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FY 1997 Development Fund for Africa: $15,000,000
Introduction.
The Clinton Administration launched the Greater Horn of Africa Initiative (GHAI) in the summer of 1994. Its goal is to attack the root causes of food insecurity and conflict in the Greater Horn. The Initiative is based on the premise that it is less costly, in terms of both human life and dollars, to intervene early to prevent crises rather than to respond to them after they have occurred. Clearly, the United States will continue to play an important role in meeting the short-term relief requirements of needy populations in the Greater Horn and elsewhere.
African leaders in the Greater Horn have also committed themselves to the dual goals of increased food security and conflict prevention. These leaders are in the process of revitalizing a regional organization, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), to address these goals through formal, coordinated mechanisms. The GHAI Initiative -- coupled with African commitment -- supports a process of joint, regional problem solving. It is central to this process for the United States, other donors, international private voluntary organizations (PVOs), and Africans -- both public and private sector representatives -- to begin to do business differently and more effectively than in the past.
USAID has evolved a set of implementation principles as the various actors have started to work together to define a joint approach. These principles include: 1) doing business differently with existing resources; 2) ensuring African ownership of all strategies, policies, and activities; 3) promoting strategic coordination in every approach; 4) linking relief and development strategies, programs, and funding; 5) promoting regional approaches to problems; and 6) assuming underlying instability in this region and integrating this concept into all program planning and implementation.
USAID recognizes that the fundamental changes necessary to accomplish the goals of crisis prevention and food security will take time. As a starting point and using a phased approach, the principles outlined above will be applied to all USAID programming in the Greater Horn region. As a result, USAID expects resources in the region to be far more effective in addressing food insecurity and conflict in the region. If this Initiative is successful and the principles prove valid, it may serve as a model approach for other regions in Africa, and perhaps elsewhere in the developing world.
The Development Challenge.
The development challenge is nowhere greater than in the Greater Horn of Africa (GHA) region, which has emerged as one of the world's greatest humanitarian concerns. The region includes 10 countries, of which nine receive ongoing U.S. humanitarian assistance: Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. Of the 186 million people living in these countries, a higher proportion (roughly half) live closer to the edge of famine than in any area of comparable size. If current trends continue, the gap between the amount of food required to sustain human life and the amount of food which the region can produce or afford to buy may double by 2010. The total number of refugees and displaced persons is already larger in the Greater Horn than anywhere else in the world and may grow.
The burden of this suffering weighs heavily on the international community. Food aid alone to this region cost donors over $4 billion between 1985 and 1992. These resource levels could be dwarfed by the requirements of future civil unrest and political instability. It is in the clear interest and humanitarian tradition of the United States -- which already bears a large share of this burden to assist the region in achieving self reliance.
Nearly 50% of the population does not have reliable access to food. Half of these people are refugees or displaced persons (approximately 11 million). People in the Greater Horn region are among thepoorest in the world: infant mortality rates, illiteracy rates, and fertility rates are all significantly higher than in other parts of Africa and the world. In addition, misguided economic policies have discouraged investment in agricultural production, marketing and storage, and have not come to terms with the difficult problems of private sector investment, land tenure and trade.
Much of the suffering in the Greater Horn is caused by conflict. There has been very limited progress on democratization and transparent governance in many of the countries in the Greater Horn. This means that outside of armed conflict, systems are not in place in all countries to allow negotiation and resolution of differences. Fighting now affects five or six countries each year, about twice the number afflicted in the early 1980s. Weak and often corrupt and unrepresentative national governments have precluded the creation of strong regional organizations to deal with trade policies, cross-border conflicts, refugees, as well as drought and other natural disasters.
High population growth rates continue to outdistance gains in agricultural production, making future food security in the region a steadily deteriorating prospect. In addition, severe health problems confront much of the Greater Horn population, particularly vulnerable groups such as children and refugee populations.
Other Donors.
