LAC REGIONAL

	FY 1998 Actuals	FY 1999 Estimate	FY 2000 Request
Development Assistance	$35,715,000	$28,704,000	$42,415,000
Child Survival & Disease Fund	$17,069,000	$15,732,000	$15,562,000
Economic Support Funds	$10,350,000	$10,000,000	$30,500,000

Introduction

Since 1994, the Summit of the Americas has set the agenda for U.S. foreign policy in the LAC region, with major initiatives in such critical areas of national interest as economic prosperity, democracy and human rights, law enforcement and global issues of environment, population and health. The first Summit in Miami (1994), along with the subsequent Bolivia Sustainable Development Summit (1996), have guided USAID's efforts in the LAC region for the past several years. Implementation of the Summit recommendations and the partnerships created have influenced our programs and stimulated new approaches to development in the hemisphere. The Santiago Summit, held in April 1998, has again set the pace for development initiatives in the region.

The Second Summit of the Americas in Santiago culminated a year-long effort of Presidential engagement in hemispheric affairs. At the Summit, the heads of state of the 34 democracies in the region set forth certain regional initiatives that can be accomplished over the next three to five years. These initiatives focused on a "second generation" of reforms aimed at deepening the trend toward democratic governance in the region and removing the barriers to the participation of the poor in the national life of their countries. While the effects of Hurricanes Mitch and Georges on Central America and the Caribbean have taken a serious toll, the reconstruction effort will provide opportunities to accelerate the Summit agenda.

Development Challenge

A "second generation" of political and economic reforms is necessary to consolidate the democratic transition, reduce high poverty levels and change the region's markedly unequal distribution of income. While the broad macroeconomic policies put into place over the last decade are working to restart economic growth in the region as a whole, the Asian financial crisis has already begun to have negative repercussions on trade and capital movements, particularly in Brazil. Increases in unemployment, falling export prices and short-term capital flight will mean a decline in growth rates for this year estimated at two to three percent. The challenge that now faces the region is to transform the 1996-1997 economic recovery into sustained and shared growth.

In addition to completing the macroeconomic agenda and continuing steps to achieve the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) by the year 2005, second generation economic reforms underscore the importance of removing barriers--such as lack of access to credit and other financial services, and secure title to land and other property--that deny the poor, women and indigenous peoples and other minorities access to economic opportunity. The Santiago Summit also supported efforts to ensure that the poor have access to quality health care and that workers are given decent wages and working conditions.

In the political arena, civilian governments are being elected at national, state and local levels in almost every country, and electoral politics in the region are largely respectful of constitutional norms. Nevertheless, the democratic transition still has a long way to go. Democratic governance--reflected in the rule of law, transparency, accountability, representation, and participation--needs to be consolidated throughout the region. These reforms will not happen automatically without unrelenting efforts to shore up countries' legal systems as well as scrutinize and reform all elements of their political systems. Needed reforms include: strengthened rule of law; greater decentralization and extension of democratic practices to local and subnational governments; creation of conditions for a vibrant civil society; and the assurance of freedom of the press.

All of these reforms depend on a increased investment in human capital. There is a consensus in the region that improving the quality of education is vital for economic growth, social advance and bolstering democracy. It is also key to reducing the income inequality that characterizes this hemisphere. Hence, the Santiago Summit highlighted activities that: strengthen the teaching profession, assure adequate investment at the primary and secondary school levels; provide local communities with more control over school decisions; and promote the establishment and monitoring of standards for educational performance--all important factors in improving the quality of education. These action items will reinforce the commitment at the Miami Summit to achieve 100% primary school completion rate by the year 2010.

Other Donors

The LAC Regional program works collaboratively with key regional institutions that are charged with implementation of the Summit of the Americas agenda, including the Organization of American States (OAS), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Support is also provided to the International Institute for Democracy and Human Rights (IIDH) and the Inter-American Democracy Network to strengthen their ability to respond rapidly and effectively to the Summit action items. USAID's relationships with these institutions are longstanding, and effective mechanisms for collaboration have been developed. An excellent example of this collaboration is the Hurricane Mitch Recovery Fund ($5 million USAID and $12 million IDB), which was announced by the First Lady during her trip to Central America. While the two components will be administered separately, they were designed to complement each other and were developed in close consultation, both at headquarters and in the field. Another area of collaboration is property registration, where donor coordination with the IDB and World Bank is essential to improved implementation. USAID will engage both multilateral organizations and other bilateral donors working on property formalization in developing a consensus-building strategy for this program.

The FY 2000 Program

In FY 2000, the LAC Regional program will continue to implement the directives of the Miami and Bolivia Summits, paying particular attention to the Santiago Plan of Action. USAID has been actively engaged in providing leadership and advice to that agenda while fine tuning its own regional activities to be more in sync with Summit goals and objectives. As a result, several new initiatives--in education, microenterprise, property registration, food safety, decentralization, judicial training, anti-corruption, and child labor--are being designed.

Agency Goal: Human Capacity Built through Education and Training

By successfully focusing high priority on education reform, documenting the shortcomings in existing educational systems, and developing a constituency for reform at all levels, from policy makers to community organizations, the LAC Regional program has played a key role in propelling education to the top of the region's policy agenda. It will continue to enable local constituencies-- civil society leaders, business executives, NGOs, religious groups, parents and community organizers--to galvanize support for educational reform and improved school performance. The Summit Education Working Group has assigned the USG responsibility for: educational standards and assessment; education technology; and decentralization and involvement of civil society in education administration. In FY 2000, the LAC Regional program will implement activities in all three areas, e.g., through training of mayors and civil society in ways to improve educational management at the local level, and establishing a clearinghouse on applications of technology to education in the region.

Agency Goal: Broad-Based Economic Growth and Agricultural Development Encouraged

In FY 2000, the LAC Regional program will implement three major Summit initiatives: trade, property registration and microenterprise. In the trade arena, emphasis will be placed on: assisting CARICOM and other countries to meet FTAA reforms, furthering the Caribbean Food Safety Presidential initiative, advancing trade-related environmental issues, and supporting increased involvement of civil society in FTAA decision-making processes. USAID has lead responsibility for the Summit Property Systems Initiative. In cooperation with the Institute for Liberty and Democracy, assessments of informal property and needs for institutional change will be undertaken to advance the adoption of modernized property registration systems. In implementation of the Summit microenterprise agenda item, the LAC Regional program will seek to strengthen microfinance institutions to achieve self-sufficiency and gain access to capital markets, assist governments with their legal and regulatory framework, and expand financial and business development services to the rural and urban poor, especially women.

Agency Goal: The World's Environment Protected for Long-Term Sustainability

Parks in Peril is one of the USG's most important and successful programs in meeting its obligations from the Bolivia Summit. To date, a total of 17 parks covering nearly 15 million hectares can now protect their biological diversity without USAID assistance, including six that graduated from the program last year. In FY 2000, the program will continue its leadership in developing sustainable financing mechanisms for protected areas, strengthening local NGO capacity, and developing management tools for measuring progress and prioritizing conservation interventions. In collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey, the Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network will be launched at an international meeting in Brazil.

Agency Goal: World Population Stabilized and Human Health Protected

In addition to its ongoing activities to reduce infant and maternal mortality and foster equitable access to basic health services, the LAC Regional program will be initiating a new infectious disease activity in FY 1999. By FY 2000 this program will ensure that the region has better information available for making decisions about antibiotic use to combat childhood illnesses. PAHO will continue to strengthen its role in surveillance of measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases. This year, thanks to these efforts, an epidemic of childhood measles was potentially averted in Haiti. In the face of Hurricanes Mitch and Georges, this surveillance may be expanded to include other infectious diseases, such as cholera and dengue. In FY 2000, the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness program--in response to the need to decentralize activities to all levels of the health service delivery system--will strengthen a component to maximize participation of the community. Health sector reform will also provide valuable information to governments, donors and health care practitioners on how well reforms are progressing in expanding the Summit equity objective.

