 |
Africa
| Accounts |
FY 2003 |
FY 2004 |
FY 2005 |
FY 2006 |
| Child Survival and Health Programs Fund |
541,071 |
477,339 |
356,774 |
325,897 |
| Development Assistance |
490,690 | 462,247 |
547,446 |
428,502 |
| Development Credit Authority |
727 | 4,469 |
0 |
0 |
| Economic Support Fund |
84,440 |
74,061 |
104,160 |
151,850 |
| ESF - Wartime Supplemental |
25,000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| International Disaster Assistance |
0 |
91,282 |
0 |
0 |
| PL 480 Title II |
1,146,313 |
1,187,935 |
433,912 |
228,790 |
| Transition Initiatives |
0 |
0 |
0 |
95,000 |
| Total Program Funds(in thousands of dollars) |
2,288,241 |
2,297,333 |
1,442,292 |
1,230,039 |
|
The Development Challenge
Africa's prospects for a better future continue to brighten as many countries in the region are beginning to reap the benefits of economic policy changes, improved governance and investments in key social sectors undertaken during the past decade. With the rebounding of the global economy, the continued growth of responsible and representative governments and the recovery from several lengthy conflicts, much of the African continent is poised to see more robust economic growth and an improvement in living standards in the years ahead. Testament to the real progress the region has made is reflected in the designation of eight sub-Saharan African countries, out of 16 total, as eligible to benefit from the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) and the designation of an additional seven as close to the threshold for eligibility. The threshold countries and a number of others farther from eligibility have nonetheless demonstrated steady good performance, worthy of assistance in transformational development under the principles of aid effectiveness. It is these countries that are USAID's focus for transformational development aid in sub-Saharan Africa.
Stability in the region is vitally important to U.S. national security. For the United States, support of African-led efforts to achieve improved livelihoods promotes stability and represents an important long-term investment. Africa has not only a wealth of natural resources of increasing importance to the United States but also represents a growing market for U.S. goods and services.
One of the most promising trends in the region is the resolution of violent conflict which has inhibited economic and social development. The peace in Liberia is holding, a comprehensive Peace Agreement ending the conflict in southern Sudan was signed in January 2005, and Sierra Leone and Angola continue their transition to peace and stability after years of protracted conflict. Unfortunately, conflicts remain unsettled in the Darfur region of Sudan and Cote d'Ivoire and instability persists in the Great Lakes region, although some progress is being achieved.
The policy framework and the program of action adopted by the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) is sending a very positive signal to the world that African leadership is increasingly ready to take primary responsibility for economic and social development and improved governance in the region. NEPAD continues to deepen its support among African government leaders and its road map for action is gaining wider credibility. NEPAD is demonstrating through its initiation of peer reviews of political, economic and corporate governance in four countries that Africans are indeed serious about tackling some of their most difficult development issues. Twenty-four countries have now agreed to undergo the process. The United States continues to affirm its endorsement of NEPAD.
Democratic values are deepening and the benefits of responsible governance are becoming more widespread. Civil society is taking fuller advantage of new information and communications technologies to demand accountability from their governments and newly elected leaders in many countries are increasingly serious about reducing endemic corruption. According to Freedom House, a non-governmental organization that tracks democratic processes around the world, the number of free democracies in Africa has almost tripled from four to 11 over the past decade and more than half of the remaining countries in the region are in the transition process toward full and free democracy.
Measurable progress is now being made in increasing the availability of the specific treatment, care and prevention services that will be required to address one of the continent's most overwhelming crises, the spread of HIV/AIDS. FY 2004 was the first year of implementation of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which proposes $15 billion over a five-year period for the treatment, care and prevention of HIV worldwide. A total of $10 billion is designated to scale up HIV/AIDS programs and services in 15 focus countries, 12 of which are in Africa. The extraordinary response by the international community combined with the wider availability of antiretroviral drugs and related services offers new hope that the advance of the pandemic can be contained with sustained support.