Strategic coordination with other donors, within USAID, across the U.S. Government, and among PVOs/ non-governmental organization (NGO) partners, and Africans themselves, is key to the success of this Initiative. A primary objective of the earliest phase of the GHAI was to galvanize other donors to recommit themselves to the Greater Horn region. This includes commitment to prevent crises rather than to react to emergencies after they have occurred. Major donors have reached consensus on USAID's two overarching goals of food security and conflict prevention and there is widespread acceptance of the six implementation principles outlined above. These groups must continue to work together to increase the coherence of programming, reduce redundancy and minimize incompatible and contradictory approaches.
FY 1997 Program.
By design, the GHAI departs from traditional patterns of USAID programming and budget allocation. Thus, the USAID funds specifically dedicated to Initiative activities are limited and facilitative in nature. In this early stage, it is the U.S. Government which must become the model for doing things differently. USAID has established six teams centered on the goals and objectives of the GHAI. These teams are comprised of representatives from USAID, the Department of State, the Department of Defense and the United States Information Agency as well as members of the PVO/NGO community. As this approach is successful, this integration will be reflected in the policies and activities of other donors, PVOs, and African partners.
The countries of the Greater Horn do not fall neatly into traditional "disaster" or "development" categories. Most of the GHA countries are either in transition away from or towards crisis, or have neighbors in crisis. Traditional development programs do not always serve the emerging needs of these countries and ongoing humanitarian assistance may in fact be perpetuating the crisis. This "gray" area between emergency response and longer-term development has fostered a growing recognition on the part of USAID and its partners of the need to link relief and development programs.
Because it focuses on changing the way USAID does business, GHAI's objective of maximizing linkages between relief and development planning and programming is cross-cutting and supports all five Agency goals.
The GHAI vision is broad and ambitious. Each year USAID programs and those of developmental partners will increasingly reflect the principles of the GHAI. USAID, its U.S. interagency colleagues,and international partners are in the process of developing an overarching framework in which to implement the GHAI. Preliminary discussions have identified three potential strategic objectives, supporting three Agency goals, which will be achieved within the next 10-15 years. These objectives are focused on assisting Africans to solve their problems in food security and conflict within a regional context.
Agency Goal: Encouraging Broad Based Economic Growth
The majority of the countries in the Greater Horn are unable to feed themselves and given current low levels of foreign exchange, require food aid to meet food import needs. Eight of the 10 Greater Horn countries receive both development and humanitarian assistance from USAID. A few -- Uganda, Tanzania, and periodically, Kenya -- currently export agricultural products. A wide range of activities are under way to increase food security for the people in the Greater Horn. These include improvements in such areas as agricultural research, marketing and processing; market integration; and a more liberalized and competitive macro-economic environment. Under the GHAI, donor strategies are to be more tightly coordinated, as needed, to maximize effectiveness; and Africans are to have full participation in the process of policy formulation and implementation. In addition, food security strategies are to be developed with more emphasis on regional dimensions. Investment in and growth of private sector agricultural trade between deficit and surplus countries will be key to this regional approach. In the medium term, we will be seeking increased coordination between regional institutions on food security strategies and activities.
USAID resources in this area will be used to facilitate strategic coordination and regional approaches. In the long-term this will make any U.S. Government investments in agriculture, economic growth, health and nutrition more effective.
Agency Goal: Stabilizing World Population Growth and Protecting Human Health
A healthy and stable population is critical for sustainable development. It is also critical for making the transition from dependency on relief to development. The GHA faces severe health threats, particularly among children and refugee populations. Health issues of specific Greater Horn populations will be targetted as part of the cross-cutting approach to move from humanitarian assistance goals to those of sustainable economic development. Addressing insidious health problems is imperative to attaining the goals of poverty alleviation and sustainable food security in the Greater Horn Region.
Agency Goal: Building Democracy
Donors and Africans agree that chronic social and political instability in the Greater Horn is a major obstacle to sustainable development. Democratic institutions are weak and societal cleavages tend to occur along ethnic or tribal lines. Many societies do not yet provide individuals and groups with the richness of multiple social and political identities and contacts which make consensus decisions, compromise, and conciliation possible. The dual processes of democratization and the development of political will to prevent and mitigate conflict are essential to future economic growth and stability in the region. Evidence of this political will is beginning to emerge in the more progressive countries in the Greater Horn. Africans are increasingly coming to realize that ongoing conflict undermines social, economic, and political progress. They are organizing to foresee crisis and conflict, and to develop means of prevention and mitigation in order to promote social and political stability based on democraticvalues. Africans are increasingly coming to realize that although there is a facilitative role which donors and other international partners can play, ultimately only Africans themselves can resolve their own conflicts.
