Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about USAID
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What is the United States Agency for International Development and who funds it?
USAID is the U.S. Government agency that delivers the majority of U.S. official development assistance to approximately 100 countries overseas. The USAID Administrator reports to the President of the United States as well as to the Secretary of State to ensure that development assistance is used effectively as a tool to promote U.S. foreign policy goals. “Development” became one of the three pillars of U.S. national security with the introduction of President Bush’s National Security Strategy in 2004; the other two pillars are defense and diplomacy. USAID is funded by the tax contributions of U.S. citizens and its programs have historically constituted one-half of one percent of the national budget.
How do USAID programs support U.S. foreign policy?
USAID and the Department of State prepared jointly and are implementing a 2004-2009 Strategic Plan that identifies five distinct rationales for providing assistance to foreign countries: To 1) promote social and economic development, 2) strengthen fragile states, 3) provide humanitarian relief, 4) promote U.S. geo-strategic interests, and 5) mitigate global and transnational ills. Assistance to Guatemala and most other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (with the exception of Haiti and Cuba, which are considered “strategic states”) falls in the first category but also advances some of the other objectives.
Is USAID part of the U.S. Embassy overseas or is it separate?
Whether co-located in the same building or Embassy compound
or not, USAID is part of the U.S. Embassy in the countries
where it is present and serves under the overall leadership
of the U.S. Ambassador. The USAID Mission Director provides
day-to-day management and answers as well to the Assistant
Administrator for the respective USAID geographic bureau
in Washington (in the case of Guatemala this is LAC—Latin
America and the Caribbean). USAID collaborates closely
with other sections or agencies of the U.S. Embassy
In Guatemala, particularly with those that also manage
foreign assistance such as the Narcotics Affairs Section
(NAS), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the
US. Department of Agriculture (USDA). U.S.
Embassy in Guatemala
What percentage of all Agency assistance comes to Latin America and of that, what percentage is used in Guatemala?
In 2004, approximately seven percent ($850 million) of the total USAID budget was provided to Latin American and the Caribbean, and $42 million (five percent of the $850 million for the region) was provided to Guatemala.
How is USAID funding allocated to programs?
USAID/Guatemala “obligates” most of its assistance funds in a comprehensive, multi-year agreement with the Government of Guatemala. By obligating funds in this agreement we commit to use them to pursue certain development objectives in key sectors. The majority of these funds are channeled into subsidiary agreements with non-governmental (NGO) or private sector organizations, which then become responsible for the direct implementation of USAID’s programs. For more details, see Doing Business with USAID.
How does spending our tax dollars in assistance to foreign countries benefit the American people?
For over 40 years, USAID programs have helped to improve the lives of the poor in developing countries and to lessen the kind of poverty and disenfranchisement that can feed international terrorism and the flow of illegal immigrants to the United States. USAID programs also work on transnational issues such as global climate change and HIV/AIDs that affect us all as residents of the planet. More stable and prosperous nations also make better trading partners for the United States, and economic support to developing countries therefore advances our commercial interests around the world. The humanitarian assistance and contributions in health and education also create tremendous “good will” for the American people and the United States, which is especially important to us now with our ever-increasing global interconnectedness. For all of these reasons, “Development” is now part of the U.S. Governments national security plan.
How does corruption in countries like Guatemala affect the spending of U.S. taxpayer dollars through USAID programs?
USAID follows standard U.S. Government rules and regulations regarding expenditure of federal monies and ensures that the contractors and partners who implement USAID programs follow the same guidelines. USAID at headquarters in Washington, D.C. and in each of its field Missions, has staff who manage accounting and reporting systems to ensure transparency and accountability of all funds spent by our partner organizations. The systems are designed to prevent the loss of USAID’s funds to misuse or corruption. In a limited number of countries that have strong financial management systems in place in their institutions and can thus ensure accountability for funds, USAID also disburses aid directly to governments. Guatemala is not currently one of these countries.
What is the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA)?
In March 2002 in Monterrey, Mexico, President Bush called for a "new compact for global development" wherein donors would provide more aid to those developing nations that demonstrated increased responsibility for advancing the development of their own countries and peoples by implementing needed reforms. The President announced the establishment of the MCA to reward those countries that ruled justly, advanced economic freedom, and invested in their own people. The proposal was supported by both parties in Congress and so the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) was created to administer the MCA and $1 billion was provided in initial funding for fiscal year 2004. President Bush pledged to increase funding for the MCA to $5 billion a year starting in FY 2006, an approximately 50% increase over then current U.S. core development assistance.
The MCA draws on lessons learned about development over the past 50 years:
- Assistance is most effective when it reinforces sound political, economic and social policies--which are key to encouraging the inflows of private capital and increased trade--the real engines of economic growth;
- Development plans that are supported by a broad range of stakeholders and for which countries have primary responsibility, engender country ownership and are more likely to succeed;
- Integrating monitoring and evaluation into the design of activities boosts effectiveness, accountability, and the transparency with which taxpayer resources are used.
The countries in Latin America and the Caribbean that have been approved for MCA funding so far are Nicaragua and Honduras in 2005, and El Salvador and Paraguay in 2006. See Millennium Challenge Corporation
What is USAID’s relation to the Peace Corps?
USAID and the Peace Corps operate independently in Guatemala but collaborate on a variety of programs. For instance, Peace Corps volunteers who work in communities where USAID activities are implemented often assist with these programs when it is relevant to the responsibilities they have in the communities they serve. One such example was support from Peace Corps volunteers with the establishment of USAID-funded internet business centers that are now allowing small farmers to access international market information (prices and buyers) for their products and helping others in similar ways. USAID also provides $75,000 a year to support the Peace Corps’ Small Projects Assistance Program, a small grants program ($3,000 or less) for communities that Peace Corps volunteers manage. Peace Corps | Learn about Peace Corps
What percentage of the U.S. budget or gross national product (GNP) is provided as foreign assistance? How does that compare with other countries?
While the world’s developed country donors have agreed to eventually provide up to 0.7% of their respective GNPs in foreign assistance, less than a quarter of the donor countries are actually meeting this target and the United States lags far behind. The United States provides slightly more than 0.1% of its GNP in foreign assistance or around .5% of the national budget. It is important take into account, however, that this figure does not include the very large and growing private charitable donations that U.S. corporations, foundations and private citizens (including in the form of remittances provided to families at home in developing countries) are sending overseas every year. The flow of private charitable dollars overseas now dwarfs U.S. official development assistance. See USAID: The Global Development Alliance
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