USAID's Strategy in Africa

Africa’s challenges are numerous and complex, but there is also much potential and opportunity for growth and development throughout the continent. Investing in people is perhaps the single most important factor in economic growth. USAID will continue to support greater access to education and health services to build a more educated and healthier workforce. Because agriculture is the foundation of most African economies, increasing the productivity of agriculture is critical to reducing poverty and increasing food security. The growing HIV/AIDS pandemic threatens to compromise the economic, social, and democratic gains made in Africa in recent decades, and new funds and programs will work to stem this serious threat to Africa’s future. Violent conflict and instability will remain a serious risk for almost half of the countries in Africa for the foreseeable future, yet there are promising signs that democracy is spreading and taking hold across the continent. USAID will place greater emphasis on conflict mitigation and management, and will continue to support civil society organizations, encourage greater accountability in government, and promote respect for the rule of law.

Central to USAID’s assistance programs in Africa are four new initiatives to improve education, increase agricultural productivity, promote trade with Africa, and protect the Congo Basin Forest.

• The Africa Education Initiative will train new teachers and provide more textbooks and scholarships for children throughout Africa.
• The Initiative to End Hunger in Africa focuses on programs to improve the use of modern technology and increase agricultural productivity and income for small-scale farmers.
• Through the Trade for African Development and Enterprise (TRADE) initiative USAID will work to improve the trade and investment environment and promote the fuller integration of Africa into the global economy.
• The Congo Basin Forest Partnership supports efforts to conserve the outstanding forest and wildlife resources of the Congo Basin Forest, the second largest remaining tropical forest in the world.

Other important elements in USAID’s program include a new Anti-corruption Initiative to combat this insidious threat to growth and development in Africa, and a significant expansion of support for HIV/AIDS related programs, including the Presidential Mother and Child HIV Prevention Initiative to reduce the rate of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS.

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