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FY 1997 Development Assistance: $32,600,000
FY 1997 P.L. 480: $21,563,000
FY 1997 International Narcotics Control Fund: $10,000,000
Introduction
Bolivia is important to the national interest of the United States because: (1) Bolivia is the world's second largest illegal coca and cocaine producer, damaging to both countries; (2) both countries share a common interest in the democratic process and the promotion of good governance, in popular participation, and in the fair administration of justice; (3) the United States is Bolivia's major trading partner, accounting for approximately 27% of all trade in 1995; (4) Bolivia maintains a relatively open foreign trade regime with low tariffs, free movement of capital, and the absence of trade restrictions found attractive to U.S. investors; and (5) Bolivia, which has unusually rich forest and biological resources, is a leader in Latin America in demonstrating concern for the environment and protection of biodiversity.
The principal foreign policy goals of the United States in Bolivia are to eliminate the illegal coca and cocaine industry, to encourage economic growth and stability, and to nurture Bolivian democracy. The Government of Bolivia (GOB) met its coca eradication goals of 5,400 hectares in 1995 and USAID-supported alternative development programs succeeded in promoting licit economic opportunities and employment in the Chapare coca-growing region. Whereas 10 years ago coca was the only crop found in the Chapare, today the majority of the arable land in the Chapare is cultivated with licit crops. The United States is also helping Bolivia make significant strides in promoting financial services to the poor and increase nontraditional export earnings.
Free and fair municipal elections in December 1995 brought to life the new Popular Participation Law, viewed as the most important redistribution of political and economic power since Bolivia's 1952 revolution. This bodes well for the continuation of Bolivia's fragile democracy, now in its 14th year. Presidential elections are scheduled for June 1997. Through innovative family health programs and food assistance, the United States is combating unacceptably high infant, child, and maternal mortality rates that impede development progress. The United States is helping Bolivia develop sound environmental regulations and bring increased areas of forests under responsible environmental management. Bolivia holds high hopes for a Hemispheric Summit on Sustainable Development and the Environment which it plans to host in late 1996.
The Development Challenge
Landlocked and rugged, Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in the hemisphere with a per capita gross national product (GNP) of $800 in 1995. One of the clearest manifestations of that poverty is the extensive prevalence of malnutrition: 38% of Bolivian children under five suffer from some degree of malnutrition which is associated with four out of every five deaths of children under five. About 70% of all Bolivian households and approximately 94% of rural households live in absolute poverty. Poverty is a leading cause of a high infant mortality rate, which at 75 per 1,000 births in 1994 remains unacceptably high. Bolivia's young population of 7.2 million is growing at the rate of 2.4% a year.
In spite of its poverty and fragile democratic and economic institutions that are endangered by the illegal coca and cocaine industry, Bolivia is working -- with assistance from the United States and other donors -- to meet its development challenges. Since the mid-1980s, a series of democratically elected Bolivian governments have established and maintained a base of solid macroeconomic policies; have moved to deepen stabilization measures; have increasingly addressed the social needs of the poor, predominantly indigenous people; and have taken steps to confront the dangers of narcotrafficking.
The current GOB administration is actively pursuing an ambitious and innovative economic reform program aimed at reducing poverty by accelerating economic growth, developing human capital, and implementing a national policy for sustainable development. The program includes five key reforms: capitalization (privatization), education reform, popular participation and decentralization, reform of the state, and judicial reform. As the current administration enters its final years, progress has already been apparent. While inflation rose to over 12% in 1995, its 10.1% average over the last three years (1993-1995) is among the lowest in Latin America; and gross domestic product (GDP) growth, averaging around 4%, is among the highest.
In 1995, Bolivia attracted a record level of foreign private investment, largely through its privatization program. In little more than a year after passage of the Capitalization Law in March 1994, three U.S. companies won bids for the capitalization of the three generating plants of the state power company. Nineteen U.S. companies are interested in the capitalization of the state oil company.
An anticipated 30% of the total proposed 1996 national budget will be transferred directly to regional and municipal governments in compliance with the popular participation and decentralization laws. These reforms will provide an unprecedented level of resources for local and regional authorities. The GOB hopes these reforms will promote greater accountability and more necessity-based investment, largely in the social sectors. Already, resources flowing to the over 300 municipalities nationwide are estimated to have increased to three times the 1993 level. There has been a significant shift of national resources from the major urban centers to the poor rural communities.
