Note: This document may not always reflect the actual appropriations determined by Congress. Final budget allocations for USAID's programs are not determined until after passage of an appropriations bill and preparation of the Operating Year Budget (OYB).
CENTRAL PROGRAMS
FY 1997 FY 1998 FY 1999 Actual Estimate Request Development Assistance.............. $310,405,000 $294,920,000 $313,517,000 Child Survival and Disease $120,362,000 $133,633,000 $123,628,000
The central programs of USAID are essential to carry out activities that directly advance U.S. national interests of economic prosperity, democracy and human rights advocacy, and to address global issues, such as environmental protection, population growth and health, and humanitarian assistance. In partnership with private and voluntary organizations (PVOs), universities, other donors and international assistance organizations, USAID contributes to substantive improvement in the ability of societies to improve the quality of life of people in developing countries and countries undergoing transition to market economies. The core of these central programs funds the research, technology development and transfer, and capacity building essential to achieve conditions favorable to sustainable development, which USAID has identified in its six goal areas: broad-based economic growth and agricultural development, strengthening democracy and good governance, building human capacity through education and training, stabilizing world population and protecting human health, protecting the world's environment for long-term sustainability, and providing humanitarian assistance. The central programs are comprised of three distinct, yet interrelated, bureaus within USAID: Global Programs, Field Support and Research; Humanitarian Response; and Policy and Program Coordination. These bureaus initiate and manage the central program core budget of Development Assistance (DA) $313,517,000 and Child Survival and Disease (CSD) $123,628,000 funds.
In keeping with its mandate as the Agency's central technical resource, central programs provide technical leadership to the Agency's five sustainable development goal areas and are responsible for providing technical support to field missions which it does both through its on-board staff and through its portfolio of centrally managed assistance tools. Central programs are responsible for most of the agency's research as well as the technical training which enables agency staff to continue to provide cutting-edge technical leadership. Central programs identify, then test and adapt successful approaches and methodologies from around the world to ongoing efforts to achieve sustainable development. In many cases, central programs lead the agency's efforts to bring other donors, international organizations, other US government agencies and developing country institutions together around pressing issues such as Global Climate Change, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and the economic status and legal rights of women.
Central programs design, manage, and evaluate technology transfer, applied and operations research, and other technical leadership activities in a diverse array of program areas directly related to the agency's strategic goals. These programs provide direct field support and other technical resources to USAID's regional and country programs. USAID field missions tap into the central programs to obtain the latest global technical leadership and research experience. This process marshals the resources required to provide the most up-to-date methods and tools to address specific country problems, support capacity building with USAID's development partners and customers, and provide lessons on the most effective development strategies that are disseminated throughout the international assistance community. Thus central programs use core resources and transfers of a roughly equal amount of resources from field and regional operating units to fund direct program management, technical leadership activities, and provision of specialized resources to the field.
Achievements of central programs have been notable: programs in population and family planning have helped to bring the average number of children per family in developing countries down from more than
six in the 1960s to four in 1997; between 1995 and 1997, USAID support for family planning resulted in an increase of more than 10 million contraceptive users . The United Nations estimates that seven million children's lives are being saved annually through the global child survival program and USAID is one of its largest supporters. During the next two years, the number of low-income clients gaining access to ongoing financial services supported by USAID will increase from 157,000 to 400,000, and over 65% of them will be women. In human capacity development, USAID has developed new educational development products, including software packages, to collect, analyze and provide statistics for use by Ministries of Education worldwide. In the past year USAID programs have helped improve the conservation of biodiversity on an additional one million hectares (2.5 million acres) of tropical forests, coral reefs, and grasslands, bringing USAID's total to 11 million hectares (27.5 million acres) in 32 countries under sustainable resource management. Through its support of Transparency International, central programs work with USAID field missions to establish coalitions of like-minded organizations and individuals to work with governments on developing and implementing anti-corruption programs. Over 70 national chapters that foster anti-corruption programs have been established to date. The institutional changes being implemented through USAID's Gender Plan of Action have become a model for integration of gender issues in the follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women.
Special initiatives are underway to promote programming synergies across the operating units in the central programs. Urban issues have been targeted including a multi-sector, local capacity-building approach to managing urban problems in several African cities, a pilot urban electronic center to give citizens access to government information and services at six community centers in Asuncion, Paraguay, and testing participatory approaches to solving water resource problems in a small number of municipalities that are experiencing serious water shortages.
Donor countries and partners are working towards agreement, on specific targets in many areas of development, ranging from child survival to global climate change. Central programs provide USAID technical leadership in demonstrating that coordinated efforts among donors and partners are the most effective way to achieve results. The critical mix of research, field testing and evaluation in USAID's central programs enables USAID to exercise a leadership position in the donor community, with the dissemination of drought-resistant crop technologies and cooperation in combatting the spread of the HIV/AIDS virus as two examples of effective donor collaboration.
The central programs improve the capabilities of USAID and its partners to obtain and use development information in decision-making and policy formulation, sharing lessons learned throughout the international development assistance community and leading to the development and adoption of strategic planning and performance measurement for all of USAID's program operations.
Central programs support activities to increase the capabilities of PVOs and cooperative development organizations (CDOs) to deliver sustainable development services at the grassroots level in priority areas such as child survival, microenterprise development, women's education, and the environment. These programs strengthen the organizational capacity and programs of PVOs and CDOs, enabling these key USAID partners to provide cross-cutting support for the achievement of shared objectives and the agency's strategic goals.
STABILIZING WORLD POPULATION AND PROTECTING HUMAN HEALTH
Despite significant declines in fertility and overall improvements in mortality and health status in developing countries during the past three decades, important challenges remain. More than 120 million women worldwide currently want to limit or space their childbearing, but do not have access to safe and effective contraception. Each year, approximately 585,000 women die unnecessarily from causes associated with pregnancy and childbirth. About 98% of these deaths occur in developing countries, and the vast majority are preventable. Child mortality in the developing world has declined, but remains high, with an estimated 11 million children under age five dying annually from preventable
causes such as measles, pneumonia and diarrheal disease. The HIV/AIDS pandemic continues to spread and devastate social and economic development efforts worldwide.
The United States has a vital stake in providing assistance in the population, health, and nutrition (PHN) sector because these programs have proven to be cost-effective, and they clearly address U.S. national interests. For example, early stabilization of the world's population serves U.S. national interests by contributing to global economic growth, a sustainable environment and regional stability. Reduced population pressures will also lower the risk of humanitarian crises in countries where population growth is highest. Protecting human health and nutrition impacts directly on economic productivity, and also affects the public health in the United States. Unhealthy conditions elsewhere in the world increase the incidence of disease and threat of epidemics which may directly affect U.S. citizens, retard economic development, and increase human suffering. Thus, the United States has a direct interest in both safeguarding the health of Americans and helping to reduce the negative consequences of disease worldwide.
