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LAC Regional
Please note: All linked documents are in PDF format
| Objective |
SO Number |
FY 2004 |
FY 2005 |
FY 2006 |
| Regional Democracy Initiatives |
598-005 |
4,791 |
2,491 |
3,800 |
| Market Access |
598-017 |
3,067 |
3,500 |
5,584 |
| U.S.-LAC Environmental Partnership |
598-018 |
646 |
500 |
500 |
| Program Development and Learning |
598-020 |
5,738 |
728 |
1,969 |
| Special Development Opportunities |
598-021 |
12,825 |
40,612 |
31,667 |
| Conservation of Biological Resources |
598-022 |
9,682 |
3,370 |
4,418 |
| Improve Equity and Quality of Education |
598-023 |
16,985 |
14,380 |
14,000 |
| Health Advancement |
598-024 |
7,926 |
9,662 |
5,345 |
| Transfer - ESF |
|
4,005 |
|
|
| Total (in thousands of dollars) |
65,845 |
75,243 |
67,283 |
|
The Development Challenge: The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region has emerged from decades of conflict to relative peace and stability. Centralized economies have given way to privatized competitive markets, and the region is readying, with U.S. support, for the opportunities and challenges of a Free Trade Area of the Americas as well as sub-regional and bilateral free trade agreements. Authoritarian rule has also given way to democratically elected governments, with Cuba the notable exception. Free and fair elections conducted under the control of professional, national electoral commissions are now the rule.
There has been significant progress in consolidating democracy but much still remains to be done. The 2004 national "Latinobarometro" surveys show widespread concern with political corruption and rising crime rates. Democratic institutions are perceived to be weak; and, many citizens are losing confidence in the way democracy works and are questioning whether democracy is the best form of government. There is also growing support for national populist leaders in the region. This is especially true in Venezuela and to a lesser degree Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador where politicians have been gaining popularity with the general electorate, without support from the intellectual, civil society or business sectors.
On the economic front, almost every country in the region is experiencing a modest recovery from the recent global economic downturn. In its Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2003-2004, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean noted that gross domestic product (GDP) went from a negative 0.8% in 2002 to 1.5% in 2003, and GDP is projected to grow to 4.5% in 2004. Per capita income will rise 3% in 2004, but following the stagnation of the late 1990s and early 2000s, this will only bring it back to the 1998 level. The relative competitiveness of LAC countries is also weak, and the disparaty between LAC and South Asia countries continues to widen with respect to indicators of productivity and export growth. Despite the last two years of positive real economic growth, the unemployment rate remains high (10.3% in the first half of 2004), nearly half of the region's people live in poverty and crime rates have increased.
The Summit of the Americas continues to influence the United States' foreign policy interests and USAID's LAC Regional program. In preparation for the Special Summit held in Monterrey, Mexico in January 2004, USAID was selected as the lead agency for three of the seven Special Summit action areas (education, property and business registration) and as co-lead for remittances. USAID worked closely with the State Department and the National Security Council to shape the Summit agenda in these areas and developed regional programs to support U.S. Government commitments. Through participation in the Summit process, extraordinarily high level attention has been directed toward USAID development goals in the LAC region and tangible progress has been achieved in each action area.
The USAID Program: The LAC Regional program covers eight objectives for which USAID is requesting FY 2005 and FY 2006 funds. These objectives focus on 1) supporting free trade agreements through regional trade capacity building, 2) improving market access and advancing key macro-economic reforms; 3) strengthening democratic institutions and processes; 4) improving the quality of education; 5) conserving the region's biodiversity; 6) supporting clean environmental technologies and partnerships; 7) improving the health of the region's population, particularly through health sector reform, improved treatment of infectious diseases and contraceptive security; program development and assessment; and 8) advancing development cooperation opportunities in the hemisphere. In FY 2005, USAID will continue to fund these objectives, while developing a number of new activities linked to the Summit of the Americas. In addition, within the existing program, USAID will develop a major new Amazon Basin Conservation Initiative and initiate a modest activity focused on political party development. In FY 2006, USAID plans to continue activities in economic growth, environment, democracy, health and education.
Other Program Elements: The LAC Regional program has been instrumental in developing several alliances and partnerships to benefit multiple countries in LAC. These include a number of innovative public-private partnerships to support the Presidential Summit Initiative, the Centers of Excellence in Teacher Training, and the establishment of an Andean Regional Cocoa Alliance designed to promote production and marketing in cocoa to enhance rural employment and agricultural competitiveness.
Other Donors: The United States is the largest provider of development assistance among all bilateral and multilateral donors in the LAC region. Other major donors include the European Union, Japan, the Netherlands and Germany. USAID works with the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), the Organization of American States (OAS), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and other regional and international organizations in designing and implementing assistance programs and in supporting key regional associations and institutions. Such collaboration helps USAID influence development policy, shape the direction of other donors' programs and facilitate sustainable development. Specifically, in the economic growth and trade arena, USAID is collaborating with the World Bank and IADB on trade capacity building and promoting rural competitiveness. In the environment sector, USAID partners with the multilateral banks, various U.S. and overseas environmental nongovernmental organizations, and with the private sector. In democracy, USAID works closely with the World Bank, IADB and the OAS and with important regional institutions, such as the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights and the Justice Study Center of the Americas. A public-private partnership in education is particularly innovative as it involves several U.S. and overseas businesses that support the three Centers of Excellence in Teacher Training. In health, USAID works closely with PAHO to improve the access and delivery of equitable, quality, and sustainable health care.
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