There is evidence that the adoption of sound economic policies and macroeconomic management, improved governance structures and more effective public institutions over the past several years are creating the conditions for more rapid economic growth. GDP in sub-Saharan Africa is estimated to have grown by 4.5% in 2004, up considerably from 3.5% in 2003 and is projected to accelerate in 2005, particularly in oil producing countries. Per capita GDP also increased by an estimated 1.75% in 2004.
Despite these positive trends, sub-Saharan Africa continues to face enormous development challenges. It remains the world's poorest region with half of its 700 million people living on less than $1 per day. Income and gender inequality are also widespread. As mid-decade approaches, it is becoming increasingly evident that the region will fall seriously short of meeting many of the Development Goals of the Millennium Declaration (DGMD). In order to meet the DGMD of halving poverty by 2015, overall GDP growth must increase substantially from today's levels to between 6 and 7% per annum. Food security remains elusive in many parts of the continent, with children being particularly vulnerable. It is projected that by 2015, two-thirds of the world's hungry will be in Africa and it is the only continent where the trends are actually getting worse. Africa still lags far behind other developing regions in educational attainment, particularly in the rural areas and for girls, and despite the rapid growth of information and telecommunications technology the digital divide between Africa and the rest of the world continues to widen. Rapid urbanization poses new and different challenges as cities, which will harbor more than half of Africa's population by 2016, struggle to provide sufficient jobs and services, particularly for the young, who can become quickly disillusioned and easy targets for extremist propaganda, criminal gangs or armed militias. While some health indictors have improved, the HIV/AIDS pandemic has overwhelmed health systems and further impoverished families in many countries, particularly in eastern and southern Africa. Dramatically reduced life expectancies and a shrinking labor pool due to HIV/AIDS will slow economic growth in the region by as much as 1.5% a year. Lingering conflicts, both large and localized, exact a huge toll on efforts to bring stability and accelerate economic growth. There are currently 4-5 million refugees and 12-13 million internally displaced persons in the region. The majority of states that USAID is assisting to overcome fragility are in sub-Saharan Africa. One aspect of their fragility is their "poor" or "fair" performance on measures of their actions to promote development.
Meeting these challenges will require an extraordinary and sustained effort on the part of African governments, the private sector, civil society and the international community. USAID's FY 2006 programs to promote economic growth, improve governance, mitigate conflict, improve education, preserve the diversity of the continent's resources, and improve health will address some of the most critical problems facing the continent and represent an extremely worthwhile investment in Africa's future.
Promoting Transformational Development, Strengthening Fragile States and Addressing Global Issues and Special Concerns
Agriculture, Trade, Education and the Environment Agriculture remains the mainstay of most sub-Saharan African economies. It serves as the primary source of livelihood for 65% of its people, represents 30% to 40% of GDP and accounts for almost 60% of export income. Improved performance of the agricultural sector is, therefore, critical to efforts to achieve food security and reduce poverty. While many countries have taken positive measures to stimulate higher productivity, particularly among small farmers who account for over 90% of production, per capita agricultural production remains at 1990 levels. The major constraints to increasing agricultural productivity include low usage of improved technologies, limited access to credit, low levels of public investment, inefficient land use and environmental degradation, market distortions that discourage production, poor rural infrastructure and the debilitating effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Now in its second full year of implementation, USAID's flagship program in the agriculture sector, the five-year Presidential Initiative to End Hunger in Africa (IEHA), is helping agriculture generate more income and employment, strengthening regional cooperation and promoting policy and program changes to liberalize trade, improve market access and foster innovation.
