Summary of FY 2001 Budget Request Statement of the Administrator Summary of FY 2000 Emergency Supplement Request Program Performance & Prospects Management Improvements & Challenges Operating Expenses, USAID Operating Expenses, Inspector General Foreign Service Disability and Retirement Fund Summary Tables Regions    Africa,    Asia & the Near East,    Europe & Eurasia,    Latin America & the Caribbean Central Programs BHR, Global, PPC Glossary Abbreviations & Acronyms Friday, 03-Aug-2001 23:37:46 EDT

STATEMENT OF THE ADMINISTRATOR

It is a privilege to submit the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) budget request for fiscal year 2001. When I assumed my position as Administrator June 1999, I became immediately engaged in chairing USAID's internal budget reviews that were conducted jointly with the Department of State and examiners from the Office of Management and Budget. The Secretary of State and I conducted a final review of this request. This budget request was developed in close collaboration with the Department of State and represents the minimum resources required to reinforce our foreign policy goals and challenges. I urge you to give favorable consideration to the Administration's request.

I would like to reiterate a statement the President made last year with regard to the importance of the U.S. role overseas.

"The central lesson we have learned this century is that we cannot protect American interests at home without active engagement abroad. Common sense tells us, and hard experience has confirmed that we must lead in the world, working with other nations to defuse crises, repel dangers, promote more open economic and political systems, and strengthen the rule of law."

I support this statement fully as a guiding vision for the Agency. USAID continues to play an active and critical role in the promotion of U.S. foreign policy interests. Since my days in Africa, I have appreciated the central role USAID and its programs play in the execution of U.S. foreign policy goals. Now, more than ever, I am convinced of the long-term benefits to the American people of the resources spent on these programs.

During my tenure with USAID, I intend to continue strengthening our collaboration with the Department of State and improve our relations with the Congress. I hope to make significant headway in resolving the management problems that have bedeviled the agency for some time. In short, I want to ensure that USAID resources approved by Congress have their maximum intended benefit whether in building democracies and market economies, promoting children's health, preventing and mitigating conflict, or responding to foreign disasters.

We are in a tough business where there are no easy answers or silver bullets. We cannot over-estimate the difficulty of the challenges faced by the people of the countries in which we operate. While recognizing that there has been progress, we are constantly reminded of how far other people have to go to achieve free and prosperous societies. We, as a nation, are proud of the freedoms guaranteed our citizens and the opportunities for economic improvement our system creates for our people. We are rightly concerned that these freedoms and opportunities are passed from one generation to the next.

However, sometimes we lose sight of the fact that even for us it took time to develop and refine our institutions of governance to ensure that equality and inalienable rights of the individual rest upon solid foundations. It took time for us to develop an economic system that created opportunity for all in our society, rather than one which operated for the benefit of a few. And what we have learned by our experience abroad is that democracies and market economies do not appear by magic. They require the creation of solid institutions of governance, the rule of law, guarantees for the basic rights of the individual, and a free market system that is inclusive in creating economic opportunity for all.

These are but a few of the challenges we face in partnering with the people of other countries. Our most important contribution to meeting these challenges, and what we do best, is the transfer of knowledge, ideas and information. We engage many diverse elements of our society in these efforts - farmers, businessmen, judges, lawyers, universities, coops, credit unions, state and local governments, and religious and secular organizations.

I would like to briefly highlight some of our key programs and point out several areas of special opportunities where we want to concentrate resources. There are two ways by which our programs are viewed - by geographic region that relates closely to U.S. foreign policy objectives, and by broad programs, or sectors that allow us to look at plans, budgets and achievements across geographic boundaries. Both perspectives are presented in this overview, starting with a brief summary of our programs by region.

Program Summary by Region

Africa

My years in Africa have impressed on me the continent's importance to U.S. interests. The potential of Africa's people is immense, yet the challenges are as vast as the continent and transcend borders. Nearly half of sub-Saharan Africa's people live in poverty. Consistent with the President's Partnership for Economic Growth and Opportunity, we promote sustainable, broad-based economic development through support for policy reforms at the national level and support to small and medium enterprise development at the local level. Too many Africans are vulnerable to famine, disease and conflict. The Africa Food Security Initiative (AFSI) focuses on building local capacity in African agriculture, as will the Africa Seeds of Hope Act.

