Note: This document may not always reflect the actual appropriations determined by Congress. Final budget allocations for USAID's programs are not determined until after passage of an appropriations bill and preparation of the Operating Year Budget (OYB).
REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SERVICES OFFICE FOR EAST AND SOUTHERN AFRICA (REDSO/ESA)
FY 1998 Development Fund for Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,225,000 Introduction
The United States continues to have notable political and economic interests in both the strategically important sub-region of southern Africa and the politically troubled sub-region of east Africa. In recent years, most southern African countries have progressed rapidly in the attainment of the economic and social indicators of successful development. On the other hand, many countries of east Africa remain subject to political insecurity and require a continuation of substantial assistance from the donor community to mitigate the potentially negative impacts of continuing political and humanitarian crises. The vast mineral wealth and growing markets in the southern sub-region offer a unique potential for American investment and for the export of American goods and services, while many of the countries in the eastern sub-region have traditionally served as critical access points for U. S. military forces in times of emergency. Therefore the U.S. role in these separate sub-regions must encompass a broad range of strategic involvement. In southern Africa that involvement is focused on promoting the establishment of stable, productive, market-oriented economies, which have a real potential for reaping the benefits of past and ongoing U.S. investments through rapidly expanding trade and economic growth. In the eastern sub-region, the United States continues to concentrate on maintaining the positive progress achieved as a result of past developmental and humanitarian assistance efforts, while at the same time limiting the possible negative political or economic spillover from any one country to its neighbors. Thus, with relatively modest development and humanitarian investments today, the United States will avoid having to make a much more massive humanitarian assistance contribution in future years. As a result of this understanding, one of the main aims of the Greater Horn of Africa Initiative (GHAI) is to promote disaster preparedness and regional coordination throughout the Greater Horn of Africa (GHA) by focusing efforts on the achievement of food security and conflict prevention objectives. REDSO/ESA's diverse regional focus will enable the United States to maintain and enhance longstanding political and economic ties in east and southern Africa while assuring that the United States and the international donor community efforts in the region will result in sustainable development.The USAID regional office is a regional focal point for involvement in both of these challenging sub-regions. The office plays a key role in the complex task of furthering the achievement of U.S. economic, political and humanitarian objectives in the 19 countries in east and southern Africa. The specialized staff of this office focuses on significant developmental concerns and issues related to the implementation of the pivotal GHAI and various bilateral and regional activities, by providing expert programmatic and technical support services with a regional perspective. Concentrating on transnational approaches and long-term strategies, USAID's regional staff is a unique resource able to provide critical information and examples of the lessons learned which influence and result in the successful achievement of USAID's bilateral strategic objectives. Some of the areas within which such regional approaches have already provided significant contributions include: the regional coordination necessary for the achievement of food security; the transition of humanitarian assistance relief efforts into longer term developmentally oriented programs; the alleviation of significant policy and regulatory obstacles to the promotion of intra-regional trade and commerce; and the promotion of Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV-AIDS) prevention and family planning objectives within existing or new self-sustainable national health programs throughout the region.
The Development Challenge.