The globalization of the world economy offers Africa genuine opportunities to increase trade and attract foreign investment. Yet Africa remains at the margins of the world economy, accounting for just 1.4% of world exports in 2002, down from 3.5% in 1970. The region has enormous potential to become a much more significant player in international trade. However, to realize this potential Africa must continue to liberalize economic policies and implement institutional reforms required of the changing economic environment. Trade is still hampered by systemic constraints such as high transaction costs, capacity limitations, poor infrastructure and market distortions. The United States has continued to demonstrate worldwide leadership in expanding trade with Africa through the African Growth and Opportunity (AGOA) Acceleration Act of 2004. AGOA is yielding ever more encouraging results with total two-way U.S. trade with sub-Saharan Africa rising 37% in calendar year 2004, to $44.4 billion. AGOA imports totaled $26.6 billion in 2004, an 88% increase over 2003. While petroleum continues to constitute the bulk of AGOA imports, it is worth noting that non-petroleum AGOA imports - including apparel and agricultural products - are also on the rise, totaling $3.5 billion in 2004, up 22% over 2003. Through the three regional "Hubs for Global Competitiveness" in southern, eastern and west Africa, which are implementing the Presidential Trade for African Development and Enterprise (TRADE) Initiative, launched in 2002, USAID is directly supporting not only AGOA but also U.S. business linkages, enhancing the competitiveness of African products and services, improving public services that support trade, building African capacity for trade policy formulation, and strengthening the enabling environment for African businesses.
Advances in education are critical to Africa's economic, social and political development. Although literacy rates have risen from 50% in 1990 to 62.4% in 2003, Africa continues to lag behind much of the world in educational attainment. While access to formal education has improved, 39% of boys and 43% of girls are still not enrolled in primary school. Drop out rates remain high, with just 20% of all children completing primary school. Educational quality is also poor with large class sizes, significant numbers of poorly qualified teachers, and severe shortages of textbooks and teaching aids. HIV/AIDS continues to decimate the ranks of qualified teachers. Systemic education reform is critical if Africa's children are to compete successfully in today's world. USAID programs focus on educational policy and systems development, decentralized decision making and greater parental and community involvement. An emphasis on basic education, particularly for girls, has proven to yield high returns. USAID's flagship program in education is the $200 million President's Africa Education Initiative (AEI). This initiative, launched in FY 2002, is on track to provide 250,000 scholarships for girls, 4.5 million much-needed textbooks and training for 420,000 teachers over a five-year period.
Africa is a continent of great natural riches, unmatched bio-diversity and vast unspoiled landscapes. Prudent management and protection of these assets can contribute to sustainable economic growth as well as to worldwide efforts to improve the global environment and maintain bio-diversity. Yet the region's environment is under serious threat. Sub-Saharan Africa contains 45% of global bio-diversity yet has the highest rate of deforestation in the world. Serious efforts must be taken immediately to preserve, protect and improve Africa's environmental patrimony. USAID's program focus on linking better management of natural resources with improved livelihoods and strengthened environmental governance is now demonstrating very positive results in over a dozen countries. The Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE) is the centerpiece of USAID's response to the goals of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) Presidential Initiative, which addresses the global issue of climate change. CARPE is a 20-year effort which began in 1995 and is designed to support conservation and sustainable management of natural resources in the tropical forests of central Africa, as well as to promote regional coordination in addressing environmental issues.
Global Health Improved health can be a legitimate development goal in and of itself. It also can be a major factor in reducing poverty and accelerating economic growth in transformational development. Health conditions in sub-Saharan Africa remain the poorest in the world, with gains in access to care and wider availability of treatment often undermined by persistent poverty, conflict, poor governance and the continued spread of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), malaria, polio, meningitis and cholera. Life expectancy has continued to decline, to less than 50 in those countries most severely impacted by HIV/AIDS. Malaria claims over 2.3 million African lives a year, mostly of young children and over 90% of the world's 600 million yearly malaria cases occur in Africa. In 2003, polio, which had almost been eliminated world-wide, spread from two endemic countries, Nigeria and Niger, to 10 other countries. With 350 cases per 100,000 people, Africa has the highest rate of incidence of TB in the world, fueled by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. At 1,000 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, and 45 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, the region has the highest maternal and neo-natal mortality rates in the world.
USAID is implementing broad-based health programs throughout the region which are demonstrating important results. Successful efforts to create alternative community-based health care financing schemes in Senegal, Rwanda and Zambia offer promise to hundreds of thousands of households and provide successful models for replication. Immunization campaigns have reduced disease rates in target areas and expanded use of bed nets has begun to significantly reduce the incidence of malaria in target areas. Several countries, including Eritrea, Malawi and Guinea have realized important reductions of 19% to 32% in child mortality rates.