USAID continues to be the premier technical assistance agency in the PHN sector, by virtue of the size of its program, its field presence, and the significant results it is achieving. Central programs have made important contributions to agency objectives in this sector.
Strategic Support Objective 1. Increased use by women and men of voluntary practices that contribute to reduced fertility.
USAID programs in population and family planning have had a significant impact on fertility, helping to bring the average number of children per family in developing countries down from over six in the 1960s to four in 1997. Between 1995 and 1997, USAID support for family planning resulted in an increase of over 10 million contraceptive users. Central programs have created a supportive environment and institutional framework for the provision of quality family planning services and information.
Strategic Support Objective 2. Increased use of safe pregnancy, women's nutrition, family planning, and other key reproductive health interventions.
To meet the agency's objective of contributing to the global reduction of maternal mortality through PHN interventions, central programs have leveraged scarce resources by documenting the feasibility, effectiveness, and affordability of key maternal health interventions. These results are shared with USAID's international, governmental and nongovernmental partners so that the important USAID contribution can be used by others as they make their policy and programming decisions for investments in maternal health. Other USAID programs in economic growth, education of girls, and promotion of gender equity also continue to be essential contributors to the agency goal of maternal mortality reduction.
Strategic Support Objective 3. Increased use of key child health and nutrition interventions.
The Secretary General of the United Nations estimates that seven million children's lives are now being saved annually by the global child survival program. As one of the largest supporters of that program, USAID is responsible for a substantial part of this accomplishment. The special roles of central programs within the agency's child survival program include developing and applying cost-effective and sustainable interventions against childhood diseases; engaging in global policy development and in partnerships with other organizations; providing state-of-the-art technical support and assistance to field missions', regional bureaus', and countries' child survival programs; and deriving and disseminating best practices and innovative approaches from USAID's experience to improve worldwide child survival programming.
Strategic Support Objective 4. Increased use of improved, effective, and sustainable responses to reduce HIV transmission and to mitigate the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
USAID has emerged as the global leader in addressing the HIV epidemic by developing international standards of practice (i.e., proven interventions) for the prevention of HIV transmission. Since 1991, in over 45 countries, USAID-supported programs have reached nearly 22 million persons with comprehensive HIV prevention education and behavior change activities to reduce risk behavior; 186,967 counselors and educators have received intensive training; and over 400 million condoms have been distributed, 80% of which were sold through social marketing programs. The clinical management of sexually transmitted infections has been improved in 22 countries and innovative tools, such as the female condom, have been developed and introduced as part of intervention research activities.
Strategic Support Objective 5. Increased use of proven interventions to reduce the threat of infectious diseases of major public health importance.
USAID is undertaking a new initiative to help increase the international effort to combat infectious diseases. To this effort, USAID brings a focus on diseases which have a major public health impact in the developing world (concentrating on those diseases that are the sources of significant mortality) and building the capacity of developing countries to prevent, treat and minimize the spread of infectious diseases. Activities will focus on four areas: (1) combatting anti-microbial resistance; (2) tuberculosis prevention and control; (3) malaria prevention and control; and (4) disease surveillance and monitoring. USAID will continue its existing work to reduce mortality due to infectious diseases that threaten the survival of children, the reproductive health of women and the life expectancy of young adults through diseases such as HIV/AIDS.
The important contributions of central programs to agency performance in the PHN sector stems from the success of central programs in carrying out three critical functions. These functions include global leadership, research and evaluation, and technical support to the field. These critical functions link the operations of central programs with the problems and opportunities in the developing world, not only in countries served by USAID missions, but globally.
Global Leadership. Central programs are responsible for major programmatic innovations in the population, health and nutrition field, including the development and introduction of new and improved contraceptive methods, improved public and private sector service delivery systems, the Child Survival Initiative, and the mobilization of the international community in response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. As a leader among donors in the PHN sector, USAID places great importance on donor coordination as a means to avoid duplication and to ensure that the most urgent program needs are met. Although USAID has the greatest experience and technical capacity in service delivery programs, other donors often play important complementary roles in other areas such as policy dialogue and training. Donor coordination occurs through formal and informal communication, and through USAID's leadership in multilateral meetings on population, health and nutrition.
Research and Evaluation . Central programs play a significant technical leadership role in the arena of research and evaluation, currently accounting for more than 80% of the agency's research activities in population, health and nutrition. Central programs support the development, testing and dissemination of new technologies and methodologies that address key technical problems and constraints to program implementation in developing countries.
Technical Support to the Field. Central programs are customer-driven with field missions as their primary clients. The rationale for all of the central programs is to support the field by providing information, training, commodities, and technical support particularly for delivery of services. Field technical support provided through central programs is the critical link through which advances in research are reflected in program improvements at the country level. Central programs also work with
field missions to ensure an appropriate fit between centrally funded initiatives and country-specific situations, and provide a ready mechanism by which missions can benefit from the experience and knowledge that USAID has gained worldwide.
PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT
Global environmental challenges -- climate change, the loss of biodiversity, explosive growth in the world's urban centers, and environmental mismanagement -- are fundamental constraints to sustainable development, and pose real threats to America's economic and political interests. To combat these threats, USAID, through the Environment Center, focuses on four strategic support objectives that contribute to managing the environment for long-term sustainability. Through these, the Environmental Center supports the environmental objectives of the missions and other parts of USAID, as well as provide technical leadership.
Strategic Support Objective 1. Improved protection and sustainable use of natural resources, principally forests, biodiversity, and coastal and freshwater ecosystems.
The natural resources upon which people depend for sustainable development are being degraded, depleted, and inefficiently used in many parts of the developing world. Deforestation, water scarcity and poor water quality, loss of genetic resources, and the deterioration of coastal and aquatic ecosystems cause severe environmental, economic and social problems. Working in 60 countries, USAID supports one of the most comprehensive natural resource conservation programs of any bilateral donor. USAID has made important contributions to safeguarding biological diversity and maintaining environmental health by supporting the conservation of biologically important areas, sustainable forestry, integrated coastal resource management, and environmental education and awareness. Results achieved in FY 1997 include the following:
* Central programs helped improve the conservation of biodiversity on an additional one million hectares (2.5 million acres) of tropical forests, coral reefs, and grasslands, bringing the total to 11 million hectares (27.5 million acres) in 32 countries;
* An additional 301,033 hectares (752,580 acres) came under effective management, meaning that rates of environmental degradation were significantly slowed or reversed and that local organizations demonstrated the ability to manage their areas effectively;
* Integrated management of coastal resources covering 426,300 hectares in Sri Lanka, Mexico, Indonesia, Tanzania and Kenya created strong alliances between local government and coastal communities and promoted effective conservation of more than 125,000 hectares of critical coastal habitat; and
* National and local environmental awareness campaigns relating to water scarcity and conservation reached more than 2.5 million citizens in Central America and the Middle East.