USAID works with such groups as the U.S. Institute for Peace, the Organization of African Unity, the Carnegie Corporation for Preventing Deadly Conflict and other international and African institutions to understand what analyses and activities can be undertaken to prevent and mitigate conflict. Non-Africans must proceed with caution and define a role which is constructive and based on African ownership. Clearly, traditional diplomatic methods of conflict resolution have not been entirely successful in many Greater Horn countries.
At a minimum, donors must ensure that activities do not inadvertently exacerbate the potential for conflict. O nce the U.S. Government has a better understanding of conflict prevention dynamics in the Greater Horn, it will actively engage with a wide range of Africans and African institutions to explore African views and needs on the whole range of conflict prevention and mitigation activities. At the policy level, we will engage with other donors and members of IGAD to define a regional framework and strategies for conflict prevention and mitigation. The U.S. Government will also engage with sub-regional groups and grassroots organizations which are committed to community level conflict prevention. USAID and other U.S. agencies will incorporate conflict prevention into programs and activities in the Greater Horn.
USAID resources will support training in conflict prevention/mitigation concepts and techniques as well as the identification of indigenous African groups which are involved in conflict prevention discussions and activities. This approach will be both low-cost and effective.
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Encouraging Broad-based Economic Growth |
Stabilizing World Population Growth & Protecting Human Health |
Protecting the Environment |
Building |
Providing Humanitarian Assistance |
TOTALS |
|
|
USAID Strategic Objectives |
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1. Increase capacity in the region to prevent and mitigate conflict. - Dev. Fund for Africa |
4,000,000 |
|
4,000,000 |
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2. Implement strategies and procedures to maximize linkages between relief and development. - Dev. Fund for Africa |
1,500,000 |
3,500,000 |
|
|
|
5,000,000 |
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3. Promote African ability to sustain food security within a regional context. - Dev. Fund for Africa |
6,000,000 |
|
|
6,000,000 |
||
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Totals -Dev. Fund for Africa |
7,500,000 |
3,500,000 |
4,000,000 |
15,000,000 |
AFR/EA GHAI Director: Patricia Rader
Purpose: To increase the capacity of Africans to mitigate and prevent conflict in the Greater Horn of Africa, through training and the identification and support of effective indigenous organizations involved in conflict prevention activities and through incorporating conflict prevention into USAID strategic planning for the region.
Background: The dual processes of democratization and development of political will to prevent and mitigate conflict -- at all levels of society -- are essential to future economic growth and stability in the region. Evidence of political will is beginning to emerge in the more progressive countries in the Greater Horn. Africans are increasingly coming to realize that ongoing conflict is undermining social, economic, and political progress. They are learning to foresee crisis and conflict and to develop means of prevention and mitigation in order to promote social and political stability based on democratic values. Africans and donors are increasingly coming to realize that although there is a role which donors and other international partners can play to assist in the process, ultimately only Africans themselves can resolve their own conflicts.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date: USAID played an important role in encouraging the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to amend its charter to include conflict prevention. GHAI is promoting U.S. Government inter-agency coordination on conflict prevention issues. These efforts include: conflict prevention and mitigation training for Washington-based personnel and field review of a conflict prevention "toolbox" to aid U.S. Government personnel in practical applications of conflict prevention mechanisms.
Description: USAID will expand its conflict prevention training to field-based staff in the Greater Horn region. It will support the identification of indigenous African groups which are involved in conflict prevention and mitigation activities, seeking their input into discussions on conflict prevention strategies taking place among the U.S. Government, IGAD and other donors, multilateral organizations and implementing partners. USAID will provide research assistance and practical support for key conflict issues identified by these discussions. Working with its partners, USAID also will create a conflict prevention framework within which ongoing and planned USAID and U.S. Government activities in the region can be evaluated. As part of this framework, the GHAI will finalize its conflict prevention primer and toolbox.