Agency Goal: Democracy and Good Governance Strengthened

In FY 2000, the LAC Regional program will be renewing its democracy programs in three key Summit areas. A new program will build on the groundwork laid by the Regional Financial Management Project, designed to stem corruption by promoting public accountability through transparent accounting and financial systems. It will move into "second generation" issues related to trade and economic development, and expand greatly into local governments, particularly in Central America. The Decentralization and Democratic Local Governance program will coordinate closely with other donors as well as initiate training programs and information exchanges among regional and national associations of municipalities. Significant training and institution-building will be promoted. The International Forum for Cooperation on Local Government will be fully operational to permit better sharing of information on donor programs. A new endeavor in civil society will build on the hemispheric networks already established in the Inter-American Democracy Network to focus on helping foster sustainable NGOs supporting further Summit reforms.

LAC REGIONAL

FY 2000 PROGRAM SUMMARY
($000s)

USAID Strategic and Special Objectives	Economic Growth & Agriculture	Population & Health	Environment	Democracy	Human Capacity Developmnt	Humanitarian Assistance	TOTALS
S.O. 1 Resolving key market issues impeding environmentally-sound, equitable free trade in hemisphere - DA - ESF	5,000 ---	--- ---	--- ---	--- ---	--- ---	--- ---	5,000 ---
S.O. 2 Improved human resource policies adopted - CS	---	---	---	---	2,500	---	2,500
S.O. 3 Delivery of selected health services/policy interventions - CS	---	4,855	---	---	---	---	4,855
S.O. 4 Parks and reserves important to conserve the hemisphere's biological diversity - DA	---	---	9,378	---	---	---	9,378
S.O. 5 Strengthened regional trends that deepen democracy - DA - ESF	--- ---	--- ---	--- ---	6,829 10, 500	--- ---	--- ---	6,829 10,500
S.O. 6 Potential leaders equipped with technical skills, training and academic education - DA - CS	6,000 ---	--- 2,000	--- ---	--- ---	--- 2,000	--- ---	6,000 4,000
SpO.1 Peru-Ecuador Border Region Development - ESF	5,000	4,000	5,000	6,000	---	---	20,000
Summit Follow-Up - DA - CS	5,778 ---	--- ---	--- ---	--- ---	--- 4,207	--- ---	5,778 4,207
Microenterprise - DA	7,550	---	---	---	---	---	7,550
Program Development and Support - DA	1880	---	---	---	---	---	1880
Totals - DA - CSD - ESF - INC	26,208 --- 5,000 ---	--- 6,855 4,000 ---	9,378 --- 5,000 ---	6,829 --- 16,500 ---	--- 8,707 --- ---	--- --- --- ---	42,415 15,562 30,500 ---

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ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

PROGRAM: LAC REGIONAL
TITLE AND NUMBER: Progress Toward Resolving Key Market Issues Impeding Environmentally-Sound and Equitable Free Trade in the Hemisphere, 598-S001
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCES: FY 2000: $5,000,000 DA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1995 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2001

Summary: The Hemispheric Free Trade Expansion (HFTE) program supports trade-induced economic expansion as a catalyst for sustaining economic growth and reducing poverty in the LAC region. USAID collaborates closely with the State Department, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), USG agencies, and other HFTE partners that participate on the Interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee, while closely monitoring the reports of the Hemispheric Working Groups that meet on the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). HFTE initiatives in trade liberalization are complemented by support for interventions which advance trade-related labor/management relations, market participation, and environmental management.

The purpose of this SO is to resolve key market issues impeding environmentally-sound and equitable-free trade. One of the action items from the 1998 Summit of the Americas' initiatives is to establish an agenda for strengthening property rights systems in the hemisphere where it is conservatively estimated that over 50% of rural properties and 20% of urban properties in developing countries are without title. USAID, as the lead agency for the USG, is implementing this action item which proposes a simplified system of private property formalization with enhanced access for all elements of civil society. The direct beneficiaries of the program are the LAC smaller-economy countries while emphasizing the equitable integration of small and medium-sized producers and enterprises into the Hemisphere's evolving socio-economic system.

Key Results: To advance hemispheric economic integration and trade in an equitable and environmentally-sound manner, the project focusses on results in three key areas: trade reforms implemented, civil society participation in trade negotiations increased, and formal private property and financial systems in support of the poor strengthened. The first two result areas aim at institutional change to strengthen the role of the private sector rather than government, while the latter result aims directly at institutional change to increase participation of the poor in two critical markets.

Performance and Prospects: Performance over the past year has been as planned. USAID has: advanced telecommunications reforms in the Eastern Caribbean; advanced customs reforms in Caribbean and Central America; established a labor standards enforcement manual considered a model for Mercosur; reinforced the protocols for competition policy in the Caribbean and Mercosur regions; advanced eco-certification standards for tourism and agriculture in the Caribbean; and completed an assessment of food safety in the Caribbean. In FY 2000, USAID will continue to focus on: (1) trade liberalization--strengthen the capability of LAC countries to implement trade discipline reforms consistent with country obligations for World Trade Organization (WTO) and FTAA membership; (2) trade and market participation--in support of the Santiago Summit of the Americas, support an expanded initiative to accelerate micro, small and medium-sized enterprise access to key productive resources; and (3) trade and the environment--develop and disseminate replicable models integrating policy, technology and investment considerations (e.g., improved standards, regulations, financing mechanisms, market-based incentives and management practices) for clean and sustainable industries. In addition, the Inter-Summit Property Summit Initiative will achieve key results through a series of regional activities which facilitate exchange of ideas about best practice, evaluate critical bottlenecks to progress, and foster greater participation by civil society.

Possible Adjustments to Plans: Support of trade liberalization for the Caribbean region similar to the sub-regional program in support of Central America is being discussed in the context of the new Caribbean Regional Strategy. Trade-related reforms that can be implemented more effectively within the region will be transferred. In addition, sovereign hurricane recovery efforts in Central America may slow activities aimed at Central American regional economic integration. USAID is working with the regional Central American trade liberalization program and is prepared to redirect assistance to help counter tendencies to introduce trade barriers. Finally, USAID is examining how the current SO could be reformulated to strengthen USAID's support for the 1998 Summit of the Americas' commitments on (a) economic integration and free trade, and (b) eradicating poverty and discrimination. This requires a balancing of resources between trade liberalization (e.g., business facilitation) to foster market access for the smaller economy countries while at the same time increasing access of the poor to private property and financial services as a foundation for poverty alleviation.

Other Donor Programs: Trade liberalization activities are coordinated with other major donors through the FTAA Tripartite Committee comprised of the OAS Trade Unit, the regional division of the IDB and Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). USAID works closely with all members of the Tripartite Committee on trade liberalization as well as the World Bank to support environmental initiatives in support of the Summit of the Americas and the Bolivia Summit on Sustainable Development. Also, the World Bank has an official support role on the property registration item in the Summit Plan of Action. The Government of El Salvador has agreed to be an official co-sponsor of property registration. More generally, the multilateral lending institutions, USAID’s bilateral programs and other nations' bilateral development assistance programs have implementation projects relating to property formalization. As HFTE builds a stronger partnership with other donors, USAID will begin to leverage other donor resources

Principal Contractors, Grantees or Agencies: Selected U.S. partners include: the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Justice, Commerce (National Telecommunications Information Agency) and Labor; Food and Drug Administration; Federal Trade Commission; Customs Service; U.S. Geological Survey; and Federal Mediation Conciliation Service. Other partners include the National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy, Inter-American Institute for Agricultural Cooperation, Catholic University of Chile, ACCION International, World Resources Institute, TechnoServe, Inc., OAS, Institute of the Americas, National Association of State Development Agencies, The Environmental Law Institute and the Institute for Liberty and Democracy.