In recent years, the countries of east and southern Africa have invested significant resources in national efforts to address critical development challenges. However, the fact that many difficulties persist,with impacts that reach across national boundaries, is one indication of the need for better coordinated regional approaches and the development of innovative solutions. The challenges include:--
Natural disasters, including severe droughts which periodically afflict vast areas of the region and constrain the achievement of sustainable development objectives;--
Civil unrest, ethnic violence and limited progress in democratization and governance which continue to hinder economic and social development throughout the region. Although significant democratic gains have been registered in some countries (e.g., Mozambique and Uganda); widespread corruption (e.g., Kenya); and government instability and/or conflict (e.g. Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia and Sudan); seriously inhibit progress in others;-- High population growth rates that continue to outstrip gains in agricultural production make future food security in the region a continuing challenge;
--
Food insecurity, resulting from increased exploitation of marginal lands, a propensity for conflicts, the misuse of scarce water supplies, the exhaustion of soil, deforestation, the loss of genetic diversity and an increase in biotic (food crop pests and diseases) stress throughout the region; and--
The HIV-AIDS pandemic has its epicenter in the region, with nine of the ESA countries having seropositive rates over 10%. Recent studies suggest that by the year 2000 economic growth in some of the key countries in the region will be reduced by as much as 20% due to negative economic consequences of HIV-AIDS.The degree of challenge is different in the two regions served by REDSO/ESA. The member countries of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) have developed a shared vision of economic development and cooperation for the future and have been able to end major conflicts in the region that were detrimental to regional cooperation. Certain development problems remain, as well as the potential for humanitarian crises, and REDSO/ESA has been providing assistance to missions in the southern Africa region, including USAID's Regional Center for Southern Africa, taking advantage of the positive climate for regional cooperation. In east Africa, which comprises the GHA, major problems continue. Regional cooperation has been much less successful than in southern Africa at mitigating conflicts and addressing development constraints. However, there is now a more positive climate for regional cooperation and development with the recent launching of the revitalized Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). REDSO/ESA will continue to work closely with IGAD and other regional partners to address regional concerns, while directly assisting east Africa USAID missions, emphasizing the need for strategies that incorporate regional concerns.
Other Donors
As a host of multilateral and bilateral donors continue to be actively engaged in east and southern Africa, the USAID regional office concentrates on improving coordination of donor programs and resource utilization through regionally oriented strategic approaches which rely on African participation at every stage. The primary example of this has been the pivotal role that USAID is playing in advancing the GHAI-launched African and donor community dialogue. This dialogue has led to the expansion and revitalization of the developmental mandate of IGAD as the regional organization focused on food security, conflict resolution and infrastructure among IGAD member states. Another example is USAID's collaboration with the donor community in strengthening support for both the Southern African Center for Cooperation in Agricultural Research of the SADC countries as well as the Association for the Strengthening of Agricultural Research in East and Central Africa (ASARECA) and its affiliated National Agricultural Research Systems. Other examples of this regional coordination role include: environmental activities with the International Union for Conservation of Natural Resources, the World Resources Institute and others; and regional activities with the multilateral and bilateral donorcommunity in family planning, HIV-AIDS prevention, and financing of quality health care.FY 1998 Program
To advance broad-based sustainable development throughout east and southern Africa, USAID's regional office has selected three strategic objectives (SOs) and one strategic support objective (SSO) which cut across each of the Agency's five overall goals. These are as follows:* SSO 1: Effective Program and Technical Support to all ESA Missions.
* SO 2:
Increased Utilization of Critical Information by USAID and Other Decision Makers in the Region.* SO 3:
Establishment of a Strong Basis for Implementation of the GHAI.* SO 4:
Effective Delivery of USAID's Humanitarian Assistance.Most of USAID's regional advisors and activities support the achievement of specific regional results under two or more of these objectives. In FY 1998, the regional office will continue to have as its top priority the operationalization of the GHAI, in the field, by providing vitally needed technical and programmatic support services to client USAID missions and regional institutions in the Greater Horn of Africa (GHA) region. The regional USAID office will also continue to provide expert technical support services, critical information and lessons learned in areas of concern to decisions makers in USAID bilateral missions, host governments, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and Private Voluntary Organizations (PVOs) throughout the region. Finally, the regional USAID office will strive to continually improve the delivery of humanitarian assistance and the transition of USAID funded activities from relief to development throughout the region.
Agency Goal: Encouraging Broad-based Economic Growth
USAID's regional office supports economic growth objectives with expert advisory support services to the bilateral missions and by managing regionally oriented activities aimed at addressing critical development challenges. These include: the identification and mitigation of constraints to increasing intra-regional trade; an expansion of the number of women-owned businesses by accelerating their growth, profitability and full integration into the formal business sector; enhancement of land/labor productivity and farmer income; and the attainment of the GHAI food security objectives and the income generation objectives of USAID's Initiative for Southern Africa (ISA).
