REDSO
The Development Challenge: The region of east and southern Africa (ESA) is composed of countries that, for the most part, have extremely low, or even negative, annual rates of economic growth. They are among the poorest and least developed nations in the world. Weak national leadership and pervasive corruption are realities that have inhibited economic progress, while reinforcing an atmosphere of political instability throughout the region. Persistent food insecurity and periodic recurrence of food emergencies negatively affect millions of people in vulnerable groups. Insufficient and deteriorating transportation and communication infrastructure, as well as major policy and bureaucratic obstacles, constrain intra-regional trade and aggravate internal and cross-border conflicts along porous borders. As a result, political stability and economic development throughout the region continue to be fragile. In addition, the presence of an estimated 30 million HIV/AIDS infected people in Sub-Saharan Africa amplifies the inadequacies of already overburdened public health systems that are unable to cope with severe health problems such as malaria and other infectious diseases, and high rates of maternal and child mortality. For the foreseeable future, the HIV/AIDS pandemic will continue to have a major and devastating impact on development -- across sectors -- throughout this region of Africa.
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The Regional Economic Development Services Office for East and Southern Africa (REDSO/ESA) actively promotes U.S. national interests in ESA by supporting, complementing and enhancing USAID programs, while managing a unique and innovative program of regional activities. Economic growth, increased foreign investment, and the promotion of international and intra-regional trade are essential components of the U.S. Government's effort to reduce the likelihood that the region will serve as a breeding ground for international terrorist activities. Strengthening regional African organizations and institutions with training and new systems to mitigate conflict enhances the strength of national governments and promotes the application of African solutions to pressing economic and social problems. A reduction in the transmission of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases will improve health and diminish the risk of future economic disruption and political disintegration throughout the region.
The USAID Program: REDSO/ESA's program is based on a unique tri-partite mandate to: 1) manage an innovative regional set of activities, such as food security, capacity building and treatment of infectious diseases; 2) provide services to other USAID programs in the region; and 3) manage USAID programs in Somalia, Burundi and Djibouti. REDSO activities collaborate and partner with key multinational African entities to assist in the development and coordination of cross-border policies, procedures, and systems within four interconnected strategic objectives related to food security, conflict prevention and mitigation, health systems, and HIV/AIDS.
REDSO activities aimed at improving regional food security concentrate on increasing production and facilitating international and intra-regional trade in specific agricultural products. For example, strengthening capacities of organizations, e.g., the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (ASARECA), has resulted in significant increases in the aggregate value of trade and the export of selected agricultural commodities. In addition, REDSO activities addressed gender disparities by supporting the training of women entrepreneurs. These efforts directly support two Presidential Initiatives: The Initiative to End Hunger in Africa (IEHA), and the Trade for African Development and Enterprise (TRADE) initiative.
Given the number and intensity of east African potential and actual cross-border conflict situations, REDSO activities emphasize the identification and testing of innovative methodologies and systems to monitor key indicators of conflict in selected geographic areas and then the dissemination of the results and the "best practices" through African organizations throughout the region. Activities in these "cluster areas" have enabled REDSO to develop a unique index for measuring the capabilities of organizations to establish conflict early warning systems. In addition, REDSO has provided technical assistance for important conflict vulnerability assessments.
REDSO health sector activities concentrate on building management systems and technical skills of key partner entities that provide services related to the treatment of infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS; reproductive health and family planning; maternal and child health; and nutrition. As a result, a growing technical resource base has dramatically increased the sharing of information and the utilization of 'lessons learned' throughout the region. These efforts have, in turn, promoted a dynamic policy dialogue within national governments on health systems and their ability to deal with a variety of health issues. Finally, REDSO has contributed to worldwide efforts to stem the spread of HIV/AIDS by developing an innovative, multi-sectoral approach to reducing the impact of the pandemic in the region. This approach directly supports the achievement of the goals and objectives articulated in the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
In FY 2003 REDSO/ESA provided support (legal, financial, procurement, and food aid management) and technical advisory services to USAID programs in 23 countries throughout eastern and southern Africa. It also managed the USAID programs in Burundi, Somalia, Djibouti and Sudan. During FY 2003 REDSO managed the Sudan program. However, in November of 2003 the Sudan Field Office was established and designated as a separate USAID mission.
Other Program Elements: In FY 2003 REDSO/ESA continued to provide technical and managerial assistance to USAID's large P.L. 480, Title II Emergency and Non-emergency Food Assistance programs in 17 countries in the region, while supporting the U.S. Department of Agriculture's food aid program in 14 countries. REDSO also collaborated with the Office of Disaster Assistance (OFDA) humanitarian and emergency programs in the region and with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other U.S. Government agencies on HIV/AIDS activities and programs. Finally, REDSO/ESA facilitated ongoing activities of centrally funded USAID programs that provide technical assistance and training to key regional African institutions in population, health and nutrition activities. For example, in FY 2003 centrally funded health projects worked in the following areas: 1) helping to assess manpower needs, courses and institutions to aid comprehensive planning for HIV/AIDS training in 11 countries in the region; and, 2) supporting the development of a management tool to enable national governments to evaluate the performance of drug and commodity supply systems and measure progress toward implementing national drug policies.
Other Donors: The European Union and the United States are the first and second largest donors, providing direct assistance to regional institutions such as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and COMESA. Other important donors for food security, conflict prevention and health include the World Bank, Canada, Germany, the African Development Bank and the United Kingdom. In addition, USAID cooperates closely with United Nations agencies, such as the World Health Organization, in maternal/child health and HIV/AIDS prevention, and the World Food Program in food assistance.
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