Selected Performance Measures:

	Baseline	Target
Business Facilitation Measures Adopted 1	0	6
1As the FTAA trade negotiations progress during the period 2000-2005, the 34 countries agreed that a series of business facilitation measures to expand trade should be undertaken. Of over 300 proposals, the negotiators are currently reviewing a list of 122 specific measures. Of these, the USG supports 41. The successful adoption of these measures by the smaller economies serves as the selected performance measure. USAID has provided assistance in several of the measures (customs reforms, transparency of regulations, and notification systems) and progress has been achieved. Based on recognized needs for technical assistance and USG priorities, a target of 6 has been set for the year 2000.

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ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

PROGRAM: LAC REGIONAL
TITLE AND NUMBER: Improved Human Resource Policies Adopted in Selected Latin American and Caribbean Countries, 598-SOO2
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 2000: $2,500,000 CS
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1996; ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2001

Summary: Education policy reform is a timely issue on the hemispheric agenda. In fact, it was given the highest priority by the 34 heads of state who participated in the 1998 Summit of the Americas, where education was declared key to progress in the hemisphere. The region's dramatic shift to open economies, democratic politics, and decentralized government has changed the demand for education, requiring that schools produce a flexible workforce, foster technological change, prepare people for democratic citizenship, and expand social opportunities. These demands are not currently being met. While many more children are going to school now than in the 1960s, the quality, efficiency and equity of education for most are far too low. Large segments of society in the LAC region--particularly women, minorities and indigenous groups--have not been equipped to participate fully in the economic, social or political life of their country. Nearly one-half of the hemisphere's population lives in ignorance and poverty, and the low level of primary schooling remains a major constraint to development. Inefficiency plagues schools in the region, which report the world's highest grade repetition rates, alarmingly high drop-out rates, and low or erratic attendance. None of the poorer countries in the region have accomplished getting the average child through a year of school in only one year. Instead, the average LAC student spends more than seven years in primary school, completing just four grades. Moreover, nearly one of every two students repeats the first grade. The cost associated with this wastage has been estimated at more than $3 billion--nearly one-third the total public expenditure on primary education in the region.

The Partnership for Educational Revitalization in the Americas (PERA) is designed to promote a better understanding of education policy issues and develop a broader and more active constituency for educational policy reform within the LAC region. Considerable evidence suggests that policies change only when local policy thinkers and leaders become intellectually convinced of the merit of an argument. Further, PERA directly supports the Summit goal of achieving universal education by the year 2010. The ultimate beneficiaries of the effort are the school-age children in the LAC region, especially those in primary grades. Other beneficiaries include: the host country governments which will provide higher quality cost effective services; the private sector which will draw on a better educated, more productive labor force; and people at large who will gain more equitable and politically stable societies.

Key Results: The essence of USAID's approach in the region is to effect policy change through the development of a network of hemispheric "change agents" who will work to reform educational systems in their own countries. USAID, in cooperation with other donors, supports a consultative forum for government, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the business community, donors and international organizations which has established a framework to identify, showcase and replicate the best educational policies and practices in the hemisphere. This forum encourages country-level reform in a variety of areas, including educational quality, finance, decentralization and equity. The creation of the U.S.-Brazil Partnership facilitated the collaborative development of a U.S. clearinghouse for the field of educational technologies. This clearinghouse provides a key mechanism for dialogue and network building among educators as the two countries share strategies, methodologies and technical responses around the area of educational technologies and its role in education--particularly its relevance to student learning.

There were several accomplishments during the past year: 1) one regional seminar was held in Central America on business participation in educational reform wherein eight countries were represented by ministerial and business representatives; 2) policy reform advocacy groups were established in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Haiti; and 3) expertise and advice helped shape the agenda for the Summit of the Americas.

Performance and Prospects: With a relatively small investment, USAID is effecting large changes in the manner in which national governments invest massive expenditures in education, resulting in dramatic efficiencies and savings. With modest investments in education policy reform in LAC countries, USAID is having a direct effect on both the development of influential constituencies to support policy reform and the delivery of quality primary education. Educational change is traditionally slow and can only be measured over time. The importance given to education at the Santiago Summit presented an opportunity for all countries within the region to focus on improving education in the hemisphere, and the majority of governments have embraced this challenge. The recent effects of Hurricanes Mitch and Georges, particularly within Central America, have impacted the momentum of the Summit. However, from disasters often come new opportunities, and several of the hardest-hit countries are reviewing different education models for their reconstruction phase. USAID will continue to support countries' education systems by providing technical assistance, pilots, demonstrations, and conferences to ensure that best practices and approaches are shared.

Possible Adjustments to Plans: Promoting better education policy, broadening the constituency for education reform, strengthening local organizations working for educational improvement, and identifying and disseminating best practices remain the central objectives of PERA. However, more emphasis will be placed on extending and consolidating the initiatives currently underway by strengthening the coalition of institutions working in education reform. Future support of the Summit Education Initiatives will include closer collaboration with the IDB in the development of regional and bilateral education strategies and approaches, thus maximizing resources and leveraging education policy reform.

Other Donor Programs: USAID's effort to improve the quality and efficiency of education in the region is a partnership among USAID, host countries, other donors, and LAC education organizations. The IDB continues to provide support for this activity and is collaborating closely with USAID on follow-up actions associated with the Summit Education Initiatives. In support of the Summit, the IDB has increased its commitment to $5 billion and the World Bank to $3 billion. However, the banks remain concerned that without grant funds, social sector loans will fall short of their commitment. USAID is collaborating with the banks to identify specific areas where USAID can facilitate the loan process, such as undertaking project design and selected applied research. The IDB plans to create a pilot network of virtual schools throughout the region that will share best practices and approve short-term professional exchanges for teachers in support of regional cooperation. Policy reform and distance education remains a strong theme with the banks. On hemispheric educational policy, USAID works with the Inter-American Dialogue, LAC regional institutions and the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE). The USDOE is the lead agency in the U.S.-Brazil Partnership in Education; USAID is working with USDOE to facilitate the partnership's objectives to foster policy reform in Brazil.

Principal Contractor, Grantee or Agencies: PERA is implemented through a cooperative agreement with a U.S.-based NGO, the Inter-American Dialogue. We also collaborate with the USDOE in the implementation of the U.S.-Brazil Partnership.

Selected Performance Measures

	Baseline (1996)	Target (2000)	Target (2001)
Number of countries progressing towards implementation of key education reform policies * at the national and or local level.	0	5	10
Education reform monitoring system established and operating efficiently in selected LAC countries.	0	5	10
Increased education budgets allocated to primary education in selected LAC countries	0	4	10
* Reform policies include: quality, equity, governance and finance.