The judicial system continues the reform process initiated in 1992. Concrete results include: drafting of the new code of criminal procedures; promulgation of the Judicial Organization and the Public Ministry laws; and creation of the Judicial Council, the Constitutional Tribunal, and the Office of the Ombudsman. Efforts continue to strengthen court administration, case tracking and management- support systems, and training to increase the efficiency of justice sector institutions.
To protect its vast forest cover and abundant biodiversity, the GOB has made a strong commitment to the environment as evidenced by the creation of the Ministry of Sustainable Development and the decision to host a Hemispheric Summit on Sustainable Development and the Environment in 1996. Protecting these natural resources is important because of the concern for global warming and conservation of biological diversity. Bolivia stands a real chance of making a sustainable difference in this area, if correctly managed, due to promising opportunities for development investments, a growing community of nongovernmental organizations, an increase in resources managed at the local level, and low population pressures.
Bolivia is not an early candidate for rapid graduation from traditional development assistance. While measurable progress has been achieved in a number of areas, Bolivia's economy is extremely fragile and heavily dependent on outside assistance, which has averaged around 10% of GDP in recent years. Major systemic constraints continue to impede necessary economic growth. These include inadequate institutions, poor technological capability, limited financial services, poor infrastructure, and a shortage of human capital and experience. For the foreseeable future, USAID programs must play an important role in providing licit economic opportunities and jobs to combat the illicit coca and cocaine industry, while offering innovative programs to improve family health and nutrition, to build democratic institutions, and to sustainably manage forest resources and protect biodiversity.
Other Donors.
USAID and the donor community pledged over $1 billion for 1995, with actual bilateral and multilateral loans and donations coming to $525 million, complemented by $140 million in direct foreign investment. In FY 1995, the United States was the largest bilateral donor followed by Japan, Germany and the Netherlands. The Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank, Andean Development Corporation, United Nations, and the European Community are major multilateral donors.
FY 1997 Program
USAID supports sustainable development in Bolivia under all four Agency goals: encouraging broad based economic growth; building democracy; stabilizing world population growth and protecting human health; and protecting the environment. In FY 1997, U.S. national interest will continue to be defined by the facts that Bolivia is the world's second largest producer of coca and cocaine; is struggling to develop its democratic institutions consistently threatened by the illegal and corruptive drug trade; is one of the poorest countries in the hemisphere with unacceptably high mortality rates and debilitating malnutrition; and is home to some of the most important and biologically diverse natural resources on earth.
In support of these goals, USAID has adopted four interrelated strategic objectives. USAID's support for improved effectiveness and accessibility of democratic institutions and practices helps the GOB modernize and democratize key public sector institutions and make them more accessible to all citizens, while combatting the corrupting nature of the drug trade on the economy and political system. Expanding economic opportunities and access through licit agricultural production, infrastructure investments and market development activities, the expansion of microfinancial services, and the promotion of nontraditional exports helps generate employment and legal income for poor Bolivians. To Improve family health USAID targets mothers and children and supports efforts to lower fertility and space births, provides access to quality primary health care, and promotes maternal and child survival critical to the development of productive human capital. By focusing on protecting forests and their vital ecological functions, USAID directly addresses biological diversity and global warming, helping Bolivia to wisely manage its natural resource base that is critical to long-term sustainable development.
Support for these strategic objectives is enhanced by a progressive food aid program, focused on supporting economic growth and family health. Economic Support Funds concentrate on the development of licit productive economic activities and democracy. Nearly one-half of the requested Development Assistance funds in FY 1997 along with about 40% of the P.L. 480 Title II food program will support the family health strategic objective. About 80% of the Economic Support Fund request, 60% of P.L. 480 Title II, and part of the remaining Development Assistance funds will support the economic growth objective. The balance of ESF and DA funds requested will be divided between the democracy and environment strategic objectives.
Agency Goal: Building Democracy
The first municipal elections conducted under the new Popular Participation Law took place on December 1995. USAID provided assistance to the National Electoral Court, which contributed to the success and transparency of these elections, by the training of over 100,000 election officials. The legislative support services center established with USAID assistance took major steps toward sustainability through GOB congressional action and its partial inclusion in the 1996 Bolivian National Budget. Nine Congressional committees currently use the center's services.