USAID is committed to doing business differently. This is the underlying foundation of USAID's Incentive Fund. Starting in FY 1997, the Incentive Fund will support each field mission's commitment to incorporating the GHAI into their strategies and strategic objectives. Each mission will have the opportunity to assess how the use of GHAI resources could improve the quality of their activity portfolio and make requests for funding that will result in approaches that will achieve the Initiative's goals and objectives. GHAI funds are intended to function as seed money for new idea activities or to act as short term bridges to further USAID goals while other mechanisms are developing to provide for longer term needs. A field-based steering committee composed of representatives from the field missions and the regional mission in Nairobi will be delegated authority to program USAID resources and empowered to implement the Fund activities.
Host Countries and Other Donors: IGAD has revised its charter to include conflict prevention and mitigation, which places the leadership in conflict prevention in the hands of Africans.
Beneficiaries: USAID assistance will indirectly benefit African communities by building institutions for conflict prevention and mitigation to help avoid potential violent conflict and its effects.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: To be determined.
Major Results Indicators: To be determined.
PROGRAM: GREATER HORN OF AFRICA INITIATIVE (GHAI)
TITLE AND NUMBER: Implement Strategies and Procedures to Maximize Linkages Between Relief and Development, 698-S002
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1997: $5,000,000 DFA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1995; ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2000
Purpose: To improve the linkages between relief and development assistance in ways that are mutually supportive and reinforcing while promoting more rapid transitions from relief to development for countries in the region.
Background: Most countries of the Greater Horn of Africa (GHA) are either transitioning out of or into crisis or have neighbors in crisis. Traditional development programs do not always serve the emerging needs of these countries and ongoing humanitarian assistance may, in some instances, perpetuate the crises. In addition, relief and development assistance activities traditionally have been programmed quite separately, with little overlap or coordination. The "gray" areas between acute emergency response and long-term development, arguably one of the most difficult and complex to address, have fostered a growing recognition on the part of USAID and its partners of the need to link relief and development programs.
Family planning programs in the GHA are imperative to complement other development efforts in the region. Should family planning programs stall, the need to feed, educate and employ people would outstrip the GHA's ability to keep up. AIDS will likely have a significant impact on population size, but under the worst case AIDS scenario, the population growth rate would still be greater than economic growth and development.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date: Through the Transitions Team of the GHAI, principles and operating guidelines for linking relief and development have been drafted, as well as an incisive analysis of the constraints within USAID to achieving these linkages. This widely approved analysis included numerous recommendations for overcoming these constraints, to the extent possible considering political, legislative, and funding realities. A few recommendations are already being implemented, including the development of an integrated country strategic plan for Somalia.
Description: USAID will finalize and begin implementing the recommendations generated by the analysis of the internal constraints USAID faces in linking relief and development. Over the next three years, USAID will seek to implement the more than 30 recommendations, including intensive training for implementing partners in the practical application of linkage concepts and techniques. USAID will work with other donors and multilateral institutions as well as IGAD and other African regional organizations to incorporate these linkages into their programming approaches. Using a phased approach over the next five years, USAID will work on the development of integrated strategic plans for all countries of the Greater Horn. USAID resources will support training, outreach and pilot activities which demonstrate the effectiveness of linking relief and development.
The GHAI is committed to doing business differently. This is the underlying foundation of the GHAI Incentive Fund. Starting in FY 1997, the Incentive Fund will support each USAID field mission's commitment to incorporating the GHAI into their strategies and strategic objectives. Each mission will have the opportunity to assess how the use of GHAI resources could improve the quality of their portfolios in ways that will result in analysis and approaches that will help to achieve the Initiative's goals and objectives. Based on a standard set of criteria, a limited number of proposals will be selected for funding. GHAI funds are facilitative in nature, limited and intended to function as seed money for new idea activities or to act as short term bridges to further the GHAI goals while other mechanisms are developing to provide for longer term needs. A field-based steering committee composed of representatives from the field missions and REDSO/ESA will be delegated authority to program USAIDresources and empowered to implement the Fund activities.