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ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

PROGRAM: LAC REGIONAL
TITLE AND NUMBER: More effective delivery of selected health services and policy interventions, 598-S003
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 2000: $4,855,000 CS
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1996 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2002

Summary: Infant, child, and maternal mortality remain high in LAC, relative to the United States, especially among disadvantaged populations. While vaccination coverage is increasing towards the target levels, there are pockets of low coverage and programs are not yet sustainable. The measles elimination goal for the region requires strengthening of service delivery and surveillance systems, especially in hurricane-affected countries. The primary killers of infants and children in the LAC region are diarrheal disease and acute respiratory infections, while maternal mortality is approximately seven times as high as in the United States. Anti-microbial resistance inhibits the effectiveness of treatments. Health status improvements will be sustainable only if health sector reforms improve equity of access to high quality basic care.

This strategic objective responds to the Miami and Santiago Summits of the Americas by contributing to reductions in infant and maternal mortality, by increasing equity of access to basic health care, and by improving the availability and use of information for health policy decisions. It builds on successful efforts of prior activities with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) supporting regional vaccination activities, as well as the LAC Regional Health and Nutrition Technical Services Support Project. The purpose of the activity is more effective delivery of selected health services and policy interventions. Primary beneficiaries are the Ministries of Health in USAID-presence countries in LAC, and other organizations providing health care. The ultimate beneficiaries are the infants, children, and adults who have more access to better health care supported by more appropriate government policies.

Key Results: This activity is designed to influence key health services and policy interventions which can contribute to improving infant, child, and maternal survival in USAID-assisted countries of the LAC region. They include: increasing vaccination coverage to 90% or above; delivery of child health services using Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI); improved planning for birthing services and increased attendance of births by trained personnel; improved integration into health reform of lessons learned from activity results; and sentinel surveillance systems, laboratory identification of resistant pathogens, and policy/normative changes regarding anti-microbial resistance based on such information.

Performance and Prospects: Progress has been as expected except for delays in implementation of the maternal mortality initiative. The infectious disease initiative will start in FY 1999.

Vaccination coverage for infants with all antigens in the eight target countries (except Haiti) increased from at least 70% in 1996 to at least 74% in 1997, and to at least 76% in 1998. Tetanus toxoid coverage among fertile-age women in high-risk districts increased to over 50% (except in Haiti) in 1997, with three countries reaching the goal of over 90% coverage. El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Peru have especially high coverage. The Americas remain polio-free since 1992. During 1998, measles outbreaks threatened in Haiti due to vaccination coverage of only 23% to 28% since 1995; up to 180,000 cases with perhaps 2,000 deaths could have been expected. Regional program advisors identified the problem, and worked with USAID, the government of Haiti, and other donors to negotiate a follow-up campaign (which included the other program vaccines and Vitamin A for infants, and tetanus toxoid for their mothers), conducted in late 1998. During 1998, the IMCI initiative strengthened capacity in seven countries, including materials for improving community health worker and auxiliary skills, drug management, behavior change, and use of monitoring to improve program performance. Primary international NGOs participated in regional planning for IMCI. In late 1998, Guatemala's Ministry of Health decided to adopt IMCI, the last emphasis country to do so. With the assistance of PAHO advisors, country officials developed individual country plans for reducing maternal mortality, adapting the existing structures and mechanisms. In demonstration sites, policy makers, health providers, and community members were brought together to form over 20 Quality Design Teams, each of which identified the most influential factor inhibiting the delivery of good obstetric care and developed action plans to address those factors. Local NGOs are working with these teams on materials to educate community members on recognizing and responding to obstetric emergencies. Agreement was reached on standards for National Health Accounts and six countries were assisted to initiate analysis of health spending from all sources. A thesaurus for abstracting the health reform literature from the region--facilitating easy Internet availability for health authorities--was also developed. Over 12,000 people having consulted the website thus far.

Possible Adjustments to Plans: Results of the mid-term evaluations planned of the maternal mortality, IMCI, and reform initiatives during FY 1999 will guide adjustments in programming.

Other Donor Programs: For the regional vaccination program, PAHO has budgeted $10 million and has pledges of $1 million from Spain and $2.2 million from the IDB. USAID missions implement programs which assist countries to improve effective delivery of vaccinations, emergency obstetrical care, and services to manage diarrhea and acute respiratory infections in children, and to identify and implement country health sector reforms; and work with other donors (principally PAHO, UNICEF, World Bank and IDB), through the Inter-Agency Coordinating Committees, to coordinate such efforts for each country.

Principal Contractors, Grantees or Agencies: Grantees and contractors implementing this activity include: PAHO, University Research Corporation, The Partnership for Child Health, Abt Associates, Harvard University School of Public Health, and Management Sciences for Health.

Selected Performance Measures:

	Baseline (1996)	Target (2000)	Target (2001)
Vaccination
Target countries with at least 90% vaccination coverage among children under one against tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus/ 95% against measles/ 90% tetanus toxoid (among women of childbearing age in high-risk areas)	3/1/0	8/8/8	8/8/8
Integrated Management of Childhood Illness
Target countries with 10% of health facilities delivering IMCI services	0	7	7
Maternal Mortality
Target countries with percentage of births attended by trained personnel increased by at least one percent over prior year	TBD	9	11
Target countries with 5% increase over prior year in percentage of reporting units with active maternal mortality committees	TBD	9	11
Health Sector Reform
Target countries with reform processes that substantially integrate lessons learned from this initiative (methodologies and tools, information, monitoring, and exchanges)	0 (1997)	6	7
Antimicrobial Resistance: Indicators, Baseline and Targets to be determined

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ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

PROGRAM: LAC Regional
TITLE AND NUMBER: Protection of Selected LAC Parks and Reserves Important to Conserve the Hemisphere's Biological Diversity (598-S004)
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCES: FY 2000: $9,378,000 DA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1995 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2001

Summary: The LAC region contains nearly half of the world's biodiversity. Unfortunately, such pressures as population growth and increased demands for agricultural and grazing land are rapidly degrading key ecosystems, especially tropical rain forests. While a cost-effective means to protect some of the Hemisphere's biodiversity is to improve the management of key LAC parks and reserves, the vast majority of LAC protected areas lack the resources and local technical capacity to manage them successfully. The Parks in Peril (PiP) program--a partnership among USAID, The Nature Conservancy, local NGOs and local government agencies--ensures the protection of up to 36 critically-threatened LAC national parks and reserves of global significance. Key beneficiaries include: (1) local rural people who depend on the sustainable use of natural resources in and around LAC protected areas and who gain economically from park employment, PiP community development and ecotourism activities; (2) urban dwellers from major cities (e.g., Chingaza Park for Bogota, Colombia; Podocarpus Park for Loja, Ecuador; Tariquia Reserve for Tarija, Bolivia) where parks protect watersheds; and (3) U.S. citizens who gain from the protection of genetic sources for future medicines and crop varieties, as well as from the storing of carbon in tropical forests and mangroves. The PiP program directly supports the Summit of the Americas' initiative to establish a "partnership for biodiversity" in key ecosystems in selected LAC countries. USAID will also support with $4.378 million alternatives to slash and burn agriculture, public education about fires, and preparedness for detecting and fighting fires, primarily in Mexico and selected countries of Central America. USAID will additionally support the advancement of market-driven approaches and private sector engagement in addressing the environmental challenges facing the region.

Key Results: Four key intermediate results are necessary to achieve this objective. Note that quantitative values for each result vary by park site. Data for El Triunfo Biosphere, Mexico, a 295,000 acre reserve in Chiapas, provides an illustrative example. The intermediate results are: (1) on-site protection: each site requires an adequate number of trained park guards, protection infrastructure, and demarcated and patrolled boundaries (El Triunfo has eleven trained rangers and four ranger stations); (2) strong local NGOs: each site requires an administratively and technically competent NGO to assist government in park management (Instituto de Historia Natural, Chiapas, actively manages the site with the Government of Mexico); (3) local community involvement: each site requires that neighboring communities participate in park management and gain tangible economic benefits from park management (At El Triunfo, 14 community members are employed by the Reserve, and an additional 350 participate in community development projects in buffer zones such as community organic coffee and the use of organic fertilizers); and (4) non-USAID financing: each site requires significant local resources supporting conservation, and adequate financial planning to encourage other donor long-term support (in 1998, El Triunfo was supported by over $340,000 of non-USAID funds, including over $200,000 from Mexican federal, state, and municipal governments).