Judicial reform was supported through USAID assistance to the Ministry of Justice. This included assistance in the drafting of the new code of criminal procedures, which provides mechanisms to better ensure the protection of human rights and due process of law, and the drafting of the recently approved Assets Forfeiture regulatory decree, which streamlines procedures for the seizure of assets. A judicial training school was inaugurated under Supreme Court auspices for which USAID provided assistance on the teaching methodologies, course content, and student selection process. USAID will continue to promote reform by training key justice officials and supporting the drafting and promulgation of a regulatory framework. At least 80 courts are presided over by judges trained under USAID assistance programs.
In 1997, USAID will continue to help Bolivia confront critical development challenges caused by severe poverty and exacerbated by the production of coca and cocaine. Approximately 70% of Bolivian households and 94% of rural households are classified as poor. Income earning opportunities and financial services for the poor are deficient. USAID is supporting expanded economic opportunity and access through national programs to expand microfinancial services, to promote nontraditional exports, expand the domestic markets, to strengthen the financial sector, and to assist in policy reform. The alternative development program which supports licit agricultural production and investments in infrastructure and marketing activities in coca growing areas is key to the containment and eventual elimination of the illicit coca and cocaine industry in Bolivia.
In 1995, over 140,000 households received financial services through USAID-supported microfinancial institutions; over 13,500 permanent jobs were created under microcredit and export promotion activities; over $32.5 million in nontraditional exports were generated. As a result of the USAID-supported Bolivian Banking Law in 1993, twelve credit unions are now reporting to the Superintendency of Banks and three credit unions have obtained licenses. In coca-growing areas, satellite imagery show increases in licit crops amounting to over 60% of the total land under cultivation, with twice as much area dedicated to alternative crops as to coca.
The P.L. 480 Title II program used for humanitarian and developmental purposes. It provides local currency funds and food for work to improve market access roads, recover eroded land through forestation, and irrigate and improve water resource management in 500 rural communities, directly benefitting 50,000 poor farm families and indirectly benefitting 60,000 additional families. The food for work program provides temporary employment to approximately 21,000 poor heads of household in the poorest small rural towns and peri-urban areas of the country. Over 5,000 farm families in food insecure regions of the highlands and valleys receive agricultural extension and marketing services and training to increase production of staple crops and introduce vegetable and other high value crops. This agricultural program increases income and home consumption, improving food security of families. Title II food also reaches 116,000 rural primary school students, in school feeding programs helping to reduce drop out rates and improve learning.
Agency Goal: Stabilizing World Population Growth and Protecting Human Health
Bolivia is one of the most impoverished countries in the hemisphere. Poverty affects, among other factors, high infant, child and maternal mortality rates, and the ability to acquire and assimilate food. Malnutrition is associated with four out of every five deaths of children under five years of age. To improve family health, USAID targets mothers and children and supports Bolivian efforts to lower fertility and space births since these affect the health status of mothers and children and lower population growth rate.
A 6% increase in contraceptive prevalence between 1989 and 1994, and a 24% reduction of infant mortality during the same period demonstrate significant improvement in the health of Bolivian women and children. Important policy changes, especially the Popular Participation and Decentralization laws, have provided authority and financing to Bolivia's over 300 newly created municipalities enabling them to contract with private sector nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) for high quality health care and family planning services. To take advantage of the health improvement momentum and the opportunities for health sector privatization created by popular participation, USAID expanded its support to NGO service providers in FY 1995. Because of budget reductions and legislatively mandated reductions in the rate of population funding obligations in FY 1996, the implementation of these important activities will have to be slowed markedly. Full FY 1997 funding is essential to get these programs, which provide family planning services and contraceptives to Bolivia's neediest andmost fertile groups (the urban poor and rural families), back on track.
In support of the family health strategic objective, the P.L. 480 Title II maternal and child health program provides supplementary feeding, oral rehydration therapy, nutrition education and other services to approximately 17,000 lactating and pregnant mothers and 36,000 pre-school age children in the most food insecure areas of the country. This program has been successful in reducing infant mortality and morbidity of children under five. Water and sanitation services provided to over 500 rural and peri-urban populations help reduce the incidence of water-borne diseases among poor people.