The HIV/AIDS pandemic is a global issue that continues to ravage the continent, although there are hopeful signs that prevention and treatment measures are beginning to slow its spread. Prevalence rates remain high in all of southern Africa, reaching 25% in Zimbabwe and almost 40% in Swaziland and Botswana. Of the estimated 34-46 million people infected by HIV worldwide, 25-28 million reside in sub-Saharan Africa. Over 80% are in their productive years and two thirds are female. The number of AIDS orphans is expected to rise from 11 million to 20 million by 2010. However, the experience of Uganda, where infection rates have decreased by 50% from 1997-2001, and promising results in Zambia and elsewhere, demonstrate that strong leadership and an integrated approach to prevention, care and treatment can be effective in stabilizing and/or reducing prevalence rates. The access to anti-retroviral treatment through the President's Emergency Plan is offering a new future to people who are infected with the virus. HIV/AIDS is the major health priority for USAID and through the $15 billion President's Emergency Plan, prevention, care and treatment programs of all U.S. Government agencies are expanding rapidly.
With a growth rate of 2.4% a year, the highest in the world, Africa's population of 700 million will swell to over one billion by 2025, despite the impact of HIV/AIDS. This will place natural resources, public services and the social fabric under enormous strain and impact economic growth. Though the majority of women indicate the desire for fewer children, contraceptive prevalence rates remain under 20% in all but five countries and above 50% only in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Dramatic increases in contraceptive prevalence rates in Botswana and Malawi over the past 15 years, however, offer proof that reproductive health programs, such as those supported by USAID, can indeed promote behavioral change.
Governance and Peacebuilding Accountability in government, observance of the rule of law, respect for human rights and inclusive political processes strengthen fragile states by mitigating against civil strife and violent conflict as well as promoting reform and recovery. These characteristics of good governance are also critical to advancing USAID's other goals in transformational development, including the consolidation of democracy and market-led economic growth and more effective provision of public services. Good governance, coupled with improved economic well-being and social service delivery, also diminish the appeal of extremist ideologies and terrorist agendas.
There have been recent successes in advancing critical peace processes in sub-Saharan Africa. In January 2005, the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement signed a comprehensive peace agreement after more than two years of negotiations. The agreement ends the world's longest-running civil war, and provides for fundamental changes in governance through power-sharing, wealth sharing, security arrangements, and a formal cease fire. Across the border, there have been signs of progress in addressing the 18-year conflict in northern Uganda. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has achieved several major breakthroughs in efforts to restore peace to Somalia. Other critical peace processes continue. In mid-2004, the Congolese Assembly for Democracy was persuaded to remain engaged with the Transition Government. In Burundi, the Parliament agreed to extend the transition until April 2005 when elections are scheduled. The tragedy in Darfur and instability in Cote d'Ivoire are reminders, nonetheless, that peace can remain fragile.
The United States has played a seminal role in international efforts to assist these processes. USAID is committed to enhancing its immediate response and maintaining a long-term perspective that promotes durable peace. Through the Conflict and Peace Building Fund, begun in 2003, USAID is implementing a multi-faceted approach to strengthen African capacity to manage and mitigate conflict. USAID programs target the root causes of fragility, including economic and political instability, health crises, violent conflict, population movements, displaced populations, and trafficking in persons.
Democratic governance and improved governmental accountability have continued to expand throughout the region, a notable exception being Zimbabwe. USAID programs in democracy and governance have focused on the development of democratic institutions and the rule of law, free and fair political processes, strengthening of civil society, decentralization of governmental functions and improved accountability of both the public and private sectors.
Humanitarian Response USAID's humanitarian assistance programs have been vital to international efforts to mitigate the effects of several natural and man-made disasters, including Sudan, the DRC and Liberia. USAID seeks to integrate humanitarian, development, and protection initiatives on behalf of those affected by natural disaster and violent conflict.