Over the next two years, central environmental programs will achieve the following results:
* The improved conservation of at least an additional 600,000 hectares (1.5 million acres) of critical habitats in India, Nepal, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Mexico, Central America and Central Africa; and
* Improved management of 480,000 (1,200,000 acres) hectares of critical coastal habitat in East Africa, Mexico and Indonesia. Areas are considered under improved management when there is increased participation of stakeholders, strengthened capacity for planning and
implementing interventions or strategies and policies are developed that enable sustainable management.
Strategic Support Objective 2. Improved management of urbanization in targeted areas.
While cities in developing countries present opportunities for economic and social growth,urbanization poses enormous environmental problems with significant economic and social impacts, including dangerous levels of pollution and insufficient access to clean water, clean air, and sanitation. USAID helps countries develop policies, strengthen institutions (both public and private), and identify cost-effective measures and financial resources for addressing these problems. Results achieved in FY 1997 include the following:
* 546,000 households benefited from improved urban environmental infrastructure and shelter solutions through the Urban Environmental Credit Program;
* The International Resource Cities Program promoted more effective local governments by matching five cities in the United States with those in developing and transitional countries to provide technical advice and cooperation on issues such as urban service delivery, solid waste collection, and environmental management; and
* USAID reduced urban pollution by promoting the adoption of 270 cleaner production policies and manufacturing processes in Bolivia, Ecuador, Egypt, Indonesia and Paraguay through the Environmental Pollution Prevention Program.
Over the next two years the following results will be achieved:
* Using technical assistance funded under this strategic objective and loan funding through the Urban Environmental Credit Program, USAID will provide more than 1.2 million households with improved urban environmental infrastructure and shelter solutions (as defined by a series of technical performance indicators);
* The International Resource Cities Program will develop an additional six to seven partnerships between U.S. and host country cities to enhance more effective local governments through the sharing of information, technical approaches, etc., and use the lessons drawn from these experiences to influence actions in cities around the world; and
* A new Environmental Management System (EMS) program will help city governments define the roles and responsibilities of public and private institutions in environmental management, provide guidelines for controlling both municipal and industrial pollution sources, and provide assistance in developing appropriate financing tools to reduce urban pollution. Five area programs will report reduced pollution from implementing an EMS.
Strategic Support Objective 3. Increased, environmentally sustainable energy production and use.
Most developing countries must expand energy supply in order to achieve and maintain economic growth. However, expansion of energy production and use often creates substantial environmental and health problems and may increase greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global climate change.
USAID is assisting developing countries to develop sustainable, environmentally sound, energy regimes, with strong emphasis on those approaches to the reduction of greenhouse gases which also provide economic or other environmental benefits. USAID promotes free market policies and more efficient power production, energy conservation, and private sector participation in the energy sector. USAID, working with other donors and the private sector, often leverages additional investments to finance
environmentally sustainable energy production and use. Increased private sector participation in the power sector of developing countries opens a $50 billion industry to U.S. companies while providing needed investment in energy infrastructure. Results achieved in FY 1997 include the following:
* Over $300 million in renewable energy financing by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation was leveraged by USAID activities; and
* More than 19,000 tons of CO2 emissions were avoided through USAID activities to implement energy efficient technologies, practices and policies.
Over the next two years, significant progress is expected toward the following results:
* Increase of 40% in megawatts saved by adopting energy efficient technologies, practices, and policies in USAID-assisted countries;
* Increase of 75% in the number of households, businesses and service centers (hospitals, schools, etc.) that benefit from small-scale energy systems; and
* Number of partnerships between U.S. and host country businesses in cleaner energy technologies will triple from 1996 levels.
Special Objective 1. Reduced threat to sustainable development from global climate change.
Global climate change poses profound economic and ecological challenges. While all sectors of the global economy, all realms of the natural environment and all countries of the world will be affected, the greatest impacts will fall on developing and transition countries, the countries least able to cope with crisis and adapt to change.
In June 1997, President Clinton announced that the United States would provide at least $1 billion over the next five years for programs to reduce the threat of climate change by decreasing the rate of growth in net greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries, increasing developing country participation in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Control (UNFCCC), and reducing developing country vulnerability to climate change. This agency-wide special objective was created to implement the initiative. Results achieved in FY 1997 include the following:
* USAID analyzed the climate change experience of the last five years, and based on the results, developed an action plan to implement the President's initiative and a results framework to track USAID's climate change activities;
* USAID provided technical and policy leadership to U.S. Government efforts to promote joint implementation measures with developing countries, and developed a bilingual Guide for Establishing Joint Implementation Programs to assist Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Chile and Bolivia to establish projects, set-up Joint Implementation offices or committees, and introduce methodologies for technically evaluating projects; and
* USAID has implemented environmental programs that, though targeted on other goals (e.g., energy efficiency, forestry and biodiversity conservation), have had a direct impact on greenhouse gas emissions.
Over the next two years, significant progress is expected toward the following results:
* Decreasing the rate of growth in net greenhouse gas emissions from key developing countries by reducing emissions from greenhouse gas sources and maintaining or increasing greenhouse gas sinks;
* Increasing developing country participation in the UNFCCC, with at least five key countries participating in joint implementation and accepting other increased responsibilities; and
* Reducing developing country vulnerability to climate change, with a global vulnerability analysis completed.
ENCOURAGING BROAD-BASED ECONOMIC GROWTH AND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
Poor countries can benefit from the growing global economy if their economic policies and institutions favor economic growth. Centrally funded programs in agriculture research, microenterprise and emerging markets provide a wide range of activities supporting economic growth. Many countries in the developing world have turned away from centrally planned economies and have embraced free market approaches. To complete this transition, governments must continue to implement policy and institutional reforms, assisted by specific reform interventions which foster market-oriented economies. USAID central programs support these reforms through technical input into bilateral mission programs.
Central programs promote broad-based economic growth through three strategic support objectives and four special objectives.
Strategic Support Objective 1. Improved access to financial and non-financial services for microenterprises of the poor.
