USAID: Transforming Lives Worldwid

September 9, 2013 By Robin Toal 10 Comments

“Every day, all over the world, USAID brings peace to those who endure violence, health to those who struggle with sickness, and prosperity to those who live in poverty”.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the United States Government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. USAID seeks to “extend a helping hand to those people overseas struggling to make a better life, recover from a disaster or striving to live in a free and democratic country.” USAID’s statedgoals include providing “economic, development and humanitarian assistance around the world in support of the foreign policy goals of the United States”.  It operates in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe.

Although USAID formerly provided loans, all assistance is now provided as nonreimbursable grants. USAID delivers both technical assistance and financial assistance. Technical assistance includes technical advice, training, scholarships, construction, and commodities. The various forms of technical assistance are frequently coordinated as capacity building packages for development of local institutions.

Financial assistance from USAID exists in the form of grants that supplies cash to developing country organizations to supplement their budgets. USAID also provides financial assistance to local and international NGOs who in turn give technical assistance in developing countries. In recent years, the US Government has increased its emphasis on financial rather than technical assistance.

Assistance to Foreign Countries

USAID assistance has always had the twofold purpose of furthering America’s interests while improving lives in the developing world. USAID carries out U.S. foreign policy by promoting broad-scale human progress at the same time it expands stable, free societies, creates markets and trade partners for the United States, and fosters good will abroad.

USAID works in over 100 countries to:

• Promote broadly shared economic prosperity
• Strengthen democracy and good governance
• Protect human rights
• Improve global health
• Advance food security and agriculture
• Improve environmental sustainability
• Further education
• Help societies prevent and recover from conflicts and
• Provide humanitarian assistance in the wake of natural and man-made disasters

USAID assistance develops the markets of the future; long-time aid recipients have become strong trade partners and are the fastest growing markets for American goods. USAID is developing partnerships with countries committed to enabling the private sector investment that is the basis of sustained economic growth to open new markets for American goods, promote trade overseas, and create jobs here at home.

USAID extends help from the American  people to achieve results for the poorest  and most vulnerable around the world. That assistance does not represent a Democratic value or a Republican value, but an American value; as beneficiaries of peace and prosperity, Americans have a responsibility to assist those less fortunate so we see the day when our assistance is no longer necessary.

Working side-by-side with the military in active conflicts, USAID plays a critical role in the United States efforts to  stabilize countries and build responsive local governance. USAID aims to work on the same problems as our military using a different set of tools. The organisation also serves to ease the transition between conflict and long-term development by investing in agriculture, health systems and democratic institutions.

USAID Quick Facts:

• More than 3 million lives are saved every year through USAID immunization programs. And thanks to USAID, over 850,000 people have been reached with USAID HIV prevention education, and 40,000 people have been trained to support HIV/AIDS programs in their own countries.
• More than 50 million couples worldwide use family planning as a direct result of USAID’s population program.
• With the help of USAID, 21,000 farm families in Honduras have been trained in improved land cultivation practices which have reduced soil erosion by 70,000 tons.
• USAID has targeted some $15 million in technical assistance for the energy sectors of developing countries. U.S. assistance has built a $50 billion annual market for private power. U.S. firms are capturing the largest share of the $50 billion annual market for private power in these markets.

Example Projects

Below are just two examples of successful project applications to USAID in the past two years:

A USAID funded Maternal and Child Health project in Egypt focussed on improving maternal and neonatal health and nutrition through community development associations. The scheme trained physicians and child health workers to improve newborn care, nutrition, and the use of modern family planning methods. Healthcare staff in community organisations were trained to focus on the nutritional habits of pregnant and lactating women, implement perinatal practices (such as intensive care for pre-term or low birth weight babies), and encourage exclusive breastfeeding for six months.

Stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS are still problems in Vietnam. People have difficulty finding jobs, face unfair treatment in accessing social services and experience discrimination in healthcare and other settings. Since 2008, the project has helped 1,400 people living with or affected by HIV in Vietnam to access microloans to realise their dreams of running their own businesses. The success of the microfinance model for people living with HIV has encouraged local microloan providers to commit $1 million in loans to this target group.

Win funding from USAID

Learn how to secure transformational funding from USAID with our upcoming training. Our experts will support you to develop project ideas, find the right fund, navigate www.grants.gov and produce winning proposals and budgets. Take part online and joins people from around the world in a 90 minute session that includes complimentary resources and a live Q&A session with experts who have won millions of dollars for development organisations from USAID.  To learn more and register click here.