Debt Issues The World Bank/IMF Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, launched in 1996 and enhanced in 1999, has lightened sub-Saharan Africa's debt burden appreciably. The continent's total debt service ratio (debt as a percentage of exports of goods and services) has fallen from 13.9% in 1999 to 10.6% in 2002, well below the critical 15% mark that is generally viewed as unsustainable. To date, 12 African counties have completed the HIPC process, 13 more are expected to complete the process in the next year or two and the recent extension of the "sunset clause" of HIPC to the end of 2006 will allow another nine African countries to begin the process. While most bilateral debt will be cancelled or greatly reduced, some African countries will still face significant multilateral debt, and the United States has been encouraging the multilaterals to find fiscally responsible ways to reduce such debt.
Other Donors The United States remained the largest bilateral provider of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to sub-Saharan Africa in 2003. The United Kingdom, France and Japan follow as the other major bilaterals. The largest ODA levels continue to be provided through the multilateral organizations, primarily the World Bank group, which lends almost exclusively in Africa through its concessional International Development Association (IDA) windows. The European Union, the African Development Bank and the various U.N. agencies are also significant multilateral donors in the region. USAID actively engages with the broader donor community to better harmonize procedures and policies through leadership in the Strategic Partnership with Africa (SPA), a forum of donors and African counterparts for discussing development issues. At the country level, USAID Missions in Africa coordinate and collaborate with all of the major donors to assure maximum program impact.
Program and Management Challenges
Security Issues Security remains an ever-increasing concern at most USAID missions in Africa. Missions continue to take steps to improve security within the limits of available funding. USAID missions are required to co-locate with new embassies as they are being built, but this may present dilemmas where space restrictions may constrain overall personnel ceilings, which would in turn affect USAID's ability to manage its programs.
Staffing and Operating Expenses Using the Agency-wide "workforce template" as a base, the Africa region has developed a plan to make the best use of its human resources. Overseas direct-hire field staff levels will be at 226 in FY 2005, and we are requesting that this level be straight-lined for FY 2006; the Washington U.S. Direct Hire (USDH) staff level has increased by one to 91, to meet the demands of a reinvigorated Sudan program. In addition to the number of staff allotted under the FY 2005 ceiling, many Africa missions have taken advantage of the Agency's new hiring authority to convert non-direct hire employees into Foreign Service Limited appointments to meet staffing needs in their missions. This non-career Foreign Service Limited hiring authority is requested for FY 2006 as well and would continue to serve as a vehicle for missions to augment their direct-hire staff. Additional program-funded staff, both direct hire and non-direct hire, will also be added to missions located in PEPFAR-focus countries in Africa. Since the Peace Accord for Sudan has been signed it is very likely that the Sudan mission, currently based in Nairobi, will begin to move its operations to Sudan in FY 2005 as conditions continue to improve. By FY 2006, it is possible that USAID will be operating out of two sites (Khartoum and Juba) in Sudan at an annual cost of $6 million in operating expenses. Last year's plans to establish USAID Representative Offices in Sierra Leone and Burundi are on hold. As the Bureau revamps its development strategy which will impact the way the Bureau does business over the next several years, we will take a concerted look at how best to re-deploy staff among Missions to maximize performance. In 2006, Mission personnel costs will rise to 49% of Africa's overseas operating budget. These rising costs, combined with costs for security and administrative support from the Department of State, represent the biggest management challenges to mission operations. Operating expenses continue to be severely constrained by overall increases in local costs and by significant exchange rate fluctuations.
The FY 2006 Program
In FY 2006, USAID will begin a shift to re-orient its programming in sub-Saharan Africa toward aid effectiveness principles, expressed in USAID's White Paper, "U.S. Foreign Aid: Meeting the Challenges of the Twenty-First Century." The region has the highest proportion of fragile states among USAID's assisted regions and a significant number of countries that can be considered to be moving toward "transformational development." Eight countries are MCA eligible and another 11 are low- and middle-income good performers. Adopting aid effectiveness principles, USAID will accordingly initiate a process to increasingly channel its development assistance to African countries that are performing well, demonstrate need and exhibit commitment. If compacts are approved for the MCA-eligible countries, they will see an appreciable increase in their overall USG assistance levels. USAID is therefore not proposing at this time to expand its transformational development programs in these countries. It will, however, continue to address global issues and special concerns, such as HIV/AIDS. Programming in the 11 fragile states in which USAID maintains bilateral programs will be increasingly targeted to address the root causes of fragility. This shift will be formally codified through the adoption of a new Strategic Framework for Africa to be completed in FY 2005.