Performance and Prospects: An external evaluation completed in 1998 determined that the PiP program was working well, and has successfully turned "paper parks" (i.e. those legally declared but lacking on-the-ground conservation) into functioning, well-managed protected areas in a dozen countries throughout the Latin America and the Caribbean region. Achievements include:

1. Significantly improved protection of 33 parks covering over 24 million acres in 15 countries. Of these, 17 PiP sites covering nearly 15 million acres have graduated from the program and are now independent, functioning protected areas.
2. Over $45 million of non-USAID funds to date have been leveraged for park management.
3. Nineteen local conservation NGOs are now effective technical and administrative organizations. These NGOs have become hemispheric leaders in promoting policy reforms in such areas as mining, land tenure and zoning, local community involvement, and local government support for biodiversity conservation.

Unfortunately, El Niño floods, fires, and hurricanes significantly affected seven PiP sites, including two (Machallila, Ecuador and La Encrucijada, Mexico) which were scheduled to graduate. Graduation of these sites will be delayed a year or two. Progress at two sites in the Dominican Republic was set back significantly due to the severity of Hurricane Georges' impacts. Two sites impacted by fires, El Ocote (Mexico) and Sierra de las Minas (Guatemala) were much less severely damaged than neighboring areas lacking regular park patrols and community development activities.

Possible Adjustments to Plans: Based on recommendations from the external evaluation, additional resources will be directed to improving community development activities and long-term financial planning. The damage assessments of parks impacted by Hurricanes Georges and Mitch have not yet been completed. These assessments will influence the direction of future work at affected sites.

Other Donor Programs: PiP has greatly increased the level and diversity of funding sources for LAC biodiversity conservation. Governments are now financially supporting PiP sites. Mexico and Colombia are good examples of this. In FY 1998, Mexican federal, state (Chiapas), and municipal governments provided around $730,000 for PiP sites, while the Colombian Federal Government contributed over $400,000. In addition, USAID resources have leveraged funds from The Nature Conservancy, energy companies, the Global Environment Facility, the Governments of Holland, Japan, Switzerland, Germany, and France, and numerous U.S. philanthropic organizations (e.g., Packard, Ford, MacArthur). The Government of Holland also recently committed a total of $6.5 million to four PiP sites.

Principal Contractors: The Nature Conservancy, local NGOs (e.g., The Friends of Nature Foundation, Bolivia; National Association for the Conservation of Nature, Panama; Defenders of Nature, Guatemala; ProNaturaleza, Peru; Pronatura, Mexico).

Major Results Indicators:

	Baseline 1 (1994)	Targets (FY 2000)	Targets (FY 2001)
Independently functioning parks and reserves	4	26	32-34
Area (in millions of acres)	4.1	18.6	at least 25
Effective local NGOs	17	22	24-27
Host country funds leveraged (cumulative)	$4.3 million	$14.5 mil.	$16 mil.
1 After four years of initial USAID/Parks in Peril funding.

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ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

PROGRAM: LAC REGIONAL
TITLE AND NUMBER: Reinforcement of Regional Trends that Deepen Democracy, 598-SO05
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCES: FY 2000: $6,829,000 DA; $10,500,000 ESF
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1995 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2000

Summary: The purpose of this strategic objective (SO) is to reinforce regional trends that deepen democracy by working with LAC missions and by funding institutions, networks and exchanges that support emerging trends in democracy. Over the past twenty years, Latin American governments have increasingly consolidated their democratic practices. Commitments made at the Santiago Summit of the Americas in April 1998 underscores the resolution of governments in LAC to support democracy, and the Summit Plan of Action guides USAID's programmatic initiatives in the region. Yet the challenges to a democratic hemisphere remain profound. Governments are often unable to provide equal access to justice for many, particularly the poor and disadvantaged. Local governments frequently lack the resources and capacity to carry out decentralization initiatives. Though increasingly stronger, the level of citizen participation in civil society organizations is still often inadequate to give voice to citizen needs and concerns. Across the region, skyrocketing crime rates and the lack of per-sonal security are leading citizens to lose faith in elected governments. Democratic governments must strengthen their capacity to respond to these problems, and USAID’s democracy strategy supports ongoing reforms to consolidate nascent and existing democratic institutions in the hemisphere. Through this SO, USAID also supports the AFL-CIO's American Center for International Labor Solidarity which promotes worker participation, improves worker protection and empowerment, and fosters democratic practices in the workplace.

Key Results: In the area of democracy and human rights (DHR), three key intermediate results were concluded necessary to achieve the SO: 1) Strengthened regional mechanisms to promote human rights and the rule of law; 2) Strengthened regional approach in addressing public sector legitimacy; and 3) Strengthened regional mechanisms to promote pluralism.

Performance and Prospects: In the last year, USAID has helped ensure that the commitments made at the Santiago Summit become meaningful. Across DHR's three key results, progress is steady, and new agreements in each area in FY 2000 will build on program successes to date.

Strengthened regional mechanisms to promote human rights and rule of law: A core element in USAID’s support of regional mechanisms to promote human rights is through the Inter-American Institute for Human Rights (IIHR), including its highly-regarded Interdisciplinary Course on Human Rights. IIHR has successfully incorporated women’s rights concerns into the course and other activities, and continues to work to ensure balanced gender representation among participants in all its programs. The Institute has also continued to initiate successful follow-up activities with graduates of the human rights course to create human rights reforms in their home countries. To help develop the independence and professionalism of the judiciary throughout the region, USAID is providing start-up support for an innovative hemisphere-wide effort to create a regional Judicial Studies Center. This virtual center will help promote judicial reform by serving as a clearinghouse for the dissemination of information and resources in LAC. In the next year, DHR will also begin a new initiative to promote and disseminate best practices to help curb community violence. As crime and violence continue to threaten the safety of citizens and the stability of democracy, this effort will foster hemisphere-wide sharing of innovative crime-reduction strategies.

Strengthened regional approach in addressing public sector legitimacy -- In the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch, DHR is helping to ensure that accountability and transparency mechanisms are integrated into reconstruction efforts in Central America. Key aspects of this technical support include installing integrated financial management systems at national and sub-national levels and expanding decentralization to municipal governments. The achievements of USAID’s Regional Financial Management Improvement Project II can be seen the increased use of integrated financial systems by sub-national governments and in the implementation of compatible systems between central and local governments. Such efforts help to improve the integrity of government offices linked to trade, economic growth, disaster relief and other key policy areas. Building on these successes in good governance, DHR’s new decentralization and local governance program will strengthen regional organizations that work with national associations of municipalities. The program will improve information networks to share successful practices for promoting citizen participation and transparency; increase localities' capacity to dialogue with national governments; and develop strategies to address training needs. In FY 2000, USAID support will also continue for the Center for Election Promotion and Assistance (CAPEL) to foster ongoing strengthening of electoral institutions in LAC.