Over 1.8 million Africans will die from AIDS this year. Under the "Leadership and Investment in Fighting the Epidemic" (LIFE) initiative, USAID is joining other agencies in combating the spread of HIV/AIDS, mitigating its impact and responding to the rising numbers of orphans in Africa as well as other regions. Judicious use of child survival and infectious disease funding is central to improving the lives and well-being of a new generation of Africans.

USAID promotes democracy and governance in Africa to reflect our values and support our economic interests. We are addressing the need to improve not only access to education, but also the quality of education, especially for girls. A particularly important case requiring increased attention is Nigeria which is undergoing a profound transformation to democracy. The FY 2001 request increases the overall levels of development assistance for Nigeria. To meet the President's commitment to sustainable African development, we seek a renewed appropriation for the Development Fund for Africa (DFA). The DFA provides an assured and stable source of assistance for Africa.

Asia and the Near-East

The Asia and the Near East (ANE) regions are essential to U.S. national security and economic interests. Over 50 percent of U.S. trade and investment is in Asia and the Middle East. From Suez to Singapore, the region commands crucial shipping lanes essential to international commerce. However, the region contains over 50 percent of the world's poor, is home to almost 50 percent of the world's illiterates, and has over 60 percent of the world's infant deaths. The region is the source of difficult and complex issues that, if not managed peacefully, could cause further conflict. Proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, HIV/AIDS, lack of economic opportunity, and terrorism are among these issues. In the past, resource allocations to ANE have emphasized health and family planning. ANE is seeking additional and more flexible funding to address economic reform/ growth and democracy/ governance. ANE priorities are supporting Indonesia's economic and democratic transition, accelerating economic restructuring and recovery in Asia, and working to solidify peace in the Middle East. Other initiatives include: the South Asia Regional Initiative which will enable the region to access cheap, clean energy resources and promote regional cooperation; and HIV/AIDS initiative to combat this disease and arrest its spread; and, in response to Vietnam's steps to liberalize its economy and Congressional interest, USAID will expand its modest humanitarian program in Vietnam.

Europe and Eurasia

The United States retains its commitment to maintaining peace and stability in the Europe and Eurasia region. In the Balkans, the Kosovo crisis and its aftermath underscored how far the countries of Southeast Europe still have to go in their transition to market-led democracies, and highlighted the importance to regional stability of continuing to help them move toward closer integration with the West. For example, in Kosovo, USAID will address the fundamentals of jump-starting a functioning economy and government, which can address citizen needs for business opportunities, employment, income and services.

In the countries of Eurasia, the challenge is to maintain a steady course focused on advancing reform, tailoring assistance programs as needed to take advantage of opportunities to work with reformers at all levels. Grass-roots efforts with non-governmental organizations, regional and local programs, and partnerships between local and U.S. organizations or among organizations within the region are largely supplanting reform programs dependent on central government action. Greater attention to social impacts of the transition will be reflected in expanded health programs and technical advice for countries to put their social benefits and services onto a sustainable financial footing. Anti-corruption efforts will receive greater attention. A major U.S. initiative begun in 2000 to reduce the risk of proliferation of technology and weapons of mass destruction will receive continued significant funding.

Latin America and the Caribbean

In Latin America and the Caribbean, USAID programs will continue the commitments made by the President at the Summit of the Americas. USAID's core program in Latin America and the Caribbean is based on the Agency's leadership role in achieving objectives established in the Summit of the Americas, as agreed upon by our President with LAC heads of state and the Inter-American Development Bank and other donors. The most important of those objectives is that of reducing poverty in Latin America, which, with 40% of its population living on less than two dollars per day, also suffers the highest income inequality in the world. The countries assisted by USAID's program in Latin America and the Caribbean are our neighbors and their economic, social and political development have extremely important impacts on illegal migration and drug trafficking as well as increasing U.S. exports to the region. USAID programs will continue to support the consolidation of still fragile democratic institutions in our own hemisphere as the most cost effective investment for the U.S. government and its citizens. In addition, our program will focus on reducing poverty and corruption and protecting the environment, important objectives in our national interest, that are made all the more critical by geographic proximity.

We have two operational bureaus which execute programs in support of our regional programs - the Bureau for Global Programs, Field Support and Research and the Bureau for Humanitarian Response.