Agency Goal: Protecting the Environment
Bolivia's immense natural resource endowment, very low population density, growing commitment to sustainable resource use, and demonstrated achievements to date give it a clear and impressive global comparative advantage for USAID investments in conserving biodiversity and reducing global warming.
Key results in 1995 include more than 1 million hectares, an area larger than the state of Connecticut, of national parks under sustainable management with biodiversity protection. The passage of comprehensive regulations to the General Environmental Law, which for the first time establish specific limits for air and water pollution and provide an institutional framework for enforcement, and the development of national guidelines for sustainable forest management were major steps forward. A challenge will be to support the GOB's efforts to continue to include environmental concerns in its new programs for economic growth (e.g., capitalization, popular participation). Additional USAID funding to assist with the wise stewardship of forests and their biodiversity will be critical. Another challenge will be for the GOB to successfully host the planned Hemispheric Summit on Sustainable Development and the Environment, a follow-on to the Miami Summit of the Americas, and, in 1997, to secure the donor support necessary to help implement the actions recommended in this forum.
Agency Goal: Providing Humanitarian Assistance
The P.L. 480 Title II program is integrated into the Mission's program. P.L. 480 resources serve a dual function as humanitarian assistance and support for USAID's expanded economic opportunity and improved family health strategic objectives.
| Encouraging Economic Growth | Stabilizing Population Growth and Protecting Human Health | Protecting the Environment | Building Democracy | Providing Humanitarian Assistance |
Total |
|
| USAID Strategic Objectives | ||||||
|
1. Improved effectiveness and accessibility of key democratic institutions and practices Dev. Assistance INCF |
$5,000,000 |
|
$5,000,000 |
|||
|
2. Expanded economic opportunity and access Dev. Assistance INCF P.L. 480 Title II |
$2,500,000 |
|
$12,700,000 |
$2,500,000 |
||
|
3. Improved family health throughout Bolivia Dev. Assistance P.L. 480 Title II |
|
$19,800,000 |
|
$8,863,000 |
$19,800,000 |
|
|
4. Reduced degradation of forest, soil and water resources and biological diversity protected Dev. Assistance |
$350,000 |
$4,950,000 |
$5,300,000 |
|||
|
Total Dev. Assistance P.L. 480 Title II INCF |
$2,850,000 $7,000,000 |
$19,800,000 |
$4,950,000
|
$5,000,000 $3,000,000 |
$21,563,000 |
$32,600,000 $21,563,000 $10,000,000 |
USAID Mission Director: Lewis Lucke
PROGRAM: BOLIVIA
TITLE AND NUMBER: Improved Effectiveness and Accessibility of Democratic Institutions and Practices, 511-SO01
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1997: $5,000,000 DA; $3,000,000 INC
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1995 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2001
Purpose: To improve the effectiveness, accessibility, and accountability of key democratic institutions -- Congress, the justice sector and local government institutions -- and to allow Bolivians to participate more fully in the political and economic decisions that affect their lives.
Background: Democracy is ultimately based on transparent and accountable public institutions, achieved through widespread open debate, decision-making and compromise, and effective participation of active grass-roots organizations in government. USAID's focus on democracy is particularly timely given Bolivia's commitment to strengthen democracy as evidenced by the implementation of the recently approved Popular Participation Law -- viewed as the most important redistribution of political and economic power since Bolivia's 1952 revolution -- and other important laws.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date: The first municipal elections conducted under the new Popular Participation Law took place in December 1995. USAID provided assistance to the National Electoral Court, contributing greatly to the success and transparency of these elections through the training of over 100,000 election officials. USAID support of the bill drafting and fiscal oversight technical capacity of the Bolivian Congress has resulted in a progressively stronger non-partisan legislative support services center (CICON). Established with USAID assistance, the center took major steps toward sustainability as Congress granted the center permanent status and provided partial funding for its operations in the 1996 National Budget. USAID's Democratic Development and Citizen Participation project, directly supportive of the Popular Participation Law, began implementation in January 1996. USAID's Special Development Activities program assisted 40 isolated rural communities in the design and implementation of self-help activities, benefiting approximately 8,893 women and men in poor areas throughout the country. Policy dialogue with local counterparts and technical assistance under the Administration of Justice project resulted in the drafting of laws to improve the fairness and efficiency of the justice system. The Ministry of Justice, assisted by USAID-financed experts, drafted a new code of criminal procedures, which incorporates oral procedures in the criminal process and establishes mechanisms to better ensure the protection of human rights and due process of law, and the regulatory decree on asset forfeiture, which is an important step in combatting narcotraffickers. The new judicial training School, inaugurated under the auspices of the Supreme Court, benefitted greatly from USAID assistance in curriculum design, teaching methodologies, and student selection. Human capacity development activities trained 135 individuals in technical and leadership skills in 1994-95. Returned participants under USAID's follow-on program have shared the benefits of their training with over 20,000 Bolivian men and women and 360,000 children. Fifty-five men and women holding leadership positions in public institutions are currently benefiting from two USAID-supported masters degree programs at the Catholic University of Bolivia in auditing and financial Controls and public policy and management.
