Mongolia, 09/05: Assessment of Corruption in Mongolia (pdf) Sri Lanka, 09/05: Fishermen and Tradesmen to Benefit from U.S. Funded $33 Million Contract for Post-Tsunami Infrastructure Projects Jordan, 09/05: USAID Distributes 500 School Bags to Orphan Students in Mafraq West Bank/Gaza, 08/05: USAID Agrees to Transfer $50 Million to Palestinian Authority India, 08/05: Catholic Bishops of India Set HIV/AIDS Policy with USAID Assistance Indonesia, 08/05: The U.S. and Indonesia Begin Construction on the Banda Aceh to Meulaboh Road Philippines, 07/05: USAID, DepEd Sign Agreement to Improve Access to and Quality of Education in Muslim Mindanao (pdf) Egypt, 07/05: Mansoura and the USAID Honor Successful Completion of Water and Wastewater Facilities Project Note: These links open a new window into the mission websites.
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Asia and the Near East

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) carries out foreign assistance programs that support key U.S. foreign policy interests, including sustained economic and social progress for all the peoples of the Asia and Near East regions.

Assistant Administrator
James R. Kunder

Press Inquiries
U.S. Agency for International Development
Office of Press Relations
Ronald Reagan Building
Washington, D.C.
20523-0016
Tel: 202-712-4320
Fax: 202-216-3524

Public Inquiries
USAID Missions
ANE Staff Directory

ANE in Action

USAID operates in 26 countries and territories in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. This vast and diverse region faces many challenges, including terrorism, instability, an exploding youth population, high unemployment, corruption, poor education systems, HIV/AIDS and environmental degradation. USAID responds to these challenges with innovative programming that emphasizes trade, education, health and democracy to promote country and regional stability and create a more secure, democratic, and prosperous world.

South Asia Earthquake: A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan, on October 8, 2005, at 8:50 a.m. local time, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The epicenter of the earthquake was located near Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir, and approximately 60 miles north-northeast of the national capital, Islamabad. Aftershocks continue in the affected areas. The delivery of humanitarian assistance is constricted by the mountainous area, cold weather, and damaged or collapsed infrastructure. The most affected areas are the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Northern Punjab, and Pakistani Kashmir in Pakistan, and Indian Kashmir in India.

Thailand: Hope is Alive after Tsunami Headlines Fade: New water system in Thai coastal community supported by governments, industry and NGOs -- Nine months after the Tsunami, a story is quietly unfolding – a story about the combined efforts of businesses, the Thai Government, NGOs, and U.S. government agencies to deliver a 47 ton water treatment system to several devastated coastal communities. Valued at 16.4 million baht, the new system will provide clean drinking water to families in Phang Nga Province’s Kuk Kak Sub-district. The system was donated by the Parkson Corporation, an American producer of water purification and waste water systems located in Florida, partly as a memorial gesture to honor the memory of a Parkson employee’s parents who died in the Tsunami. {view press release, pdf][view fact sheet, pdf]

Iraq: In a speech September 9 to the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce, Andrew Natsios, Administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), announced the launch of www.IraqPartnership.org. This web site will help American citizens learn more about official U.S. assistance for Iraq and make contributions to high-impact development projects. IraqPartnership.org is a cooperative effort of USAID and GlobalGiving, a leader in online philanthropy – USAID provides content for the site and GlobalGiving supplies their internet-based donation technology. [view press release][view remarks]

Articles

Egypt, FrontLines 09/05: Named FrontLines Mission of the Month, Egypt is a major Arab nation whose 77 million people face many challenges that U.S. assistance is addressing, such as education, health, water, sanitation, trade, agriculture, and preservation of historic sites. But one key to development is communications, and U.S. assistance to the telephone network has played a role in improving links throughout the country. [view article]

Afghanistan, FrontLines 09/05: Afghan Fighters Exchange Guns for Family Life -- Miles away from the capital, in Esarak village in Balkh province, a man who once was a fighter now leads a simple family life running a small business.Nik Mohammad fought for years against the Soviet Union. But when the United Nations started a Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) program in Afghanistan, he joined it, trading his guns and ammunition for 400 eggs, an incubator and other equipment, and a day of training on running a poultry business. [view article]

Afghanistan, FrontLines 09/05: Former Official and Others Tell Tales of 1950s Afghanistan -- James Cudney, who was a program officer with one of USAID’s forerunners—the International Cooperation Administration (ICA)—collected a bundle of photographs during his years in Afghanistan and shared them at a meeting in the Ronald Reagan Building. [view article]

Tsunami Response, FrontLines 09/05: Disaster Information Center Funnels Private Aid to Victims -- During the height of the world response to the Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami, the Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI) was in demand. Its staff received requests for more than 100 print, radio, and television interviews, and its name was passed out by organizations such as CNN and People magazine.But this was not the first time CIDI, a USAID-funded program that responds to public questions on international emergencies, was on the public’s radar. [view article]

Tsunami Response, FrontLines 09/05: $16 Million for Tsunami Warning System -- A $17 million U.S. program for an Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System (IOTWS), which will help Indian Ocean region countries detect and prepare for tsunamis and related coastal hazards, was announced Aug. 17. [view article]

Speeches and Testimony

09/15/05: Testimony of James Kunder, Assistant Administrator for Asia and the Near East before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs - Indonesia and Tsunami Reconstruction. I will address why Indonesia is important to U.S. foreign policy, its major development challenges, and what the USAID is doing to help the Government of Indonesia (GOI) meet these challenges. Among those challenges is, of course, the havoc wrought by the tsunami of December 2004 which affected several countries within the region. I will summarize the broader USAID tsunami response and its impact. [view remarks]

09/07/05: Testimony of James Kunder, Assistant Administrator for Asia and the Near East before the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs Committee on Appropriations - USAID's support for democracy and reconstruction in Iraq. USAID supports six critical sectors that will make a substantial difference in the future of Iraq: democratic governance, education, health, economic growth, infrastructure, and humanitarian assistance. It is the largest reconstruction program in U.S. history, per capita, even bigger than the Marshall Plan. [view remarks]

Reports

Tsunami Reconstruction Plan, 06/05: The U.S. Congress has appropriated $656 million for the Tsunami Relief and Reconstruction Fund. The fund reflects the contributions of multiple USG agencies and will be used to allocate resources among USG agencies. Please Note: Of this amount, $25 million is allocated to undertake a coordinated program to prevent and control the spread of the Avian influenza virus. [view plan]

High Threat Report: This USAID/State Department conference report on managing assistance programs in high threat countries includes lessons learned and best practices from embassies and missions across Asia, plus Haiti and Kosovo. [view report, pdf]

Photo Exhibit: "Rebuilding Hope" tells the story of how USAID helps women and their families rise to the challenge of starting their lives over in the wake of conflicts and natural disasters. The exhibit highlights women and girls rebuilding in the aftermath of the tsunami in Indonesia and Sri Lanka; re-entering education and leadership in Iraq; and voting, working and going back to school in Afghanistan. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice opened the exhibit on March 8th in honor of International Women's Day. View the exhibit online or in the USAID exhibit space outside the library on the mezzanine level of the Reagan Building.

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