Bureau for Global Health

The U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) programs in global health represent the commitment and determination of the U.S. Government to prevent suffering, save lives, and create a brighter future for families in the developing world. USAID's commitment to improving global health includes confronting global health challenges through improving the quality, availability, and use of essential health services. USAID's objective is to improve global health, including child, maternal, and reproductive health, and reduce abortion and disease, especially HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis.

USAID's Bureau for Global Health supports field health programs, advances research and innovation in selected areas relevant to overall Agency health objectives, and transfers new technologies to the field through its own staff’s work, coordination with other donors, and a portfolio of grants. Global health issues have global consequences that not only affect the people of developing nations but also directly affect the interests of American citizens.

In Washington, D.C., the Bureau for Global Health comprises eight offices that support the missions.

• The Office of the Assistant Administrator provides oversight for all Global Health programs, support to the field, research, legislative relations, and external affairs. The Office also houses two new Centers. The Center of Excellence on Children in Adversity, which coordinates USAID efforts under the USG Action Plan on Children in Adversity. This Center will bring together USAID’s technical experts – at the Missions and in Washington – who are leading the response to the world’s most vulnerable children. As well as the Center for Accelerating Innovation and Impact, which is charged with accelerating the development, introduction, and scale up of priority global health interventions.

• The Office of Country Support serves the Bureau for Global Health by ensuring strategic and broad spectrum technical assistance for USAID’s Population, Health/Nutrition (PHN) programs overseas. The Office provides assistance directly and manages country teams to support USAID PHN Mission Teams with field expertise from the Global Health Bureau, Regional Bureaus, and/or outside experts.

• The Office of Health, Infectious Diseases and Nutrition manages a diverse portfolio. It is responsible for managing the Bureau for Global Health’s activities in child survival health; maternal health, and infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, avian influenza, and neglected tropical diseases, and for providing technical leadership in each of these areas. The activities are included in programs in nutrition/micronutrients, food security, health policy and health systems strengthening, and child survival and health grants with nongovernmental organizations as well as in monitoring, reporting, and performance management.

• The Office of Health Systems works across the Agency’s entire portfolio of global health and is responsible for technical leadership and direction in health systems strengthening. The Office focuses on health policy; quality assurance; workforce policy; pharmaceutical management and standards; and information; monitoring, and evaluation.

• The Office of HIV/AIDS is the focus of HIV/AIDS technical leadership for the Agency and has primary responsibility for leading the Agency’s efforts within the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. This responsibility entails the following: ensuring the technical integrity of Agency and Mission strategies; providing global technical leadership on the full range of issues related to HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment; managing numerous research and field support programs; and monitoring and reporting on the impact of the Agency’s HIV/AIDS program.

• The Office of Policy, Programs, and Planning   has primary responsibility for the Bureau for Global Health’s strategic planning, budgeting, programming, and procurement functions. The Office provides leadership, advice, and support for overall strategic direction, resource allocation, and procurement planning. It supports efforts to monitor and promote the effectiveness of programs and the achievement of the Bureau for Global Health objectives, and is integrally involved in performance monitoring and program evaluation.

• The Office of Population and Reproductive Health provides strategic direction, technical leadership and support to field programs in population, voluntary family planning, and reproductive health. It manages programs that advance and apply state-of-the-art technologies, expand access to quality services, promote healthy behaviors, broaden contraceptive availability and choices, strengthen policies and systems to address family planning and reproductive health needs, and improve data collection and use.

• The Office of Professional Development and Management Support is responsible for three functional areas in the Bureau for Global Health: Professional/Organizational Development, Personnel, and Administrative Support. The Professional Development Team develops and supports all professional development and training activities for the Bureau for Global Health and health sector field staff by providing resources, sharing knowledge, building capacity, and maximizing learning opportunities. The Personnel Team assists Bureau managers in developing workforce analyses and plans, processing recruitments and selections, and coordinating staff evaluations and awards. Finally, the Administrative Team provides all logistics and systems support to Bureau staff.