Central programs have played a leading role in implementing USAID's microenterprise initiative. USAID continues to work to open economies and financial systems to allow poor entrepreneurs to participate. Activities include direct funding, strategic support to USAID field missions and developing countries, and technical leadership. During the next two years, the number of low-income clients gaining access to ongoing financial services will increase from 157,000 to 400,000. Over 65% of them will be women. Due in part to USAID leadership, other donors are increasing their participation in this effort. For example, the World Bank's Consultative Group to assist the Poorest, a multi-donor effort which USAID was instrumental in establishing, is off to a strong start.
Strategic Support Objective 2. Improved food availability, economic growth and conservation of natural resources through agricultural development.
Food security is a key part of USAID's integrated, sustainable development program, given that global food requirements are expected to double in the next 25 years and some 800 million people are still hungry. This ranges from policy analysis and support to value-added processing and marketing. Agricultural research is one of the most effective and sustainable investments. Central programs increasingly emphasize collaborative efforts among its research partners, and in particular, between U.S. institutions, such as the land-grant universities and Collaborative Research Support Programs (CRSPs), and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). This partnership collaboration produces additional food in developing countries which is valued in the billions of dollars per year. Central programs also promote scientific, commercial and policy linkages with agricultural research institutions, experts, businesses and investors. Central programs also facilitate an array of technical and market support activities which provide technological support to farm input and post-harvest economic activity. The agricultural and economic development resulting from central programs provide extensive benefits in the United States. This exchange of information generates alternative technologies which can alleviate tropical deforestation, decertification and biodiversity loss. USAID supports agricultural research and technology dissemination to complement environmental programs. Advances in productivity of rice, wheat and other crops help meet food demands and thus help to ensure that millions of hectares of forest lands remain in their natural state. For example, Asia's rice requirement is expected to double in the next 25 years. To support the Asia region's sustainable development, USAID sponsors research on "super-rices." This advanced research promises to produce
14 tons of rice per hectare, up from the current average of six tons, and this helps to ensure that millions of hectares of forest lands remain in their natural state.
Strategic Support Objective 3. Support appropriate and functioning economic policies, market reforms in emerging markets and priority countries.
Excluding China, 80% of the world's poor (700 million people with income of less than $1 per day) live in 12 USAID-assisted countries. A recently completed USAID study on economic growth concluded that reformed economic systems can reduce that number to less than 300 million by the year 2020 and increase U.S. exports to those countries by 530% with sustained reforms and rapid growth. Central programs promote openness and transparency in economic systems to: (1) increase efficiency and competitiveness; (2) expand participation in the economy for all citizens; and (3) integrate the countries into the global economy. In the past year, USAID has provided assistance on policy reform to more than 30 countries. For example, USAID worked to reform the telecommunications regulatory structure in El Salvador. Policy advisors from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have been made available to USAID-assisted countries to help restructure the financial market institutions. Central programs have provided research in poverty reduction, failed states, reforms in war-torn economies, and fiscal decentralization.
Special Objective 1. Better access to finance and information for micro and small business.
USAID builds sustainable linkages between financial institutions and small and microenterprises lacking full access to formal financial markets. A primary tool of this program provides guarantees for loans made by financial institutions. USAID's credit programs are described in another section in the Congressional Presentation.
Special Objective 2. Enhance the ability of indigenous businesses to become viable within emerging markets.
The transfer of technology is a key USAID function carried out through the International Executive Service Corps (IESC), Appropriate Technology International (ATI), and the Global Technology Network (GTN). They concentrate on private sector growth to enhance competitiveness. Sustainability is institutionalized as businesses utilize the transferred technology. During the past year, IESC conducted 1,200 voluntary executive assignments, generating over $370 million in monetary benefits. ATI delivered technical expertise in seven specific microenterprise productive modalities, generating benefits in excess of $11.5 million and serving more than 250,000 participants.
Special Objective 3. Expand technology transfer by U.S. business.
USAID's Global Technology Network (GTN) promotes the growth and competitive ability of U.S. small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This, in turn, promotes U.S. private sector ties which support USAID's technological and policy reforms. GTN measures its success by the utilization of its databases, the coverage of its trade network, and the value of the transactions completed annually. In 1997, the total value of completed transactions exceeded $20 million. USAID seeks to expand the SME database to 100,000 from its current level of 60,000 and to complete 15 state-level agreements annually.
Special Objective 4. Increased science and technology cooperation among Middle Eastern and developing countries, and utilization of U.S. & Israeli technical expertise by developing countries.
Central programs foster collaboration between Israel and other countries in applying science and technology to address shared development goals in the Middle East, the New Independent States, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Israel excels in such areas as arid lands management,irrigation, solar energy, biotechnology, biological pest control, and aquaculture. These programs provide a mechanism to apply Israeli technical capabilities along with those of its Arab and lesser-developed country partners. USAID funding catalyzes cooperation and U.S. involvement makes possible Israeli collaboration in countries otherwise closed to Israel. This contributes to the peace process and to development. Measurable results include advances in saline agriculture, improved agricultural water management technology, improved biopesticides, increased understanding of tropical diseases in the region, and increased knowledge of threats to the unique aquatic environment of that region.
STRENGTHENING DEMOCRACY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE
USAID's commitment to strengthening democracy and good governance worldwide is now recognized as an essential component of a balanced foreign assistance program. That commitment is based on a recognition that America's long-term domestic and foreign policy interests are best served by enlarging the community of like-minded democratic nations, that democratic governments are more likely to advocate and observe international law, are more likely to protect civil and human rights and are more likely to sustain the long-term economic growth and stability so essential to U.S. international trade and prosperity.
Democracy not only supports U.S. foreign policy goals, but facilitates informed participation, public sector accountability, and the protection of human rights. Success in the other core areas of USAID's sustainable development program is inextricably linked to democratization and good governance.
The global transition toward democracy which gained such significant momentum over the past decade has brought forth a number of democracies exhibiting institutional weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Governments that select a democratic path are vulnerable -- to coups, corruption, organized crime or civil strife -- until they develop strong civil societies, a rule of law and strong governmental institutions at the federal and local levels. These countries, along with other post-crisis states, are the focus of USAID democracy and governance strategy. These are the countries where public and private institutions of democratic governance must be strengthened, where integrity, accountability and transparency at all levels must become the norm, where the insidious legacies of authoritarian rule must be overcome, and where individuals and groups must be allowed to deepen their cultural commitment to democratic norms.
By building on USAID's own experience and by tapping into the strength of this nation's democratic institutions and nongovernmental organizations, centrally-managed programs increase the overall effectiveness of activities in this newest area of development work. Central programs provide the technical and intellectual leadership to help shape USAID technical programs worldwide and to influence the assistance policies of other donors in the areas of rule of law, elections and political processes, civil society and governance.