Description: USAID's democracy strategic objective supports activities that promote improved municipal governance, effective citizenship, and a representative Congress. USAID will help municipal governments and civil society representatives work together to implement the Popular Participation law; promote minimal local citizen education and preconditions for voter participation; help grass-roots organizations and municipal governments gain effective access to the Bolivian Congress; and support the institutionalization of management systems in municipal governments to achieve greatertransparency. By 1997, qualified nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working at the municipal level will become eligible to tap into a development fund to further spread the benefits of successful popular participation activities. Human resource development will continue to directly reinforce the popular participation programs through the training of mayors and community leaders. Activities in the justice sector will focus on: (1) judicial system efficiency and accountability; (2) effective criminal prosecution and investigation; and (3) access to justice. Technical assistance will be provided to the Ministry of Justice for the drafting of the bill on money laundering, the design of a reorganized Office of Asset Forfeiture, the production of an organization and operations manual, and the establishment of a computerized inventory system. USAID will proceed with the implementation of the judicial training pilot project; finish setting up the criminal case tracking and judicial statistics system in all criminal courts of the Santa Cruz Department, and begin its installation in the La Paz criminal courts. Management information systems and case tracking systems also will be designed and installed in the central office of the attorney general, in a departmental level model prosecutor's office, in a departmental level public defender's office, and in two departmental-level technical judicial police offices.
Host Country and Other Donors: The World Bank has recently approved a loan for judicial reform, focusing on civil and commercial matters. In some cases, Bolivian counterparts have agreed to replicate USAID-backed pilot projects in other departments with World Bank financing. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is considering a loan to support the GOB's popular participation and decentralization initiatives and a program to continue the congressional modernization effort begun by USAID. USAID has actively assisted the IDB in planning and design. The estimated host country contribution for this strategic objective in FY 1997 is $3,000,000.
Beneficiaries: Human capacity development plays a fundamental role in all aspects of USAID's democracy strategic objective. Over 500 judges, prosecutors, public defenders and police investigators will benefit from specialized training. Hundreds of civil society representatives as well as municipal authorities will receive technical training related to civic participation, municipal governance and financial accountability.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: USAID's partners in implementing activities under the democracy strategic objective include Chemonics International Inc., the State University of New York, the Center for Promotion and Electoral Assistance/ (CAPEL),; Management Sciences for Development, the Inter-American Bar Foundation, and Harvard Institute for International Development. The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Professional Development and Training (OPDAT) and the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) also are involved.
Major Results Indicators:
Baseline Target
Number of district court case-tracking and
judicial planning statistical systems 0 (1993) 7 (1998)
Number of courts presided by judges (J)
and managed by court administrators(A) J:0 (1993) 160 (1997)
(A) trained under project-assisted training program A:0 (1993) 10 (1997)
Congressional Committees using new
legislative support services 0 (1993) 10 (1997)
Purpose : To increase broad-based licit employment and income through expanding income-earning opportunities and broadening financial services to the poor.
Background: Seventy percent of all Bolivian households and approximately 94% of rural households are classified as poor, and only the upper classes of Bolivian society have access to financial services, technical assistance and training. USAID activities in this area provide productive and secure employment opportunities to the poor and expand access to training programs, technical assistance and financial services.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date: USAID assistance accelerates private investment and appropriate agricultural technology, improves entrepreneurial and labor skills, supports rural infrastructure, and facilitates economic activities of the poor by providing access to financial service for the financing of operating and investment capital. USAID activities during the past several years have generated $139.7 million in nontraditional exports, created 89,211 permanent jobs, and, in 1995 alone, provided financial services to tens of thousands of poor Bolivians.
