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Office of American Schools and Hospitals Abroad
The Development Challenge: The goal of the Office of American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) program, as stated in its enabling legislation, is to assist schools, libraries, and medical centers outside the United States founded or sponsored by U.S. citizens to serve as study and demonstration centers for ideas and practices of the United States. To this end, the principal objective of ASHA grants is to demonstrate U.S. advances in education and medical technology and practices, in areas of research and training in selected countries. With the above goal and principal objective in mind, the challenge of the ASHA program is to increase the ability of overseas schools, libraries, and medical centers to demonstrate U.S. advancements in educational and medical technology. It is envisioned that these institutions will contribute to strengthen bridges and mutual understanding between the people of the United States and those of other countries. The challenge for the ASHA program also involves developing the capacity of overseas institutions to project, effectively, and to foster favorably, the image of the United States. Consequently, ASHA-assisted institutions will continue to build and strengthen foundations for nurturing and developing leadership in a wide variety of disciplines, while providing an appreciation for, and an understanding of, U.S. economic, political and social institutions, philosophy, and practices.
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The USAID Program: For the FY 2003 competitive award cycle, 43 U.S. organizations applied for $65.7 million under the ASHA program. Of the total applications received, only 5.62% was received from the Africa region. These U.S. organizations sponsored 47 overseas institutions in 29 countries. Of the 43 U.S. sponsors, ASHA awarded grants 28 institutions in 19 countries. A total of $18 million was obligated.
For FY 2004, ASHA received grant applications from 57 U.S. organizations, requesting a total of $66.7 million. Of the total applications received, there was a significant increase, from 5.62% to 25%, from the Africa region. These U.S. organizations sponsored 57 institutions in 34 countries.
In pursuit of ASHA's goal and objective, grants were awarded to:
- build technological bases for an integrated research, training, and patient care in critical areas of medical science;
- build technological bases for efficient information acquisition and communication for informed decision-making;
- build technology-augmented "smart" classrooms for training generations of independent thinkers with problem-solving skills; and
- build open-access facilities modeled after U.S. academic institutions and libraries to provide access to uncensored information and promote understanding between the people of the United States and those of other countries.
In addition to projecting a positive image of the United States, ASHA-funded institutions contribute directly to all three of the Agency's pillars and to the associated program goals. Through development of professionals with American-style education and the transmission of current American ideas and practices in agriculture, business, medical sciences, and democracy and governance, these overseas institutions contribute to the achievement of the Agency's pillars and goals in their respective countries by: (1) developing broad-based economic growth, (2) improving agricultural productivity and enhancing food security through practical training, research and technology transfer, (3) promoting environmental awareness and sustainable development, (4) conducting medical research and protecting human health, (5) demonstrating and promoting good governance and democracy, and (6) clarifying and building an understanding of U.S. foreign policy. Activities of these institutions also support the U.S. strategic goals of maintaining regional stability and open markets, and protect U.S. national interests by promoting understanding between the people of the United States and the beneficiary countries.
Other Program Elements: ASHA funds are also used for the procurement of educational, medical, scientific and technological commodities and for the construction and renovation of structures used for teaching, research, and patient care. ASHA's grant assistance goes to a variety of institutions, including secondary schools, undergraduate and graduate institutions, and medical centers. These educational institutions provide learning environments that promote the values critical for civil society and the development of democratic governance as well as the use of U.S. state-of-the-art technologies, practices and approaches. The secondary schools provide basic academic subjects and entrepreneurial and vocational training. The undergraduate institutions' curriculum include subjects in liberal arts, business, agriculture, the sciences, medicine, and nursing; whereas, the graduate institutions provide specialized training in health, law, social sciences, physical sciences, and international studies. The medical centers offer training in such areas as modern health care, medical education, and research. Many of these institutions provide virtually the only modern academic education, health care and medical training programs in the recipient countries and sometimes in the geographic region. ASHA-assisted educational institutions produce professionals to fill the urgent need for a skilled workforce in the countries and regions they serve.
As they strive towards excellence in medical technology or education, a number of institutions receiving assistance from ASHA are also recipients of assistance from USAID missions. For example, in FY 2003 a total of $2.5 million in assistance was provided by the USAID mission to Lebanon to American educational institutions that also received ASHA assistance. The American University in Bulgaria, a recipient of ASHA assistance, maintains an agreement with the USAID mssion in Bulgaria for a capital fund endowment in the amount of $20 million.
Other Donors: ASHA grants supplement contributions predominantly from private sources. ASHA-funding has also enabled overseas institutions to leverage financial assistance from other bilateral donors.
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