Strengthening regional mechanisms to promote pluralism: In 1998, USAID supported the creation of a "Special Rapporteur for Press Freedom" at the Organization of American States (OAS) to help protect journalists' human and civil rights and strengthen press freedom. With USAID support, during the past year the Inter-American Democracy Network achieved a significant milestone in its work to strengthen over 88 organizations throughout the region, as the network's associate members moved from learning methodologies for civic participation to actively implementing activities on their own. Support for both of these activities will continue in FY 2000. In the last year, USAID initiated activities with the Esquel Group Foundation, to support the Civil Society Task Force, and with the Chilean NGO Corporacion Participa. Both activities have already contributed to increased participation of U.S. and Latin American civil society organizations in furthering Summit of the Americas goals. USAID will continue to work with the OAS and Latin American NGOs to ensure that civil society organizations are involved in key Summit areas including the environment, education, and economic development.

Economic Support Funds: The regional democracy program also provides ESF to those nations where it is critical to consolidate democracy, support human rights, and promote economic reform and equitable growth. ESF funds, through the Department of Justice, are also used to provide support for institutional strengthening of judicial and police systems in the LAC region.

Possible Adjustments to Plans: In FY 1999, DHR approved a new performance monitoring plan to assess the progress of its SO to deepen democracy in the region. DHR has worked on developing these measures since 1998 with the purpose of creating more results-oriented measures of quality, capacity and relevance of the programs supported. Presently, DHR is gathering baseline data for these indicators.

Other Donor Programs: USAID coordinates efforts with the OAS, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the European Union and other multilateral donors through a variety of donor consultative groups to increase commitment to democratic principles by LAC countries, foster joint programming, and obligate greater resources to the region. Such coordination has been particularly productive in the areas of democratic decentralization and anti-corruption through the International Forum on Cooperation for Local Government and the Donor Consultative Group on financial management systems and anti-corruption. These issues have subsequently become mainstream considerations in donor community democracy programs.

Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: Regional organizations include: IIHR and its election programming arm CAPEL, the Partners of the Americas, the International City/County Management Association, the South America chapter of the International Union of Local Authorities, and the Federation of Municipalities of Central America. U.S. contractor: Casals & Co. LAC NGOs participating in regional activities include PARTICIPA (Chile), Conciencia (Argentina), Poder Ciudadano (Argentina), Institute for Investigation and Political Self-Formation (INIAP), and the University of the Andes (Colombia).

Major Results Indicators*:

	Baseline	Target
Quality of training and support to local governments	TBD	TBD
Implementation of anti-corruption measures by governments	TBD	TBD
Regional capability to support human rights institutions	TBD	TBD
* See explanation of "Possible Adjustments" above.

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ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

PROGRAM: LAC REGIONAL
TITLE AND NUMBER: A Broad-base of Leaders and Potential Leaders in LAC Countries Equipped with Technical Skills, Training and Academic Education, 598-S006
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCES: FY 2000: $6,000,000 DA; $4,000,000 CS
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1998 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2003

Summary: USAID's participant training strategy is based on the hypothesis that to have long-term impact there are two factors which are critical to lasting improvement in the economic and social conditions of the region: (1) a stable social, political and economic environment that is conducive to economic development; and (2) an educated and skilled population with capable leaders to manage and implement programs and policies. The importance of human resources to any country cannot be overstated--everything from the broad direction of public policy to the management of individual firms and productivity of individual laborers rest on the skills, knowledge and values of people.

The purpose of this activity is to equip a broad-based cadre of leaders and potential leaders in LAC countries with technical skills, training, and academic education, and an appreciation for and understanding of the workings of a free enterprise economy in a democratic society. Direct beneficiaries of this program are women, disadvantaged populations and other previously excluded groups in developing countries. These groups and individuals constitute the human resource base of the nation. The SO also endeavors to identify and recruit scholarship candidates who have demonstrated leadership potential, but who are clearly unable to obtain their educational objective in the United States without scholarship assistance. Indirect beneficiaries are the various ministries and organizations that have sponsored participants for U.S. training. The SO is a USAID training program consisting of individual USAID Mission projects, and the regional activity, which includes the CASS program.

Key Results: The Cooperative Association of States for Scholarships (CASS) project, implemented by Georgetown University since 1989, focuses training to support USAID objectives and meet human resource development needs of LAC countries for technical expertise (e.g., in business-related areas such as agribusiness, small business management, industrial maintenance administration; environmental subjects including forestry and fisheries management; and in health care including facilities administration and food science technology). In addition, the CASS training program aims to instill attitudes and beliefs of responsibility and initiative in participating scholars. These values often lead to a greater sense of commitment to family, community and country. Further, CASS has successfully met the objectives of incorporating women, rural, indigenous, and disabled people into training programs, with 95% of participants successfully completing their training programs since the inception of the program.

Performance and Prospects: The U.S.-based CASS training program is a particularly effective vehicle for strengthening societal commitment to the understanding of free enterprise and democratic pluralism. The combination of exposure to democratic values and institutions and their practical application in economic development, technical skills transfer, and establishment of human and institutional linkages are a potent catalyst for social and economic change. This fact is born out by past program accomplishments and its continued high performance.

• Approximately, 92% of the returnees are employed; many of those not employed are continuing their education.
• Of those trained, 96% reported having used their skills or put into practice what they have learned in the U.S. training program.
• 70% of the trainees reported an increase in salary, and/or job responsibilities since returning to their home country. 82% of the trainees attribute this increase in salary, at least in part, to their U.S. training.

Because the primary goal of CASS training is to improve the region's human capacity by educating disadvantaged people, fields of study will be carefully selected to address specific regional needs. CASS environmental programs will provide training promoting sustainable resource administration and waste management. To support the objective of protecting health and stabilizing population growth, CASS will train in areas emphasizing prevention, detection and treatment of malaria, dengue and tuber-culosis. Training educators will contribute to increasing the quality of human resources and educational policy and will promote regional dialogue on education issues. Advancing democracy will be achieved through the on-going activities of the civic participation component integral to all CASS programs. To ensure that programs continue to support USAID's regional strategic objectives, CASS will establish clear lines of communication to coordinate priorities with USAID, and will involve the missions in the annual field of study survey which outlines the priority training needs for participating countries.

Possible Adjustments to Plans: Despite some recent progress in Central America and the Caribbean, much of the region's population still lives in poverty, and the future stability of these countries is threatened by the re-emergence of serious infectious diseases and substandard primary education systems. Investing in the human resources of the region through technical training will help to alleviate these situations. Two initiatives in health and education will include training in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of communicable diseases, as well as skills upgrading to rural primary school teachers and administrators.

Other Donor Programs: The participant training program strategy was designed to expand the "partnership" between the cooperating agents and the U.S. training institutions. The objective is to foster cost sharing between institutions and USAID. For example, the CASS agreement requires 25% cost sharing. College cost sharing has taken many forms such as the provision of tuition and allowances, as well as indirect costs. In-country contributions include office and conference space, participant room/board during orientation and re-entry, and coverage of various administrative costs.

Principal Contractor, Grantee or Agencies: Georgetown University Center for Intercultural Education and Development.

Selected Performance Measures:

	Baseline (1992)	Target (2000)	Target (2003)
Number of leaders and potential leaders success- fully completed training	18,106	19,006	25,000 *
Returned scholars employed in area of expertise and applying skills	70%	92%	92%
Percent of returned scholars involved in community and/or professional activities.	80%	90%	90%
Returnees finding new jobs or increased earnings or responsibility	92%	95%	95%
Percentage of returnees who maintain ties** with the U.S.	11%	13%	13%
* Target was established prior to the 1998 Cooperative Agreement which proposed a reduced number of trainees. The FY 2003 target will need to be revised to reflect the new target of 19,457. ** such as an ongoing relationship with a U.S. institution of higher education, various professional affiliations, personal connections with Americans, etc.