Description: USAID focuses on increasing domestic and export sales, increasing private investment, investing in human capital, developing strong and viable local institutions, strengthening rural infrastructure, expanding and strengthening non-bank financial institutions, and supporting appropriate policy and regulatory frameworks. Funding is channeled through U.S. and local NGOs which provide technical assistance for production and marketing, facilitate exports, promote investment, provide agricultural extension, and business skill training to the poor. USAID supports several private non-profit and for-profit institutions which have proven track records of self-sufficiency in providing financial services to the poor. USAID resources are used to further expand outreach of these sustainable programs.
Host Country and Other Donors: In export promotion, the World Bank and Dutch Government support an export-oriented venture capital program. Sweden and the United Nations Development Program also have supported exports of alpaca wool and sweaters. The World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the Andean Development Corporation are supporting financial market strengthening and stabilization and expansion of microfinancial services. German assistance supports both urban and rural microfinancial service providers and the credit union system. The United Nations Drug Control Program, using resources from the Governments of Italy, Great Britain, Sweden and Germany, has been promoting alternative development in the Chapare coca-growing region. IDB improvement of major roads and export corridors provides crucial support for the marketing of licit products from the Chapare. The estimated host country contribution in FY 1997 for this strategic objective is $5,700,000.
Beneficiaries: Over four million Bolivians live in poverty and earn their meager incomes in the informal sector. USAID-supported programs designed to generate employment, increase income and expand access to financial services to reach about 140,000 poor households, with plans to reach 325,000 households per year by the year 2000.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: USAID implements activities through U.S. organizations (e.g., World Council of Credit Unions, Agriculture Cooperative Development Incorporated, Accion International, Carana Corporation, Planning Assistance, and Development Alternatives) and 29 local institutions.
Major Results Indicators:
Baseline Target
Annual non-traditional export sales ($million)* $11.5 (1991) $50 (1998)
Hectares of additional non-coca crops in the Chapare 917 (19901) 25,500 (1997)
Number of permanent jobs created 3,422 (1991) 32,000 (1994)
Number of households receiving
non-bank financial services (annual) 62,433 (1993) 220,000 (1999)
* This indicator only considers exports directly attributable to USAID's projects.
PROGRAM: BOLIVIA
TITLE AND NUMBER: Improved Family Health throughout Bolivia, 511-SO03
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1997: $19,800,000 DA, $8,863,000 P.L. 480 Title II
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1995 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE : FY 2000
Purpose: To improve family health throughout Bolivia by improving child survival and reproductive and sexual health practices, improving quality and increasing coverage of community health care, and providing timely and sustained support for the implementation of relevant elements of the Popular Participation and Decentralization laws.
Background: The health of Bolivians is among the worst in Latin America. Maternal mortality in the Altiplano averages 591 deaths per 100,000 live births, in some areas reaching 900, comparable to some of the poorest countries in Africa. Infant mortality remains at 75 deaths per 1,000 births, with deaths often occurring in the first hours after birth.
The majority of these deaths are preventable. By taking proper measures, Bolivia could greatly improve its health sector performance. Family planning has been shown to be one of the most important interventions in saving the lives of mothers and infants. Family planning clearly contributes to USAID's economic growth and environmental objectives as well.
The Popular Participation and Decentralization Laws have contributed significantly to this objective by providing authority and financing local governments. Already, a movement has begun among the over 300 newly created municipalities to contract with private sector nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) for the provision of high quality health care and family planning services. This privatization has improved the quality of care, increased financial sustainability, and released GOB Secretary of Health resources for deployment in the most rural and needy areas. Because USAID had its four major private sector activities in place in FY 1995 vigorously seeking expansion opportunities, it has been able to respond to the new demand for high quality health care created by the municipalities.