Central programs work in collaboration with other USAID organizational units to achieve the following strategic support objectives:
Strategic Support Objective 1. Legal systems operate more effectively to embody democratic principles and protect human rights.
The adherence to the rule of law is tied to how several key institutions function: the constitution, statutes and administrative regulations; the justice sector, including the judiciary, police and prosecutors; and civil society, including professional legal associations. USAID strategy focuses on judicial, legal and regulatory frameworks which support democratic institutions and market based economies (the relevance, transparency and enforceability of
constitutions, codes, and regulations); the independence and effectiveness of the judiciary and the fairness and transparency of other parts of the justice sector; access to justice (civil society's understanding of and willingness to use the justice system); and legal protections for human rights and gender equity.
Strategic Support Objective 2. Political processes, including elections, are competitive and reflect the will of an informed citizenry.
Free and fair elections are integral to a functioning democracy. In authoritarian countries or new democracies, they can be a primary tool to expand political liberalization and participation and, in addition, to choose representative leaders. Elections provide parties and civic groups an opportunity to mobilize supporters and present alternative platforms to the public. Central programs support election planning and administration, political party development, domestic and international monitoring, voter education and women's political participation.
Strategic Support Objective 3. Informed citizens' groups effectively contribute to more responsive government.
Civil society is emerging as a major pro-democratic force in countries which suffer from a legacy of authoritarian government. These pro-reform groups are composed of religious leaders, human rights groups, business and labor federations, women's and environmental groups, legal activists and other civic groups. USAID supports these groups in the interest of wider citizen participation in policy formulation and greater government transparency and accountability.
Strategic Support Objective 4. National and local government institutions more openly and effectively perform their public responsibilities.
The demand for more efficient, less corrupt, more transparent and more responsive government at all levels has grown with the emergence of competitive political parties, wider media coverage, and more active citizen participation. Central programs promote increased governmental integrity, democratic decentralization, legislative strengthening, civilian oversight of the military, and conflict mitigation.
Democracy and governance is a strategic objective in 69 USAID field missions. Central programs provide direct technical support to USAID field mission staff and maintain specialized grants, cooperative agreements, interagency agreements and contracts which missions may access for short, medium or long-term assistance. Technical guidance for the conduct of political sector assessments and development of country program strategy has been prepared, tested and refined. Regional trends are analyzed annually, and individual country initiatives are continually being assessed for identification of "best practices" which might be promoted for replication elsewhere. Based on this kind of research and analysis, resource allocation recommendations are formulated; country strategies are critiqued; and technical guidance is produced for in-country use by development practitioners and beneficiary counterparts. Publications currently being issued in the rule of law area address matters of political will, judicial training, justice sector reform, institutional strengthening, and alternative dispute resolution. Examples of publications in the other subject areas include manuals and handbooks on the strengthening of political processes, supporting legislative strengthening initiatives, and implementing democratic decentralization. Program results are being achieved: judicial reform is gaining momentum across Latin America as collaboration among countries improves and lessons on successful methods are replicated; successful national elections occurred in Bosnia, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Liberia and Kenya; and advocacy movements for improved democratic governance are gaining stature in Indonesia, Kenya and Angola.
Equally important is the current work with cross-sectoral issues. Most recently, USAID developed initiatives that build synergies between the economic growth and democracy and governance sectors. Central programs are exploring ways to better focus democratic processes that may improve the quality of economic policies and programs, enable civil society organizations to serve as catalysts for economic reform, strengthen the rule of law to enhance property rights and enforcement of contracts, and build transparency and anti-corruption activities that improve both citizen participation and conditions for economic growth.
Centrally managed global activities supplement and support mission-led country initiatives, and provide opportunities for networking, cross-fertilization, economies of scale and other efficiencies unavailable to bilateral missions. USAID relies and invests, for the most part, on the international programs of non-governmental organizations to address these world-wide interests. A grant to the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations/Solidarity Center emphasizes the development of free, independent and democratic trade unions, their role and participation in political and economic processes, and the fostering of democracy. The Solidarity Center achieved a recent breakthrough in Bangladesh by winning Ministry of Labor recognition for the newly established national federation of independent garment workers which previously had no legal status. Formal recognition as a national federation will mean greater protection of worker rights and overall improvement of working conditions in hundreds of garment factories. A series of demonstration projects in both Asia and Latin America to implement the objectives of the White House Apparel Industry Partnership is being planned.
A cooperative agreement with The Asia Foundation aims to increase women's participation in political processes. An example of the kind of results sought in this program occurred when a coalition of women's organizations in Nepal used techniques shared at a USAID-sponsored meeting to mount a successful constitutional challenge to discriminatory inheritance laws.
A new grant to Transparency International, an international nongovernmental organization, pays for intensive anti-corruption work in seven to 10 countries. Target countries are being selected now, with the first criteria being suitable partners in government and civil society who are genuinely committed to reform.
A new cooperative agreement on civil-military relations is expected to be awarded in FY 1998. Elements of the program include assistance to non-military agencies, departments or committees of the legislative and executive branches of government to increase capacity for analyzing and formulating security and defense policy; building capacity for analysis of security and defense issues outside government, for example within think tanks, policy analysis groups, academic departments and interest or watchdog groups, and the media; and increased opportunities for interaction between military, other government and civil society representatives.
The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, the International Republican Institute, and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems are recognized authorities in democracy and governance programming, and are USAID's major partners for the delivery of assistance for electoral and political processes strengthening. The rapid response capacity of these organizations has been particularly critical to the timely delivery of United States support to democratic processes in fast changing political environments around the world.
In countries where USAID has little or no presence, and exceptional circumstances require, activities may be managed through central programs. These programs are typically jointly planned with the Department of State, and funded from the Economic Support Fund to respond to a critical foreign policy need. Consistent with Agency strategy, post-crisis country interventions (e.g.: Liberia, Angola, Congo/Kinshasa, and prospectively Algeria and Sudan) are
usually of a rapid-response nature and involve activities of high visibility in support of a peace initiative. In transition situations (e.g.: Mongolia, Yemen, and Pakistan) the emphasis is foundation-building for longer-term institutional development.
Central program personnel actively participate in USAID and wider U.S. Government and international body policy development. USAID's Center for Democracy and Governance is playing a substantive role in U.S. Government follow-through on the communique of the Denver Summit in which a commitment by the Group of Seven, plus Russia, was made to "consider common efforts to promote democracy where it is now established." This commitment is further evidence of the rising profile of democracy and governance as an integral element of international development assistance. The United Nations Development Program and the International Monetary Fund have recently adopted new policies related to programming of resources in these areas; and the World Bank featured good governance as a critical factor in its annual development report.
