracy Initiative with effective basic education programs in designing and guiding the President's new African Education Initiative. USAID works with schools and educators' networks to raise access to basic education for African children--especially girls--via scholarships, mentoring and informal instruction; to organize educators to respond to the effects of HIV/AIDS; to ensure that teachers are well trained for basic education and life skills instruction; to supply up-to-date textbooks; and to enable communities to become more involved in--and responsible for--their children's education.
Health and Population: USAID's many activities to improve the quality and sustainability of African health care services emphasize increased African capacity to design, manage and evaluate health systems. The Africa regional program supports innovative approaches to HIV/AIDS prevention, including abstinence, and works closely with the education, health and agricultural sectors. The program in family planning and reproductive health supports effective work in research, advocacy, and distribution of contraceptives. Other programs target polio, TB, malaria, malnutrition, respiratory diseases, diarrhea, vaccine-preventable illnesses, and maternal/child health problems, as well as widespread lack of access to health services.
Democracy and Governance: USAID's regional democracy and good governance (DG) program advances U.S. national security goals by fighting corruption, strengthening weak civic institutions, and promoting human rights. USAID's work involves innovative projects integrating the promotion and practice of DG principles into other sectors, thus strengthening their work; giving guidance and grants to African non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for activities to build peace, human rights and democracy; and a new initiative to combat corruption in Africa, which will test diverse strategies in order to build replicable models that can guide anti-corruption work continent-wide. USAID will place special emphasis on encouraging greater accountability in government and promoting respect for the rule of law.
Crisis Prevention: Humanitarian crises in Africa continue to challenge our development efforts. These emergencies threaten lives, economic growth, democratic progress, and regional stability. USAID's regional crisis prevention/mitigation programs will continue to seek solutions to problems before they become acute and to give African decision-makers the tools to identify and ward off approaching crises, lessen their impact and help nations recover from crises. The regional program continues to focus on conflict prevention, in particular by assisting missions with conflict vulnerability analyses (CVAs). CVAs not only discuss areas and issues that may spark conflict but note in-country and multi-sectoral resources and programs to avoid conflict. USAID gives both on-site and virtual support for CVAs and has begun work on a CVA handbook.
A new Africa Regional strategy with follow-on strategic objectives, which will be separately notified, is being designed for implementation later in FY 2004.
Other Program Elements: As appropriate, USAID's Africa regional program works with the pillar bureaus to ensure the most cost-effective use of appropriated funds. This programmatic synergy makes USAID more effective in terms of results, resources used, and overall long-term impact.
Other Donors: Coordination between USAID and other donors--such as the World Bank, the European Union, the United Nations Children's Fund, and the World Health Organization's African Regional Office--helps to avoid program duplication, streamline efforts and combine funding to achieve the greatest possible impact. The program is also closely coordinated with host country development strategies and works with African NGOs, as well as the private sector, building partnerships, public-private alliances and networks with all of these actors to sustain long-term results.
Back to Top ^
|