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ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

PROGRAM: LAC Regional
TITLE AND NUMBER: Peru-Ecuador Border Region Development, 598-SpO1
STATUS: New
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 2000: $20,000,000 ESF
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 2000 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2005

Summary: In October 1998, the presidents of Ecuador and Peru signed a Peace Agreement which put an end to an often bloody, century-and-a-half old border conflict over the demarcation of their shared border. The United States, as one of four Guarantor nations, has invested considerable time, effort and resources in helping the parties to achieve this peace. The final settlement was built on a series of agreements, including a treaty on commerce and navigation and a binational peace fund for border integration, designed to compensate difficult political concessions with investments to stimulate growth and improve living conditions in an area impoverished by years of conflict.

The Peru-Ecuador border region is severely underdeveloped and contains some of the poorest populations in both countries. Lack of access to clean water, sanitation and proper solid waste management are serious problems in urban areas. Basic infrastructure is practically non-existent in rural regions. Infant and maternal mortality and child malnutrition rates are high. Local governments are weak and unable to meet the needs of the average citizen. Improvements to these socio-economic conditions are key to achieving stability. The presidents of both countries were initially criticized for their controversial stand on achieving peace and, while public opinion is slowly changing, citizens are expecting to see concrete benefits from the peace settlement.

This activity is aimed at improving socio-economic conditions of communities along the border between Peru and Ecuador and facilitating border integration. It will support a range of activities aimed at creating economic opportunities for disadvantaged inhabitants; building or rehabilitating productive infrastructure; strengthening local governments; promoting sustainable natural resource management; and improving and establishing basic social services and health care to improve border residents’ living conditions.

Key Results: The following key results are required to achieve this objective: 1) increased income generating opportunities; 2) increased availability and access to basic services; 3) more responsiveness by local governments to citizen’s needs; 4) improved health of vulnerable populations; 5) expanded quality education in rural areas; 6) improved environmental management in border regions; and 7) improved cross-border economic and social exchanges.

Performance and Prospects: As part of the peace negotiations, the Governments of Peru and Ecuador created a Binational Commission for Border Integration. This Commission met several times and developed, among other things, the Border Integration Agreement which calls for a regional development program of investment, totaling $3 billion. Since the peace settlement, the two governments have been working together to gain international donors’ financial commitment to this program. During a Summit between the presidents of Peru and Ecuador, scheduled for February 1999, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will host a meeting to introduce the proposed development program to the international community. At this meeting, plans will be discussed for convening a formal donors’ meeting for the border program later in the year.

USAID will support a number of activities aimed at improving both the social and economic conditions on both sides of the border with an eye to ensuring a lasting peace. Many of these activities will be replications of successful USAID-supported programs that are currently being implemented in other parts of Peru and Ecuador.

In support of improved economic conditions, USAID will create opportunities for income generation by providing technical assistance, training and access to credit to microenterprenuers and small farmers. Special emphasis will be given to poorer populations and women through the establishment of village banking-type systems. In Peru, USAID will expand its current poverty reduction activity to two urban areas in the border region, Jaen and Iquitos, and here it will establish economic service centers to promote productive investments and identify policy constraints to economic growth. Education quality will be expanded in rural areas, focusing on bilingual education for girls and women

Health interventions will focus on reducing maternal and perinatal mortality, infectious diseases and infant and child malnutrition, with particular attention on the population in rural and native communities. Activities will include development of community-based surveillance and referral systems, training of community health promoters, and education in basic maternal and child-health. In peri-urban areas, activities will also be directed towards improved environmental management of solid waste, sewage and clean water to reduce the risks of infectious diseases and infant diarrhea.

USAID will also support efforts to strengthen local governments, as border communities will only be able to take advantage of resources and opportunities generated by the peace accords to the extent they are able to plan, target and manage resources in a responsible and accountable manner. Funds will be used to train municipal leaders, civil society organizations and the population in general to assume new levels of involvement and responsibility. This training will then be applied in the development of small community-based projects (solid waste management, potable water, etc.) or area development plans (i.e. in tropical forest areas, community ecological reserves). Democratic values in areas on both sides of the border will be fostered through civic education in schools and human rights training with a focus on universal, women and childrens’ rights.

In the area of natural resources management, USAID will provide assistance related to the two governments’ plans to establish a peace park along the border. Possible interventions include the undertaking of studies, mapping, and grassroots organization and education to involve the local population in the role they will play in the development of this park/protected area.

The border area contains a large number of indigenous groups. All border activities will be tailored to the specific needs and cultural values of each area, based on participatory assessments that address gender need and diversity.

Possible Adjustments to Plans: None.

Other Donor Programs: The Binational Plan for Peru-Ecuador Border Area Development calls for approximately $3 billion over a ten-year period. The Governments of Peru and Ecuador plan to contribute a total of $1 billion and to solicit $2 billion from the international community. To date, the IDB and the CAF have offered soft loans for $500 million each to finance large-scale infrastructure projects. The World Bank and other donors are evaluating their involvement in this effort. USAID's support will complement and leverage other donor and private sector investments.

Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: The Border activity will be implemented through a number of public and private-sector partners including local governments, community organizations, NGOs and central government sectoral organizations.

Selected Performance Measures:

	Baseline* (2000)	Target* (2005)
% of communities participating in local development plans with local governments
% of children immunized
No. of preventive health systems in place
No. of new jobs generated *
* Since this is a new activity, baselines and targets have not yet been established.

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ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

PROGRAM: LAC Regional
TITLE AND NUMBER: Summit of the Americas Follow-Up
STATUS: New
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 2000: $5,778,000 DA; $4,207,000 CS
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1999 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2002

Summary: The purpose of the activity is to support the Summit of the Americas' objectives of: (1) reducing poverty by one-half and (2) achieving 100% primary school completion rate by the year 2010. Absent measures to improve income distribution and increase growth, it will take thirty years to achieve the Summit objective of reducing regional poverty by half. The Santiago Summit recognized the importance of reducing poverty and promoting equity, and identified the quality of basic education and the lack of access to the financial system as key obstacles to the achievement of these objectives. The beneficiaries will be the poor throughout the region--especially women, minorities, and indigenous populations--who suffer from low-quality schooling and lack of access to adequate financial services.

Key Results: There is a consensus in the region that improving the quality of education is vital for economic growth, social advance and bolstering democracy, and critical to addressing the income disparity that characterizes the Hemisphere. Curricula are poorly designed and of little relevance to most students, criteria for advancement are poorly articulated, textbooks and other instructional materials are in short supply, and there is little or no local control and accountability of schools to parents and communities. As a result, repetition and dropout rates are extremely high. Accordingly, the Santiago Summit highlighted activities that: strengthen the teaching profession, assure adequate investment at the primary and secondary school levels, provide local communities with more control over school decisions, and promote the establishment and monitoring of standards for educational performance. The USG has particular responsibility for: standards and assessment; decentralization and governance; and educational technology. LAC will use $4.2 million of the Initiative to expand its ongoing efforts to improve curricula and teacher training using new technology, develop new approaches to standards and assessment, and increase decentralization and accountability to local communities. An additional $1.5 million will be used to combat abusive child labor and ensure that at-risk children receive educational opportunities.

The persistent poverty and inequality in the LAC region was noted at both the Miami and Santiago Summits. USAID has the lead responsibility for the USG in implementing the microenterprise initiative, aimed at removing the barriers that deny the poor access to economic opportunity. Credit and other financial services are necessary to reduce poverty and end discriminatory practices based on gender, ethnicity and race. Microfinance NGOs have made enormous progress in demonstrating the capacity and willingness of the poor to repay on a full cost-recovery basis and to utilize the proceeds of the loans productively. LAC will use $5.7 million of the Initiative to strengthen microfinance institutions to achieve self-sufficiency and gain access to capital markets, assist governments with their legal and regulatory framework, and expand financial and business development services to the rural and urban poor, especially women.

