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USAID Information:
External Links:
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Jamaica
Please note: All linked documents are in PDF format
| Objective |
SO Number |
FY 2004 |
FY 2005 |
FY 2006 |
| Sustainable Improvement of Natural Resources |
532-002 |
3,957 |
|
|
| Improved Reproductive Health |
532-003 |
3,488 |
|
|
| Improving Education Quality in Jamaica |
532-004 |
4,677 |
|
|
| Enhancing Business Development in Jamaica |
532-006 |
2,210 |
|
|
| Strengthening Democracy and Governance in Jamaica |
532-008 |
2,599 |
1,522 |
|
| Economic Growth |
532-009 |
717 |
2,000 |
1,876 |
| Environment |
532-010 |
|
4,813 |
3,156 |
| Health |
532-011 |
1,133 |
4,517 |
3,292 |
| Education |
532-012 |
|
3,465 |
3,800 |
| Democracy and Governance |
532-013 |
|
953 |
2,073 |
| Disaster Rehabilitation and Preparedness |
532-014 |
|
18,000 |
|
| Total (in thousands of dollars) |
18,781 |
35,270 |
14,197 |
|
The Development Challenge: Jamaica is likely to experience one of its bloodiest years, with murders reaching clsoe to 1,500 by the end of last year, a remarkable statistic for a country of 2.6 million people. Hurricane Ivan battered the island and set back the government's growth, inflation, and balanced budget plans. Growth, which was expected to reach more than 3% in 2004, slipped to below 1.5%, with the agricultural sector taking a particularly heavy beating. Inflation is expected to reach 13% vs. the 9% target planned for 2004. Instead of a balanced budget, the government will have a fiscal deficit of $23.6 billion.
These trends complicate Jamaica's efforts to make headway in reducing its massive debt burden. The government continues to work hard to manage its fiscal situation and generate the revenues to reliably pay its debt and to manage creeping increases in inflation, the exchange rate, and the deficit. These debt woes will only be resolved over the medium to long-term, meaning an extended period during which it will be hampered in making desirable (some say necessary) social and infrastructural investments.
Jamaica's difficulty in increasing its social and infrastructural investments contributes to the government's struggle to reduce crime and violence and to measurably improve good governance and the rule of law. Thus, the state is challenged to fulfill its most basic role -- that of ensuring citizen security. Jamaica's violent crime and reputation for corruption deter investment and increase the cost of doing business. Efforts to improve good governance and reduce corruption are not only critical to social and political stability, but figure prominently in Jamaica's ability to achieve economic competitiveness and sustained growth.
On the social front, Jamaica's young people face a myriad of risks, such as early sexual initiation, sexual and physical abuse, dropping out of school, unemployment, substance abuse and drug dealing, and violence. HIV/AIDS continues to spread indiscriminately throughout the island, aided by significant stigma and discrimination that keep the disease underground and foster reluctance for testing and treatment. Jamaica's poor-performing, under-funded education system is not reliably producing young people with adequate literacy and numeracy skills, much less the higher level skills needed to compete in an increasingly complex, competitive global marketplace.
If the country is to realize sustained economic growth, the Government of Jamaica (GOJ) must create an enabling environment within which the private sector (not the government, which lacks the capacity) can be the catalyst for economic growth. In order for that growth to be sustained it must also be equitably distributed throughout the population, which means that efforts must be undertaken to address the need for growth and development in rural areas.
Compounding all of these challenges is the uncertainty arising from impending changes to the political landscape. The Prime Minister has indicated his intention to retire by 2006, about a year before elections are due. Similarly, the leadership of the opposition party, which has been held for almost 40 years by one individual, is also about to change. It is difficult to gauge the impact these political changes will have on Jamaica's policy directions and governmental priorities.