Opportunities for high-impact health care interventions have never been greater in Bolivia. Now is the time and USAID is seizing the unprecedented opportunity to provide improved maternal child health care and family planning services to Bolivia's neediest people. The incidence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) has been reduced through the AIDS/STD prevention project.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date : USAID's child survival efforts over the last five years have contributed to the decline in infant and child mortality by providing support to the GOB's immunization, diarrheal prevention, and water supply and sanitation program. Recent activities have included development of social marketing projects for oral rehydration salts (ORS) and vitamin A fortified sugar. Incidence of STDs has been reduced by up to 35% for some groups at high risk for AIDS.
Modern contraceptive use among women has increased from 12% to 18% between 1989 and 1994. During the same period total fertility rate decreased from 5.6 to 4.8. In 1995, the major public and private sector providers of family planning services supported by USAID have doubled the number of new users from 40,515 in 1994 to 98,655 in 1995, an increase of 144% in only one year under an aggressive new USAID-supported campaign. The Contraceptive Social Marketing Program tripled average monthly condom sales from 48,324 in 1994 to 129,780 in 1995.
Description: Of the total funding requested for population and health, $12,803,000 is planned for population activities and $6,842,000 is planned for health activities. The family health strategic objective has three clear sub-objectives: (1) the program attempts to improve child survival andreproductive and sexual health practices by Bolivian women, men, adolescents, and children; (2) it aims to improve quality and increased coverage of community health care services established by local governments and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); and (3) it provides timely and sustained support for the implementation of relevant elements of the Popular Participation and Decentralization laws.
Host Country and Other Donors: USAID works closely with other donors in Bolivia and complements the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the PanAmerican Health Organization (PAHO) reproductive health services efforts with the GOB's National Secretariat of Health. USAID finances the project director and eight national clinical family planning training centers, and provides technical assistance in management, natural family planning, and information, education, communication, and counselling activities. The UNFPA and PAHO finance the regional program supervisors, contraceptives, and other program costs. The National Secretariat provides salaries, clinic facilities, and most other recurrent program costs. In child survival, USAID collaborates with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in the social marketing of ORS and vitamin A fortified sugar. USAID also supports the Secretariat's immunization and diarrheal prevention programs. The World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank support the Secretariat with major health center construction projects. The estimated host country contribution for this strategic objective in FY 1997 is $10,800,000.
Beneficiaries: Children under five and women of child-bearing age are the major beneficiaries of USAID's family health strategic objective.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: USAID implements its health activities through at least four GOB agencies and five NGO/NGO networks. U.S. and Bolivian commercial sector companies collaborate in the social marketing efforts. Significant technical assistance is provided through over twenty Cooperating Agencies.
Baseline Target
Infant mortality per 1,000 live births: 75 (1994) 47 (2000)
Child mortality per 1,000 live births: 116 (1994) 74 (2000)
Maternal mortality per 100,000 live births: 390 (1994) 160 (2000)
Contraceptive prevalence (% modern methods): 18 (1994) 28 (2000)
Total Fertility Rate (# of children) 4.8 (1994) 3.8 (2000)
PROGRAM: BOLIVIA
TITLE AND NUMBER: Reduced degradation of forest, soil and water resources and biodiversity protected, 511-SO04
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1997: $5,300,000 DA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: 1995 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2000
Purpose: To reduce degradation of forest, soil and water resources and protect Bolivia's globally important biodiversity by discouraging forest conversion, reducing pollution, and sustainably managing the natural resource base.
Background: Bolivia has more forest cover than California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana combined. Protecting these endangered forest resources is significant for USAID's two environmental priorities: reduced global warming and biodiversity conservation. Bolivia is one of USAID's key countries for biodiversity activities. Bolivia offers ideal opportunities for development investments in these areas, with a growing community of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), very low population pressures, and a strong government commitment to sustainable development (as evidenced by the creation of the hemisphere's first Ministry of Sustainable Development and Environment, and by the government's decision to host a Hemispheric Summit on Sustainable Development in 1996).
