United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development administers U.S. foreign
economic and humanitarian assistance programs worldwide in the developing world,
Central and Eastern Europe, and Eurasia.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
is an independent Federal agency established by 22 U.S.C. 6563. Its
principal statutory authority is the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as
amended (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.).
USAID serves as the focal point within the Government for economic
matters affecting U.S. relations with developing countries. USAID
administers international economic and humanitarian assistance programs.
The Administrator is under the direct authority and foreign policy guidance
of the Secretary of State.
Programs
The Agency meets its post-cold war era challenges by utilizing its strategy
for achieving sustainable development in developing countries. It supports
programs in four areas: population and health, broad-based economic growth,
environment, and democracy. It also provides humanitarian assistance and aid
to countries in crisis and transition.
Population and Health
The Agency contributes to a cooperative global effort to stabilize world population growth
and support women’s reproductive rights. The types of population and
health programs supported vary with the particular needs of individual countries
and the kinds of approaches that local communities initiate and support. Most
USAID resources are directed to the following areas: support for voluntary
family planning systems, reproductive health care, needs of adolescents and
young adults, infant and child health, and education for girls and women.
Economic Growth
The Agency promotes broad-based economic growth by addressing the factors that enhance the capacity for growth and by working to remove the obstacles that stand in
the way of individual opportunity. In this context, programs concentrate
on strengthening market economies, expanding economic opportunities
for the disadvantaged in developing countries, and building human skills
and capacities to facilitate broad-based participation.
Environment
The Agency’s environmental programs support two strategic goals: reducing long-term threats to the global environment, particularly loss of biodiversity and climate change;
and promoting sustainable economic growth locally, nationally, and regionally
by addressing environmental, economic, and developmental practices that impede
development and are unsustainable. Globally, Agency programs focus on
reducing sources and enhancing sinks of greenhouse gas emissions and on
promoting innovative approaches to the conservation and sustainable use
of the planet’s biological diversity. The approach to national environmental
problems differs on a country-bycountry basis, depending on a particular
country’s environmental priorities. Country strategies may include improving
agricultural, industrial, and natural resource management practices that
play a central role in environmental degradation; strengthening public
policies and institutions to protect the environment; holding dialogues with
country governments on environmental issues and with international agencies
on the environmental impact of lending practices and the design
and implementation of innovative mechanisms to support environmental
work; and environmental research and education.
Democracy
The Agency’s strategic objective in the democracy area is the transition to and consolidation of democratic regimes throughout the world. Programs focus on such problems as human rights abuses; misperceptions
about democracy and free-market capitalism; lack of experience with democratic institutions; the absence or weakness of intermediary organizations;
nonexistent, ineffectual, or undemocratic political parties; disenfranchisement
of women, indigenous peoples, and minorities; failure to implement national
charter documents; powerless or poorly de?ned democratic institutions; tainted
elections; and the inability to resolve con?icts peacefully.
Humanitarian Assistance and PostCrisis Transitions
The Agency provides humanitarian assistance that saves lives, reduces suffering, helps victims return to self-suf?ciency, and reinforces democracy. Programs focus on disaster
prevention, preparedness, and mitigation; timely delivery of disaster relief and
short-term rehabilitation supplies and services; preservation of basic institutions
of civil governance during disaster crisis; support for democratic institutions
during periods of national transition; and building and reinforcement of
local capacity to anticipate and handle disasters and their aftermath.
Overseas Organizations
U.S. Agency for International Development country organizations are located in
countries where a bilateral program is being implemented. The in-country
organizations are subject to the direction and guidance of the chief U.S. diplomatic
representative in the country, usually the Ambassador. The organizations report to
the Agency’s Assistant Administrators for the four geographic bureaus: the Bureaus
for Africa, Asia and Near East, Europe and the New Independent States, and
Latin America and the Caribbean. The overseas program activities
that involve more than one country are administered by regional of?ces.
These of?ces may also perform country organizational responsibilities for assigned countries. Generally, the of?ces are headed by a regional development
of?cer.
Development Assistance Coordination and Representative
Offices provide liaison with various international organizations and
represent U.S. interests in development assistance matters. Such of?ces may
be only partially staffed by Agency personnel and may be headed by
employees of other U.S. Government agencies.
For a complete listing of USAID overseas missions and links to mission Web sites, visit www.usaid.gov/locations/missiondirectory.html.
United States Agency for International Development
Introduction to United States Agency for International Development
United States Agency for International Development (USAID), independent federal agency, chartered in 1961 by John F. Kennedy as part of the Foreign Assistance Act (1961), whose mission is to manage economic and humanitarian assistance programs to foreign countries. USAID works to support sustainable development-economic and social growth that builds indigenous capacities and can maintain itself without exhausting resources or damaging the economic, cultural, or natural environment. USAID coordinates programs in Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and the successor states of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The agency works with individuals, governments, and other organizations to improve the assisted countries’ development in several areas.
USAID is the chief U.S. agency for disaster relief abroad. It provides food aid and emergency humanitarian assistance. The agency also supports such health-care programs as vaccination and immunization, AIDS prevention, child and maternal nutrition, and family-planning services.
The agency promotes economic growth using local resources and skills. It sponsors development that is environmentally sensitive and works to prevent such problems as air pollution, deforestation, global warming, pollution of groundwater, and oceanic dumping. USAID also works to support free and fair elections and to teach the skills of democratic governance.” (1)
Resources
Notes and References
- Information about United States Agency for International Development in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia
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