HUMAN CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT THROUGH EDUCATION AND TRAINING
The acquisition of sufficient knowledge and skills to lead an independent and productive life is a universal goal for the world's population and an essential part of national prosperity. In many nations these goals remain distant:
* For many people, especially women, illiteracy and lack of a basic education remain enormous barriers to more productive employment;
* Training and education institutions are costly and are easily outpaced by global technology and economic change;
* Many nations have a poorly performing public learning system and an underdeveloped workforce -- barriers to international investment and constraints to national development; and
* The mismatch between workforce capabilities and market opportunity causes destabilizing unemployment that impedes economic growth and nurtures radical threats to democracy.
As we enter the 21st century, it will become increasingly imperative that nations establish well-performing, public learning systems to manage and take advantage of global economic trends. It is strongly in the U.S. national interest to help nations avoid workforce stagnation and prosper through flexible and strategic investments in education, training, and workforce development.
Central programs address these problems with four objectives supporting USAID's goal, "Human Capacity Development through Education and Training."
Strategic Support Objective 1. Improved and expanded basic education and learning systems .
Although many countries are making progress in expanding schooling opportunity, progress is unacceptably slow in other areas, particularly sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. In all regions, enrollment increases often mask poor quality. Low participation and poor achievement for girls are of particular concern, as are problems of early childhood development. In nations undergoing crisis and transition, educational investments are needed to break the cycle of violence and ensure sustainable development. To address these concerns, central programs have: fully developed new educational development products, including a software package to collect, analyze and provide statistics for use by ministries of education worldwide;developed guidelines for supporting educational reform for Africa; and documented and disseminated lessons learned from key education reforms underway in Latin America and the Caribbean. Additionally, through central program support, regional networks of early childhood policy makers and practitioners have produced studies to look at policies and the impact of gender socialization in the early years to assist ministries and nongovernmental organizations to promote early learning and parent education.
Strategic Support Objective 2. Expanded higher education and workforce development partnerships.
USAID's higher education partnerships match strong American institutions with sister institutions overseas to achieve mutual development goals through research, teaching and faculty development, often with private sector support. USAID's workforce development program improves productivity and employment through market-driven, cost-effective education and training programs that meet the needs of employers and communities while building on the strengths of service-oriented training institutions, such as community colleges. Central programs have supported collaborative efforts resulting in developing country educational institutions becoming self-sustaining. Examples include skills training, research centers, technology transfer, human resource development, alumni networking, higher education linkages, and partnerships that address demand-driven skill needs of young adults, and under-employed people.
Strategic Support Objective 3. Improved performance and effectiveness of targeted host country organizations.
One of USAID's most important investments in sustainable development is training, both domestically and abroad. The developing world needs specialized, short-term technical training and advanced degree training as essential elements of many sectoral and capacity developing programs. Central programs are fine-tuning USAID training activities in order to lower costs, simplify administration, and promulgate "best practices" to increase the skills of individuals and the effectiveness of key organizations. At the same time, USAID is enhancing America's leadership position in international education and training. Activities are designed to assist USAID field missions in creating more effective linkages between training goals and strategic objectives. USAID coordinates its training programs with USIA and other U.S. federal agencies through the Inter-Agency Working Group on International Exchanges and Training.
Special Objective 1. Expanded access to and application of information and telecommunications services.
Information policy and technology applications will dominate the development agenda in the early 21st century, as nations compete for access and control of information and the technology to manage information. Central programs promote open market-based national communications systems and state-of-the-art applications, including distance learning, community-based information systems and multi-media training systems, in support of sustainable development objectives. Through innovative partnerships, USAID harnesses and delivers the expertise and entrepreneurship of American telecommunications and information technology industries and key Federal agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission.
CROSS-CUTTING PROGRAMS
WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT
During the last several years, USAID has made significant increases in the level of funding directed to programs that directly benefit women and girls. In FY 1999, $10 million is planned for the Women in Development (WID) program. The agency has launched major new initiatives in the areas of reproductive health for women, girls' education, women and microenterprise, and women's political participation and legal rights. These represent significant accomplishments, but perhaps the greatest accomplishment is the clear understanding throughout the agency that development can only be effective if programs pay attention to the central role of women in the economic and social advancement of a nation. USAID's Gender Plan of Action, launched in March 1996, reflects this understanding. The Gender Plan of Action consists of 15 distinct actions to build commitment to considerations of gender issues as key development issues. The institutional changes being implemented through the Gender Plan have become a model for the integration of gender issues in follow-up action to the Fourth World Conference on Women. USAID is now commonly cited by other U.S. Government agencies as having the lead on gender integration, and USAID has been asked to chair a working group on Gender and Institutional Change under the auspices of the President's Interagency Council on Women.
USAID's Women in Development program is focused on: (1) support to develop nongovernmental organization (NGO) capacity to focus on the role of women in their programs; (2) support for high-quality, applied research on women's roles and status; (3) communications and information dissemination focused on women's roles; (4) the development of professional expertise on women's roles; and (5) a variety of technical assistance activities designed to improve the extent to which USAID programs address gender considerations. The cross-cutting nature of the WID program provides for valuable contribution to each of the agency's sustainable development goal areas, including democracy and governance, economic growth and agricultural development, human capacity development through education and training, environment, and population and health.
Strategic Support Objective 1. Enhance the economic status of women throughout the developing world. The economic situation of women is of great importance in all regions of the world. Women's economic activity is high and growing, but women are disproportionately unemployed and underpaid. Almost all USAID missions are addressing economic growth issues with an emphasis on disadvantaged groups. USAID's approach includes support for women's involvement in agricultural producers' associations; explicit attention to "women's crops" in agricultural research and efforts to improve seed selection and develop new crop varieties; microenterprise development; and information dissemination regarding the key role of women in the labor force in privatization strategies. In Africa, USAID-supported activities have contributed to more equitable participation of women in the commercial agricultural sector, while USAID-supported NGOs are influencing national agricultural policies for the benefit of women farmers. In Asia and the Near East (ANE), USAID missions' attempts to reduce gender disparities are resulting in closer integration of women in the economic processes in their countries.