In contrast to the bleak picture painted above, there are several positive signs for Jamaica. The tourism sector has continued to experience significant growth, with the country achieving record numbers of cruise ship arrivals in 2004. Remittances from Jamaicans living abroad are estimated at over $1.5 billion in 2004. Many believe that remittances have overtaken tourism as the country's leading source of foreign exchange. However, most of the remittances come in to fuel consumption and the challenge is to find creative ways to leverage remittances more effectively.
U.S. national interests in Jamaica are derived from its geographic proximity to the United States: homeland security concerns and the threat from transnational crime and drugs; the benefits of a democratically stable and prosperous partner in the region, close to the U.S. border; and the dangers to the United States of an HIV/AIDS pandemic in Jamaica. Bilateral relations with Jamaica are generally good, with collaboration motivated by common national interests and shared values. Jamaica has the potential to strengthen its democracy and its market economy in support of U.S. national interests. However, its ability to do so will depend on its success in addressing negative cross-border issues, developing and implementing a long-term strategy to resolve the issues of excessive debt, an overvalued currency, high interest rates, and growing inflation, reducing barriers to trade and investment, achieving increased productivity, achieving good governance, enhancing security, and reducing corruption.
The USAID Program: USAID's program in Jamaica is designed to achieve transformational change that accelerates sustainable and equitable growth in the context of a more competitive world. The assistance seeks to support efforts to enable the private sector to be the engine for Jamaica's sustainable economic growth. Integral to this result is the importance of related USAID efforts to achieve a more healthy populace; to improve the education system and its contribution to creating a better trained workforce; to improve good governance and the rule of law, including significant reductions in crime and violence; and to ensure that disaster risk reduction and mitigation approaches are reflected in economic planning and implementation.
USAID is requesting funding in FY 2005 and FY 2006 to address five strategic objectives. The first objective, Increased Trade Competitiveness in Target Industries, eliminates business constraints and enhances the competitiveness of businesses. The second objective, Natural Assets Managed for Rural Development and Sustainable Economic Growth, moves beyond a focus on just natural resource management and adds the challenge of increasing rural development and business opportunities while mitigating its impact on the country's natural resources. The third objective, Improved Health Status among Youth and Most Vulnerable Groups, targets youth to promote healthy lifestyles, particularly in reproductive health and issues related to HIV/AIDS, drugs, and violence. The fourth objective, Improved Education of Jamaican Youth, seeks to improve educational outcomes and provide opportunities for at-risk and out-of-school youth, in both cases ensuring the outcomes better meet the needs of an increasingly complex and competitive economy. The last objective, Increased Accountability, Citizen Security, and Participation, tackles community-level governance and rule of law problems that contribute to crime, violence, and corruption.
As a result of the devastation in Jamaica caused by Hurricane Ivan, a Special Objective entitled "More Secure Lives and Livelihoods for People in Jamaica Affected by Hurricanes" was created and funded in the first weeks of FY 2005, with $18 million supplemental International Disaster Assistance (IDA) resources. This 12-month program will help Jamaica recover, rebuild, and resume the path to sustainable development.
Other Program Elements: Jamaica benefits from an initiative funded by Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) for activities to promote sustainable development through reduced risk and losses from natural hazards in the Caribbean. USAID's program outcomes also benefit from the Presidential Initiative: Caribbean Center for Excellence in Teacher Training. This program, which is strengthening the teaching of reading and writing skills, is being linked closely to the bilateral education program and thus enhancing the impact of USAID's overall efforts at the primary school level.
Other Donors: The United States and the United Kingdom (UK) are Jamaica's first and second largest bilateral development partners, respectively. Overall development assistance to Jamaica for 2003 was $118 million, of which $89 million came in the form of grants. USAID plays a lead role in fostering donor coordination by partnering with other donors in all sectors. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) provides $30-34 million over five years with good governance as the lead program priority. The European Union (EU) plans to spend $91 million on private sector capacity building and citizen security, youth programs, and transportation infrastructure. USAID and the UK Department for International Development are working together on crime and violence issues, while CIDA has joined with USAID to strengthen the competitiveness of Jamaica's small business sector.
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