In FY 2006, USAID proposes to invest $849.4 million in assistance to Africa: 50.4% for transformational development, strengthening fragile states and addressing global issues and special concerns using the Development Assistance (DA) account; 11.2 % for assistance in stability, reform and recovery to Ethiopia and Sudan in FY 2006 through the Transition Initiatives (TI) account; and 38.4% for child survival and health, infections disease reduction and family planning programs through the Child Survival and Health (CSH) account. The TI account is new to USAID Africa's program request in FY 2006. Note: This excludes all funding for HIV/AIDS in Emergency Plan focus countries, which will flow through the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator in the Department of State (O/GAC). Of the total DA account funding requested, 45% is proposed to go to transformational development countries (18% to high performers, 26% to good performers, and less than 1% to poor performers); 12% to fragile states, and 43% to regional programs, which address transformational development, fragility or global issues and special concerns through approaches that complement bilateral programs.
Support to the Sudan Peace process is the highest single priority in Africa, and USAID is requesting a total of $89 million for Sudan in FY 2006. Through strategic use of its funding, USAID missions in Africa will continue to support a broad range of programs that address the most pressing of the region's development challenges. These programs contribute to the priorities outlined in the joint State/USAID Strategic Plan for 2004-2009, particularly those that advance sustainable development and global interests. The centerpieces of the FY 2006 program continue to be the four Presidential Initiatives, launched in FY 2002, the Initiative to End Hunger in Africa (IEHA), the Trade for African Development and Enterprise (TRADE) Initiative, the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) and the Africa Education initiative (AEI). Other key elements of the program include the continuation of the African Anti-Corruption Initiative, the Conflict and Peacebuilding Initiative and the Leland Initiative to increase access to information technology.
Promoting Transformational Development, Strengthening Fragile States and Addressing Global Issues and Special Concerns
Economic Growth, Agriculture, Trade, the Environment and Education Increasing agricultural productivity is key to accelerating economic growth and reducing poverty. USAID programs will stress the increased use of improved technologies, better quality control, wider access to rural finance, stronger producer associations, small scale rural infrastructure, increased access to information and improved functioning of markets. Related efforts will be made to promote private sector-led diversification of the rural economy, such as agro-processing, improved access to credit, and increased agricultural exports. Now in its third year of implementation, IEHA has expanded to include six countries with high potential to increase agricultural productivity. The United States has also taken the lead to implement a focused multi-donor program to increase agricultural productivity in Africa, the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Program (CAADP), a key element of the G-8 and NEPAD development programs.
Strengthening the ability of African countries to participate competitively in the global economy is critical to overall economic growth and reducing poverty. Through the TRADE Initiative, which began full scale implementation in FY 2003, USAID will use its three regional "Hubs for Global Competitiveness" to promote U.S.-African business linkages and build African capacity for sophisticated trade analysis. USAID will also continue efforts to improve the provision of public services supporting trade (e.g., customs procedures), strengthen the enabling environment for African business and enable African businesses to take better advantage of opportunities under AGOA.
USAID's focus in the environmental sector will remain on policy change and capacity building in support of community-based approaches to natural resource management. USAID will also support efforts to reduce long-term threats to the environment and the loss of bio-diversity. USAID's flagship program in the environment is the Central African Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE). CARPE, which was initiated in 1995, is a 20-year program that serves as the primary vehicle for the U.S. contribution to the Congo Basin Forest Partnership, which was launched in 2002. The CBFP, an association of 29 governments, and non-governmental and private sector organizations, addresses two of the world's most significant global issues, global climate change and the loss of bio-diversity. In FY 2006, USAID will invest $311.3 million, or 36.6% of its development resources, for programs in economic growth, agriculture and trade, and the environment, including $47.1 million for IEHA, $15 million for the TRADE Initiative and $15 million for CARPE.