Strategic Support Objective 2. Expanded educational opportunities for girls. Significant disparities continue to exist in the educational status of girls compared to that of boys in most regions of the world. These are most striking in South Asia and Africa, where half of the USAID missions have strategic objectives related to girl's education. In addition to interventions such as training of female teachers and provision of scholarships for girls, USAID's girls' education program in emphasis countries is increasing girls' formal school attendance, retention, and completion through awareness raising for parents, educators, and religious
leaders at the community and national levels. USAID also stimulates the involvement of the private sector, encouraging employers to support girls' education as an effective investment in a productive labor force. In the public sector, USAID encourages a diverse range of agencies to develop programs that support girls' education via interventions such as infrastructure development, health programs, school lunch programs, and literacy training for mothers. Analytical studies in three other countries are strengthening decision makers' ability to make resource and programmatic decisions that positively affect girls' enrollment and retention.
Strategic Support Objective 3. Improve women's legal and property rights and increase their participation in governance and civil society. The legal rights of women and their enforcement, and women's participation in civil society are critical development issues in all regions. Most USAID missions worldwide have adopted strategic objectives in the area of democracy and governance, making a focus on women's legal rights and civil society warranted on the basis of USAID country priorities as well as women's needs. Issues of women and civil society are a particular focus in Latin America and the Caribbean; issues of property rights and privatization are emphasized in Europe and the New Independent States of the former Soviet Union. USAID is supporting legal literacy programs, training for the judiciary, and the development of the capacity of legal and human rights NGOs to effectively advocate for women. In South Africa, the national system of land distribution has been changed from being based on the household to accounting for the individual, thereby ensuring gender equity in land ownership and tenure. USAID partnerships with local women in their campaign against female genital mutilation (FGM) have contributed importantly to a close re-examination of FGM policy and practice in countries as diverse as Kenya, Ghana, Egypt, Mali, and Guinea. USAID-supported rule of law programs have led to constitutional reform in Guatemala, judicial training in El Salvador, prison reform in Haiti, human rights protection in former conflict zones in Nicaragua, and legal clinics for women in Peru. Worldwide, the capacity of more than 150 NGOs to work on women's advocacy issues has been strengthened.
Strategic Support Objective 4. Integrate gender issues throughout USAID regional and country programs. While the central WID program has selected several priority areas to improve the status of women in developing and transitional countries, opportunities in other areas exist throughout USAID regional and country programs. The central WID program supports efforts to address gender considerations and improve the status of women via technical assistance to field missions overseas. In Kenya, Uganda, Peru, Brazil, India, and Ukraine, technical assistance has resulted in integrating gender in missions' strategies and activities. Gender is now among the criteria utilized to determine resource allocation in USAID missions. In the past year in the ANE region alone, two-thirds of missions' objectives or special objectives were noted for their effort to reduce gender disparities; three missions were cited as models of gender integration, and two for their gender-led strategies. In the Africa region, seven missions demonstrated significant awareness of gender-based disparities. This involves providing the technical services of both direct-hire staff and contractors to work with USAID staff in field missions; ongoing Washington-based assistance with the identification of gender issues in key program areas, and guidance regarding how to address these issues; an active program of information dissemination including a newsletter, fact sheets and information bulletins on important gender and development issues; and support for a fellowship program that provides mid-career development professionals with training in WID issues as well as exposure to how these issues can be addressed in the field.
PEACE CORPS
Special Objective 1. Enhance communities' capabilities to conduct low-cost, grassroots, sustainable development activities.
Through a worldwide participating agency service agreement with the Peace Corps, central programs support the Small Project Assistance (SPA) program, with planned funding of $1,500,000 in FY 1999. The purpose of the SPA program is to support, in conjunction with local communities, small-scale, sustainable development activities in areas of priority to USAID such as improving human health, protecting the environment, and facilitating economic growth. The SPA program facilitates local grassroots efforts by combining the Peace Corps volunteers' people-to-people approach and host country nationals' relationships with USAID's technical and financial resources. Since 1985, USAID has provided $20 million in support of 6,200 community activities.
Strengthening USAID's Development Partners
Strategic Objective No. 1: Increased capability of private voluntary organizations to achieve sustainable service delivery.
USAID, through the Office of Private and Voluntary Cooperation, supports activities which increase the capabilities of private voluntary organizations (PVOs) and cooperatives to deliver sustainable development services at the grassroots level in priority areas such as child survival, microenterprise development, women's education, and the environment. A key dimension of these programs is strengthening the organizational capacity and programs of PVOs and cooperatives to provide cross-cutting support for USAID's six strategic objectives. Increasingly, USAID is encouraging collaborative partnerships between U.S. PVOs and cooperatives and indigenous organizations to promote development at the local level and to enhance program sustainability and impact. Funds are allocated to individual organizations through competitive grants which include a matching requirement to leverage additional private resources for development. Approved grants are consistent with USAID mission strategic plans. The major central grants programs are:
Matching Grants : This competitive Matching Grants program (MGP) strengthens U.S. PVOs' technical, planning and management capacity to carry out development programs in USAID-assisted countries. The U.S. PVOs contribute at least 50% of the total project costs and increasingly implement their activities through local organizations and provide them with capacity-building support through technical assistance, training, and information sharing. For example, in Zimbabwe, the program has enabled Opportunity International's partner, Zambuko Trust, to rapidly increase its loan portfolio and become a leader in microenterprise finance. From 1993 to mid-1997, the Trust increased the number of loans and total lending value more than seven-fold, made over 13,500 loans totaling approximately $2.3 million with a repayment rate of over 96% and provided underserved groups with access to credit. Two-thirds of the Trust's loan recipients are women. In El Salvador, TechnoServe developed the capacity of local cooperatives and institutions to increase rural employment and income generation. TechnoServe used a commodity-based enterprise model that focuses on bolstering established mid-sized private sector organizations that have a reasonable prospect of becoming financially viable. The project is having tangible, positive impact on the economic and social welfare of the participants. Members are managing cooperatives more effectively, increasing production and creating more jobs. For example: in Lajas, one of the cooperatives has been distributing a dividend of $2,000 per member per year. The project has aided families in achieving incomes of $5,000 per year compared to the $600 per year of families not participating in the project. Economic improvements have translated into better housing, education and health services for cooperative members.