USAID's most important activities supporting this strategic objective include: sustainable forestry management (BOLFOR), working with the Government of Bolivia (GOB), indigenous peoples groups, and the private sector to design and implement programs for environmentally friendly forest use; Parks in Peril, helping the GOB and NGOs protect almost 1.5 million hectares of some of the planet's most biologically rich areas; the Enterprise for the Americas (EAI) environmental account, Bolivia's leading source of support for nongovernmental initiatives in the environment; environmental planning and management , providing continuing high-level technical assistance to the GOB for planning the Hemispheric Summit; environmental pollution prevention program, providing models to industry for cost-effective ways to reduce water, soil and air pollution; and a program under development with the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Izoceño Indians to sustainably manage the Chaco's wealth of biological resources, including numerous endemic and endangered species.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date: USAID is a critical player in Bolivian environmental affairs, and the key donor working to protect forest resources. Achievements in 1995 far outstripped expectations, with more than 1 million hectares "graduated" from the Parks in Peril program (now under sustainable management, with biodiversity protected); more than 50,000 hectares of Chiquitanos Indian forest preliminarily "ecocertified" by the U.S.-based Smart Wood Program; comprehensive regulations to the General Environmental Law signed by the President of Bolivia; new regulations on forestry concessions developed; more than 150 model solar lighting systems installed in rural households and schools; more than 15,000 men, women, and children trained, leading to improved public knowledge of environmental management; and 27 new nongovernmental projects approved for EAI funding, ranging from watershed management to biodiversity conservation.
Description: USAID targets the strategic objective by aiming at three intermediate results: (1) discouraging forest conversion; (2) supporting adoption of sustainable natural resources management practices; and (3) reducing pollution. Forest burning and conversion is being discouraged by effective protected areas management (e.g., park boundaries surveyed and posted; park rangers trained and equipped); by increasing forest value, developing new ecocertified forest products for export to high-value "green markets," and through creation of an independent National Certification Council; and by crafting an appropriate legal and regulatory framework for responsible resource management. Adoption of sustainable resource management practices is being promoted through EAI-funded environmental education programs in both rural and urban areas; by increasing capabilities of local institutions forimproved environmental management; and by management of selected wildlife populations. Pollution is being reduced by demonstrating to factory owners how they can comply with Bolivia's new environmental regulations and improve their rates of return; and by encouraging adoption of cheap sources of renewable energy for those far removed from the national grid.
Host Country and Other Donors: Collaboration with other donors continues to be excellent. For example, the new Chaco activity was developed to complement the World Bank's Global Environmental Facility, the Switzerland and GOB-funded National System of Protected Areas, and in particular the new National Chaco Park (an area larger than Costa Rica, with perhaps more mammal diversity than any other park in the hemisphere). USAID's work in sustainable forestry management is coordinated closely with Netherlands-funded programs, and the planned disbursements of $5 million in host-country contributions are proceeding on schedule (as are the disbursements of $2.2 million each year to the EAI, with more than $6 million in GOB funds received to date). The strongest example of donor coordination, however, is the recent evaluation of Bolivia's National Environmental Fund. Here USAID took the lead in bringing together Canada, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Great Britain, the World Bank, and the P.L. 480 Executive Secretariat to draft terms of reference for the evaluation; to select consultants; to review the report's recommendations; and to plan a concerted response, all in close consultation with the GOB.
The estimated host country contribution for this strategic objective in FY 1997 is $1,800,000.
Beneficiaries: The number of direct beneficiaries of USAID's environmental program is hard to calculate, as it includes many residents of Bolivia's three most important cities (through pollution reduction and environmental education activities), more than 15,000 lowland Indians (with improved forest management and wildlife conservation), and scores of NGO initiatives with community groups (directly improving the lives of more than 50,000 people). Indirect beneficiaries include the global community, through protection of Bolivia's forests and their carbon-sequestration capabilities (reducing global warming), and their wealth of still largely untapped biological resources.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: USAID-financed environmental activities are implemented by Chemonics International, Wildlife Conservation Society, Conservation International, the Nature Conservancy, World Resources Institute, Tropical Research and Development, RCG/Hagler-Bailly, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Rural Electrical Cooperative Association. Key counterpart institutions include the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Environment, National Environmental Fund, National Chamber of Industries, National Forestry Chamber, the Capitancy of the Upper and Lower Izozog, Confederation of Chiquitanos Indians; and several local environmental NGOs.
Major Results Indicators: (cumulative)
Baseline Target
Increased hectares under improved management 50,000 (1994) 2,200,000 (2000)
Bolivian institutions trained to support
the strategic objective 4 (1995) 15 (2000)
Total value of target products
substantially harvested 0 (1993) $1,000,000 (2000)
Factories adopting pollution prevention 0 (1995) 20 (2000)