USAID's priority in the education sector will remain the five-year $200 million African Education Initiative (AEI). In addition, basic education programs that address system reforms and increased parental and community involvement will include 16 countries in FY 2006. DA and CSH funds will contribute towards the goal of improving access to quality education by increasing primary school enrollments in USAID- supported programs from 19.7 million in 2004 to 21.5 million in 2006 and the number of learners completing basic education programs from 1.1 million in 2004 to 1.3 million in 2006. USAID will invest $121.0 million, or about 14.3% of its program resources, in education programs in Africa in FY 2006, including $55 million for the AEI.
Global Health, HIV/AIDS and Population USAID programs to improve the health of sub-Saharan Africans focus on increasing the availability, effectiveness and access to quality health care. USAID will increase immunization coverage, strengthen surveillance, build human capacity to provide better quality care, improve community and household health practices and promote innovative health financing strategies. DA, CSH and TI funds will contribute towards the goal of improving global health, including child, maternal and reproductive health and the reduction of disease by training 130,000 people in 2006. USAID will invest $142.7 million, or 16.8% of its program resources, for these activities in FY 2006. USAID will continue to support a range of family planning programs, including public education, advocacy and outreach through traditional and community structures, community-based distribution and social marketing of contraceptives, and encouragement of child spacing practices. Funding for family planning programs will total $101 million in FY 2006, 11.9% of overall resource levels.
HIV/AIDS is the major health priority for USAID in Africa. Overall U.S. Government coordination of the $15 billion President's Emergency Plan rests with the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator in the Department of State. Funding for HIV/AIDS activities in the 12 "focus" countries in Africa is included in the State Department request. In FY 2006, $82.2 million in Child Survival and Health account funding is being requested to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa in the other bilateral program countries. USAID is playing a key role in the implementation of the Emergency Plan in both focus countries and other bilateral programs, and is coordinating closely with other USG PEPFAR implementing agencies. USAID Missions will maintain their emphasis on HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment and expand service coverage, including services for orphans and vulnerable children. Programs will build on successful efforts in Uganda, Senegal and Zambia, which include the promotion of abstinence and other behavioral interventions, voluntary counseling and testing, distribution of condoms for high risk groups, and care and support for persons living with AIDS, including anti-retroviral therapy. It is estimated that about 825,000 people will have received voluntary counseling and testing through USAID programs by the end of FY 2006. Programs to prevent mother-to-child transmission of AIDS will also be expanded. Every effort is being made through the Emergency Plan to strengthen local capacity to implement programs by engaging a wide range of partners, including the faith community.
Governance and Peacebuilding Weaknesses in democratic governance and factors contributing to fragility inhibit social development and economic growth, can cause civil unrest and provide fertile ground for the rise of extremist ideologies. USAID's efforts to improve democratic governance and promote increased accountability advance the national security goal of creating the conditions for peace and improved security. Governance and peacebuilding efforts address the sources of fragility, promote longer-term development, and complement opportunities offered by the Millennium Challenge Account.
In FY 2006, USAID is requesting $91.2 million or 10.7% of its overall program resources, for efforts to strengthen democracy and governance and to mitigate conflict. Approximately 82.3% of democracy and governance resources will benefit good and high performing bilateral country and regional USAID programs while the funding for the fragile states will specifically address the causes of fragility, therefore promoting stability, reform and recovery. USAID programs promote representative political processes and institutions, the rule of law, the growth of a vibrant civil society and respect for human rights. Twelve missions are participating in the Anti-Corruption Initiative, launched in FY 2003, which promotes public access to information, citizen awareness and advocacy, transparency and accountability of government procedures and public-private dialogue. Most USAID missions have integrated the principles of transparency, participation and accountability throughout their transformational development and reduction in fragility portfolios. USAID will continue to support efforts to address the root causes of fragility and conflict, manage and mitigate conflict, assist populations affected by conflict, promote community reintegration and strengthen African networks to identify and respond to potential crises. USAID Missions will continue to strengthen their linkages with the Offices of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), Food for Peace (FFP), Democracy and Governance (DG), Conflict Mitigation and Management (CMM), and Transition Initiatives (OTI) to better integrate humanitarian, stabilization of fragility, transformational development, and protection initiatives on behalf of those affected by natural disaster and violent conflict.
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