Under this program, resources will also focus on two pre-eminent health challenges: stabilizing population growth and controlling AIDS.
Host Countries and Other Donors: Numerous other donors and multilateral organizations, including the European Union, Canada, and the United Nations Development Program, have begun to analyze the linkages between their own relief and development programs. USAID is already actively coordinating with other donors to understand alternate approaches and to set up a process for sharing these concepts with IGAD and other African entities in the region. USAID's efforts to speed transitions from relief to development through effective program linkages can be greatly enhanced through this kind of coordination.
Beneficiaries: Beneficiaries will include all Africans in the Greater Horn of Africa who are receiving USAID relief and development assistance.
Principal Contractors: To be determined.
Major Results Indicators: To be determined.
PROGRAM: GREATER HORN OF AFRICA INITIATIVE (GHAI)
TITLE AND NUMBER: Promote African Ability to Sustain Food Security within a Regional Context, 698-S003
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1997: $6,000,000 DFA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1995; ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2002
Purpose: To promote African ability to improve food security within a regional context.
Background: The prevalence of drought, locusts, and loss of food production due to conflict have crippled the ability of the populations of the Greater Horn region to work toward sustainable development. The majority of the countries in the Greater Horn are dependent on imports for adequate food supplies and, given current low levels of foreign exchange, require food aid to meet food import needs. A few -- Uganda, Tanzania, and periodically, Kenya -- currently export agricultural products. Because most countries of the region have a structural food deficit, regional food self-reliance will require trade and coordination among Greater Horn countries. A wide range of African institutions and international actors are working on ways to increase food security for the people in the Greater Horn. To date, donor strategies have not been as tightly coordinated as needed to maximize effectiveness and food security strategies have been developed with little emphasis on regional dimensions.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date: USAID played a major role in encouraging Africans to "revitalize" the Inter-governmental Authority for Development (IGAD), an institution created to provide a framework for regional food security. In order to enhance coordination among and between African institutions, donors, international organizations and implementing partners, USAID created a data base which inventories food security related activities by type and location, providing users with a tool to minimize duplication and maximize impact of individual projects and programs. GHAI also created a directory of USAID-managed activities which will be circulated widely to facilitate information sharing and encourage African participation in these activities. In addition, USAID worked with African partners to complete a study of the transportation system in the southern tier of Greater Horn of Africa. This study will be used to coordinate efforts to address transportation issues in the region.
Description: Efforts will continue to focus on coordination at the field level among and between Africans, donors and other relevant organizations on food security issues and activities. In order to help establish clear guidelines and coordinated delivery of food aid shipments, USAID will host a workshop on standardizing vulnerability/food needs assessments. This workshop will bring together food aid donors in order to agree on a methodology for establishing how much food aid a certain population requires. More broadly, USAID will provide technical and other assistance to African organizations to develop and assist in the implementation of national food security strategies.
The GHAI is committed to doing business differently. This is the underlying foundation of the GHAI Incentive Fund. Starting in Fiscal Year 1997, the Incentive Fund will support each field Mission's commitment to incorporating the GHAI into their strategies and strategic objectives. Each mission will have the opportunity to assess how the use of GHAI resources could improve the quality of their activity portfolio and make requests for funding that will result in activities that will achieve the Initiative's goals and objectives. Based on standard criteria, a limited number of proposals will be selected for funding. GHAI funds are facilitative in nature, limited and intended to function as seed money for new idea activities or to act as short term bridges to further the GHAI goals while other mechanisms are developing to provide for longer term needs. A field-based steering committee composed of representatives from the field missions and REDSO/ESA will be delegated authority to program USAID resources and empowered to implement the Fund activities.
Host Country and Other Donors: USAID is working with a number of food aid and food security relatedorganizations (U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization, World Food Program, Private Voluntary Organizations) and African technical and regional organizations, as well as other donors. There has been close collaboration with the Canadians in particular in developing the vulnerability workshop.
Beneficiaries: All Africans in the Greater Horn region, especially those most vulnerable to food insecurity.
Principal Contractors, Grantees or Agencies: To be determined.
Major Results Indicators: To be determined.