Our technical Centers of Excellence in the Global Bureau will continue to focus their attention on worldwide crises - HIV/AIDS, climate change, population, poverty, food, and education - and our ability to cope with them. The world's population is projected to double by 2020, thus there will be many more people who will require better health, more food and a cleaner environment to survive and prosper. We must be ready to meet the challenges. USAID's technical Centers are recognized worldwide for their replication and dissemination of best practices in programming, technical leadership, and outstanding research and evaluations. While these high standards will continue to be met, in the coming fiscal year, increased attention will be placed on developing new and better approaches to enhance USAID's global impacts.

Food security programs address the needs of millions of individuals around the world each year who lack access to minimum daily nutrient requirements. Central to our humanitarian response is the provision of emergency food aid. Longer-term issues of food production, food access and nutrition are the aim of overseas food and development programs combined with U.S. activities strengthening linkages between U.S. and overseas research institutions. Close consultation with the private sector is essential for success in these endeavors. USAID continues to rely heavily on private suppliers and private voluntary development and relief organizations in the food aid area.

Special Challenges and Opportunities

There are a number of special challenges facing us that the administration believes warrant a concentrated effort and increased resources at this time. I would like to highlight five.

HIV/AIDS: We estimate that nearly 50 million adults and children have been infected with HIV since the mid-1980's and that 90% of current infections are in the developing world. We are requesting increased funding for HIV/AIDS for FY 2001 which will bring our assistance levels addressing this problem up to $250 million. This will enhance our ability to influence high-risk behavior. It will permit additional support for governments, community groups, the private sector and NGOs to mange and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. In target countries, the LIFE initiative will allow USAID to scale up prevention efforts, provide better support for those sick and dying of AIDS, help the vast numbers of AIDS orphans, provide pregnant women with access to new treatments to reduce transmission to their newborns, and support better HIV surveillance and national HIV/AIDS management capabilities. LIFE initiative funds are targeted to a subset of the most severely affected countries: 12 in Africa, two African regional HIV/AIDS programs, and India.

Sustainable Energy Initiative: This Initiative grew out of the larger inter-agency clean energy technology development and export initiative. Enhanced investment in the global energy sector is vital to international development, environmental protection and to position U.S. industry to take advantage of international market opportunities in the energy sector over the next decade and beyond. This initiative is an important example of how development, protecting the environment, and global growth can be mutually supportive. The overall U.S. program is $100 million, with $30 million going to support USAID's portion of the program.

Tropical Forest and Biodiversity Initiative: Thirty percent of Asian forests and 18% of African and Latin American forests have been lost since 1960, resulting in widespread loss of biodiversity habitat, watershed degradation and flooding, and contributing to the most catastrophic species extinction rates in human history. For FY 2001, we are asking for an increase in funding for USAID's tropical forestry and biodiversity program to $100 million or about $33 million over planned FY 2000 spending. With this funding, USAID can expand conservation efforts into new high priority areas. We can significantly expand pioneering efforts with NGO partners in ecoregional conservation. We can expand the efforts to test and refine carbon accounting systems to help mitigate global climate change. In collaboration with NASA, we intend to undertake the first ever high-resolution mapping of global tropical forest cover.

Victims of Torture: We recognize and are deeply concerned by the devastating, long-term effects of political torture and violence on a country's development. While the term 'torture' is not officially used as a programming category, many USAID programs in the fields of health, human rights, and democracy-building have had the treatment and rehabilitation of torture victims as the central goal of their efforts. We are working on a number of fronts to support the treatment of victims of torture and war-related atrocities through a wide variety of U.S., international, and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs). We have supported affiliates of the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) in places such as East Timor, West Bank/Gaza, Peru, and Sri Lanka. In FY 2000, USAID will award a $1.5 million grant to build the capacity of foreign treatment centers. We further expect to continue recent overall funding trends of about $10 million worldwide.

Population: We are requesting $542 million for population funding which will return us to the 1995 level. In addition to the hundreds of million of couples currently served by USAID programs, an estimated 150 million want to delay or complete childbearing. Additional funds would allow USAID to continue and expand its efforts to improve access, quality, and sustainability of services to help men and women make free and informed decisions about their reproductive lives. This includes assuring contraceptive security, since many programs today are unable to adequately keep up with demand for contraceptives and/or have weak distribution systems. The aditional funds will allow USAID to strengthen the quality of field programs through continued emphasis on client needs, provider capabilities, system improvements, and better monitoring and evaluation. We will continue implementing key actions identified at the International Conference on Population and Development, such as expanding access to reproductive health services, gender equity and integrating problems of sexually transmitted infections like HIV/AIDS into standard family planning serveces.