USAID Cooperation with the African Union
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E-mail As part of the President Obama’s commitment to partner with and strengthen African institutions, the USAID signed their first long-term Assistance Agreement in August 2010 to advance prosperity, peace, and stability in Africa with the African Union Commission (AUC). The agreement is implemented through the USAID/African Union program as part of the U.S. Mission to the African Union. USAID funding is approximately $5.8 million for 2010 through 2013.
Increasingly, Africa’s challenges – whether health, economic growth, food security, trafficking in persons, or conflict mitigation – transcend national boundaries and require a regional approach in order to maximize effectiveness. African leadership, exercised through regional organizations, adds a critical layer of legitimacy and ownership to many efforts in ways that multilateral or bilateral aid agencies cannot. The emergence of an active AUC represents one of the more important developments in the continent in decades.
In health and social affairs, USAID and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) jointly support staff and technical assistance for the AU's Campaign for the Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality (CARMMA).
To advance food security through strengthening rural economies and agriculture, USAID supports implementation of the AU's Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP).
To strengthen the AUC's capacity to improve electoral processes, USAID awarded a grant to the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) to provide technical assistance to the AU for election observer missions and related roles and responsibilities in strengthening democracy and governance.
In the area of trade and industry, USAID is providing technical assistance for AU priorities to promote intra-African trade.
In the area of climate change, USAID will support a Climate for Development Initiative to assist countries with adaptation to climate change.
USAID is building youth focused activities and related partnerships across multiple sectors.