Performance and Prospects: Both through its bilateral and regional portfolios, USAID has extensively and successfully promoted microenterprise lending and reform and addressed the quality of basic education. Throughout the hemisphere, USAID’s microenterprise partners have reached 870,000 poor people and plan to increase that number to 1 million by the end of the century. In Honduras alone, USAID-assisted institutions had a portfolio of $10.3 million and served over 60,000 active clients, accounting for over 31% of all micro and small businesses in the country. USAID has also assisted microlending institutions to become formal financial entities, such as the Centro de Fornento a Iniciativas Economicas [need to use translated name] in Bolivia, which became a licensed Private Financial Fund, thus gaining greater access to commercial capital to fund their loan portfolio. USAID also provides microlending loan portfolio guarantees through, for example, the Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, which has lent $3.0 million to microentrepreneurs throughout the Windward Islands. In the area of non-financial services, USAID has supported the Center for Micro and Small Enterprise in the Dominican Republic, resulting in business training to more than 2,500 micro and small entrepreneurs.

Education programs in the region are directing resources to improve problems of equity, efficiency and quality, primarily in the area of basic education. In Honduras, primary school (sixth grade) completion rates increased to 72.5% in 1997 compared to only 50% in the previous decade, and literacy rates have increased from 68% in 1988 to 77% in 1997. In Jamaica students' mastery of mathematics in Grade three has increased by four percent. Innovative radio math courses have been broadcast to 1.2 million students throughout the country in El Salvador. And in Guatemala, USAID assumed the leadership among donors in indigenous and girls' education as well as establishing a national dialogue around the promising results of bilingual education. The LAC Regional program has built policy consensus and a constituency around educational reform in the region.

Other Donor Programs: USAID works in close cooperation with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in the promotion of the Summit agendas in education and microenterprise development. A Memorandum of Understanding was recently signed with the Bank to work collaboratively on implementing the Summit initiative in Microenterprise, and a complementary program has been developed to respond to the liquidity needs of microfinance institutions affected by Hurricane Mitch. Similarly, in the education area, frequent meetings have been held with IDB staff at headquarters on Summit recommendations, and a joint USAID/IDB meeting is planned to increase consultation in the field.

Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: TBD

Selected Performance Measures: TBD

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ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

PROGRAM: LAC Regional
TITLE AND NUMBER: Improved Access of the Poor to Financial and Non-financial Services for Microenterprise
STATUS: Ongoing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 2000: $7,550,000 DA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1994 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: Ongoing

Summary: To promote the expansion and effectiveness of microenterprise services into rural areas to facilitate entrepreneurial activities of the poor, especially women and youth. The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) Bureau has steadily increased its use of central programs in support of our Agency's recently renewed Microenterprise Initiative. This includes: (1) the Implementation Grant Program (IGP) for U.S. PVOs; (2) the Program for Innovation in Microenterprise Fund (PRIME), a mission co-financing facility; and (3) numerous technical assistance Indefinite Quantity Contracts (IQCs). Based on past utilization of these central programs, USAID can project its FY 2000 program will support activities in several of the 16 countries in which the bureau has a presence. These funds will leverage an equal amount in counterpart funding provided by our regional development partners (e.g., the Inter-American Development Bank, commercial banks and non-governmental organizations). The MicroServe, Assessing the Impact of Microenterprise Services and the Microenterprises Best Practices IQCs provide the bulk of the technical assistance that the bureau and the LAC missions use in support of this sector.

Key Results: In the area of microenterprise development, three key intermediate results are necessary to achieve the SO: 1) Expanded Delivery of Financial Services to Microentrepreneurs; 2) Increased Capability of Financial and Non-Financial Institutions to Service Microenterprises; and 3) Expanded Dissemination of Best Practices in USAID-Supported Programs and in the Microenterprise Development Field.

Performance and Prospects:

Expanded Delivery of Financial Services to Microentrepreneurs. The IGP and PRIME Fund grants have resulted in increasing client services as new microfinance institutions are helped to enter the field and more established microfinance institutions scale up their programs. In FY 1997, all planned indicators for this key result were significantly exceeded by the IGP and PRIME programs. USAID staff also engaged in a number of field support activities that will lead to increased delivery of financial services, and, possible to new PRIME grant requests, incuding one from El Salvador. Staff assisted the mission in designing the "Increased Coverage of Sustainable Financial Institutions in Rural Areas" results package, which led to the development of a new $15.0 million microfinance program to strengthen local institutions.

Increased Capability of Financial and Non-Financial Institutions to Service Microenterprises. The IGP and PRIME Fund grants have also helped microfinance institutions to address critical sustainability issues. In FY 1997, all planned indicators were exceeded for this key result. In the Latin American and Caribbean region, contract personnel conducted assessments of local institutions in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and Jamaica. These assessments led to a variety of institutional strengthening recommendations, and in two cases, the assessments helped the local institution prepare a feasibility study for a new banking license.

Expanded Dissemination of Best Practices in USAID-Supported Programs and in the Microenterprise Development Field. USAID's MicroServe and Microenterprise Best Practices programs developed institutional capacity by disseminating lessons learned and providing direct technical assistance and services to microfinance institutions and mission staff. Like all other key results, the planned indicators for this result were significantly exceeded. In one example, the number of best practices conferences and training events exceeded the target by over three times, due to increased level of activity among the Microenterprise Best Practices and the Assessing the Impact of Microenterprise Services and MicroServe contracts. The Economics Institute in Boulder, CO has demonstrated impact in strengthening mission and NGO capacity through anecdotal evidence. COMPARTAMOS is a Mexican village banking program which, in five years, has become the largest village banking program in the world with 37,000 rural clients. Its managers ascribed their vision and strategic planning capacity to their participation in two of the Economics Institute's courses. USAID staff conducted a field assessment of Katalysis in Honduras to monitor program progress and determine compliance with best practices.

Possible Adjustments to Plans: There are no anticipated adjustments to plans at this time.

Other Donor Programs: The Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank, and members of the Microenterprise Coalition.

Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: LAC implements the activity's components through private non-profit organizations, contractors, U.S. universities and host-country NGOs.

Selected Performance Measures: The central programs of the Global Bureau are available on a competitive worldwide basis. As such, the mix of countries and number of participants from the LAC region vary from year-to-year. Hence, performance measures are tracked in an aggregated form rather than disaggregated by geographic region. The following are illustrative indicators:

**All information is for USAID's programs worldwide.**

	Baseline (1996)	Target
Expanded Delivery of Financial Services to Microentrepreneurs
Number of active borrowers	233,711 (1995)	700,000 (2000)
Percent of women borrowers	83%	75% (2000)
Number of savers	576,217	775,000 (1999)
Increased Capability of Financial and Non-Financial Institutions to Service Microenterprises
Number of operationally sustainable institutions	10	19 (1999)
Portfolio at risk (Delinquent outstanding balance over 30 or 90 days)	10%	10% (2000)
Number of institutions meeting client outreach targets	15	25 (1999)
Expanded Dissemination of Best Practices in USAID-Supported Programs and in the Microenterprise Development Field
Number of institutional assessments conducted	19	12 (1999)
Number of best practices conferences and training events	4	10 (1999)
Number of missions served through G/EGAD/MD programs	26	30 (1999)

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