Child Survival: Child Survival (CS) grants are intended to meet the health needs of infants, children and mothers in countries with high mortality rates and to improve the capacity of U.S. PVOs and their local partners to carry out effective child survival programs. USAID currently supports 64 CS programs in 31 countries, through 25 PVOs, with a portfolio value of $92 million. These technically rigorous programs focus on immunization, nutrition, breast feeding, diarrheal disease control, pneumonia treatment, maternal and newborn care, malaria control, child spacing and HIV/AIDS prevention. Through a competitive grants program, 18 grants were awarded in 1997 for new programs; two new categories of grants, "mentoring partnerships" and "entry" grants, were designed to bring in new organizations. New and mentoring partnerships are four-year programs; entry grants are for two years. Most new grants are up to $1 million with a requirement to cost-share 25% of the total program cost. In Haiti, Save the Children has reduced the percentage of children with malnutrition from 77% to 46% in the project area. Andean Rural Health Care's child survival program in Bolivia effectively reduced the child mortality rate in the project area by 38% in four years. Through the PATH project in Lombok, Indonesia, since 1990, coverage of maternal tetanus toxoid immunization has increased from 47% to 73%; Expanded Program of Immunization coverage has increased from 55% to 84%; iron tablet usage by mothers has risen from 79% to 93%; and infant vitamin A supplementation has expanded from 33% to 82%. These interventions combined with an emphasis on improved training and supervision have contributed to lowering Lombok's infant mortality rate.
Cooperative Development: USAID's support to U.S. cooperative development organizations enables them to assist cooperative movements in developing and middle income countries and in new democracies. Cooperative development organizations provide assistance and training to local counterpart organizations in such areas as microenterprise development, housing, credit delivery, dairy development, rural electrification, insurance protection and cooperative development. For example, the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA) assists small-scale farmers and their local organizations in El Salvador and Nicaragua diversify and increase the quality of products for the local and international markets. Thirty-six grower groups in El Salvador are being assisted in growing non-traditional crops and organically produced crops. Forty farm groups in Nicaragua also are being trained in organic production systems which produce crops that have higher market value. For example, during 1995/1996, organic coffee sold at a 35% higher price at the farm level than other coffees. Over 400,000 small farmers and their families benefit from NCBA activities in the two countries.
Development Education: USAID's development education program supports U.S. non-profit organizations' activities to educate the U.S. public about developing countries and U.S. development activities abroad, especially as they relate to hunger and poverty. The program has supported curriculum development at the K-12 and post-secondary level, as well as adult education activities targeting farmers, business and labor leaders, teachers, and congregational groups. The program strategy requires U.S. based development organizations to partner with U.S. domestic membership organizations with a shared sectoral focus, e.g., health, hunger, or agriculture, as the starting point for learning about local-global links and development. For example, during 1996/1997, The Population Reference Bureau, in collaboration with the National Geographic Society's Geographic Education Program and the National Council for Geographic Education, developed, produced, and disseminated school curricula infusing sustainable development content in geography education through "Adventures on Earth: Exploring Our Global Links." During this project, over 10,000 kits were distributed to state Geographic Alliances for use in teacher training workshops. About 8,000 educators were reached through a cascading training approach which trained 80 educators who in turn conducted workshops for approximately 100 teachers in each of their states. In addition, 55,000 teachers nationwide have received the geography education newsletter UPDATE featuring articles and activities based on the "Adventures on Earth" project.
Ocean Freight: Through the Ocean Freight Reimbursement (OFR) program, USAID reimburses registered PVOs for the costs of shipping equipment and supplies to developing countries in support of development and humanitarian assistance activities in the following areas: agricultural and rural development, health care, educational training, disaster assistance and relief, and rehabilitation. In 1997, the Agency funded 70 PVOs in the OFR program. These organizations shipped 5,258 tons of commodities valued at $123 million at a cost of $1.8 million to the program. This represents a ratio of 68:1 of the value of commodities shipped to USAID dollars spent.
Institutional Support: USAID provides institutional support assistance grants to strengthen the management and technical capacity of the PVOs that implement food assistance programs under the P.L. 480 Title II Food for Peace program. These grants have helped the PVOs to plan programs for greater impact on food security, to initiate food assessments, to develop monitoring and evaluation systems and to improve the technical skills of their staff.
Strategic Objective No. 2: Strengthen overseas institutions which demonstrate American ideas and practices.
USAID, through the American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) program, provides grants to overseas universities and secondary schools, libraries and medical centers, that are founded or sponsored by U.S. organizations. These institutions serve as demonstration and study centers for American ideas and practices in education and medicine. The Administration plans to allocate $15 million for a competitive ASHA grants program in FY 1999.
Institutions are the building blocks of society as they nurture and develop the next generation of policy makers, scientists and entrepreneurs. ASHA grants strengthen American developmental and foreign policy goals by linking U.S. organizations and individuals to key national institutions that promote democracy, private initiative, free inquiry and innovative approaches to problem-solving. The ASHA program supports institutions that foster a favorable image of the United States and the local ability to better interpret events in which the United States. is involved. ASHA-assisted institutions educate future leaders, and those already in the workforce in disciplines essential to broad-based, sustained growth in the economy and society.
The ASHA grants provide resources that improve the quality of education and health services and institutional standards. These grants finance buildings and equipment and improve the physical infrastructure to strengthen institutional services, and in a few cases, support educational and medical programs. These grants provide secondary benefits in mobilizing resources, attracting students and increasing scholarship support. These private, non-profit institutions meet operating expenses primarily from tuition, fees, private contributions from U.S. and in-country sources, endowments, and the sale of services.
LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE
USAID, through its Bureau for Policy and Program Coordination (PPC), learns from development experience to improve development results, creates new agency policies and improves development practices. PPC provides objective policy leadership and strategic thinking for the Agency. PPC supports the achievement of Agency development objectives by improving the capabilities of USAID and its partners to obtain and use development information in decision-making and policy formulation. PPC applies agency learning to its strategic planning and performance measurement systems, its performance reporting and its evaluations. It has created development information services that provide USAID managers and development partners with easy access to a broad range of needed development experience information. More specifically, PPC:
* Distills and disseminates development experience in paper and electronic format, analyzes and synthesizes USAID's development experience in response to client requests, provides on-line access to these documents, and assists USAID staff and partners in the use of information to achieve strategic objectives. In 1999, PPC will expand internet access to include the full text of key reports, and establish formal training and technical assistance programs on the use of development information in strategic planning, program implementation and evaluation.
* Informs decision-making by analyzing and evaluating key Agency programs, and coordinating with development partners to better share evaluation and analyses of development topics. In 1999, PPC will evaluate the impact of USAID's approaches in such areas as democracy and governance, focusing on local government strengthening and cross-sectoral linkages with other sectors, war-torn societies, including the effect of emergency assistance, and women's roles during crises.
* Strengthens USAID's performance planning, measurement and evaluations systems by developing appropriate policies and technical guidelines, providing training in strategic planning and evaluation and assisting program managers, bureaus and field missions. In 1999, PPC's Center for Development Information and Evaluation will focus on improving and streamlining the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and using data on Agency results. It will also support bureaus and field missions in using performance, measurement and evaluation data to address operational issues, and strengthen the use of evaluation as a management tool at the operational level.
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