About USAID/Kosovo
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent federal government agency established in 1961 that receives overall foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State. US foreign assistance has the twofold purpose of furthering America 's foreign policy interests in expanding democracy and free markets while improving the lives of the citizens of the developing world. USAID works in over 100 countries around the world to achieve these goals.
USAID's assistance to Kosovo started in mid-1999 at the conclusion of the conflict that expelled Milosevic's regime from Kosovo and established an internationally administered region, administered by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). At the end of this conflict 38% of the housing stock was completely destroyed and another 20% was severely damaged. Most of the population had been forced to flee their homes and the economy and institutions were in shambles. During and immediately after the conflict large amounts of humanitarian assistance were provided to house, feed and tend to the basic needs of an enormous number of displaced and newly impoverished Kosovars. The humanitarian assistance was followed by a program to start the restoration of civil and economic life in Kosovo. In the five-year period, September 1999 through September 2004, over $238 million of USAID assistance was committed to the reconstruction of Kosovo. USAID's assistance established a program to rebuild Kosovo's vitality by supporting UNMIK, and later the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG), and by helping the private sector develop, encouraging the formation of democratic institutions, and rebuilding community infrastructure, both physical and human. As of August 2006, USAID/Kosovo Mission Director is Dr. Michael Farmban. The mission employs 90 staff members including US citizens and Kosovars.
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