In FY 1996, USAID assisted in the mitigation of critical constraints to economic growth by: initiating a series of regional workshops bringing together--for the first time--host government policy makers, the private sector, and NGOs to develop an Action Plan to eliminate policies and regulatory constraints to intra-country trade throughout east Africa which promises to substantially reduce transportation costs in this sub-region; facilitating the launching of the All-African Businesswomen Association with participation from 11 countries; completing a survey of the private sector entities in the GHA countries and convening a workshop for government, NGO and private sector entities to develop the first-ever regional plan for private sector participation in the development and promotion of food security activities under the GHAI.
Economic growth funding requested in FY 1998 will enable USAID to continue to respond to a significant level of requests from client USAID missions for specialized technical assistance. This funding will also allow the continuation of regional activities focused on priority challenges not presently being addressed by others, including: the expansion of the private sector's involvement in the attainment of GHAI food security objectives and ISA income generation objectives; the consolidation of a research process that moves 'from policy analysis to policy implementation' while building thecapacity of African individuals and institutions (private and public) to develop, implement and disseminate critical information related to the promotion of a regionally oriented trade agenda; the continuation of support for ASARECA which will enable African experts in GHA National Agricultural Research Systems to conduct impact assessments that will lead to strengthened participating agency capacities to plan and achieve effective and efficient agricultural technology development and transfer, while providing critical information for establishing more cost-effective and strategic agricultural research priorities for Agricultural Systems throughout the region; and the increase of African women entrepreneurs' access to critical business information and services through the establishment of an interactive, on-line Information Trade Network financed by membership fees.
* SSO 1: Effective Program and Technical Support to all ESA Missions.
* SO 2:
Increased Utilization of Critical Information by USAID and Other Decision Makers in the Region.* SO 3:
Establishment of a Strong Basis for Implementation of the GHAI.* SO 4:
Effective Delivery of USAID's Humanitarian Assistance.Agency Goal: Stabilizing World Population Growth and Protecting Human Health
Of the total funding requested for population and health, $570,000 is planned for population activities and $1,839,000 is planned for health activities.
The stabilization of population growth rates continues to be a major priority throughout the region. By 1996, this rate was estimated at approximately 2.9%, while the fertility rate, at just under seven births per woman, ranks the region as one of the most vulnerable in the world. In addition, the prevention of the spread of HIV-AIDS and the enhancement of the effectiveness and coverage of self-sustaining health care systems continue to have a significant impact on population growth rates and the provision of health care throughout the region. As a result, 15 USAID country programs in the region have targeted results that will have a direct impact on stabilizing the population growth rate and protecting human health. Therefore, USAID will continue to devote resources, both human and financial, to assist in the achievement of these critical USAID objectives.
In FY 1996, REDSO/ESA responded to increased requests from bilateral missions by providing regional population expertise in adolescent education and pre-pregnancy related care. These skills, in conjunction with the Cooperating Agency Activity Tracking System (CAATS), enabled regional staff to provide key inputs to new and ongoing population programs, while improved coordination between regional cooperating agencies fostered by CAATS significantly increased the utilization of critical information by USAID and other regional decision makers in the population and health sectors.
In addition, regional staff have been able to share "best practices" in health care financing among a number of east African governmental and private health providers which have greatly improved their ability to protect human health and assist in stabilizing population growth rates throughout the region. Thus, USAID continues to perform a vitally important regional population and health function.
Population and health funding requested for FY 1998 will permit USAID to maintain the high quality regional population, health, AIDS and female education expertise, as well as expand the coverage and utility of the CAATS network and continue technical assistance to the Centre for African Family Studies (CAFS), the leading, self-sustaining African family planning and population institution in sub-Saharan Africa.
* SSO 1:
Effective Program and Technical Services to All ESA Missions.* SO 2:
Increased Utilization of Critical Information by USAID and Other Decision Makers in the Region.
Agency Goal: Protecting the Environment
Fourteen USAID country programs in the region have objectives focusing on the protection of the environment. The achievement of a number of these will have major consequences that cross national boundaries. Thus, the regional challenge is to strengthen regional institutional capacity to identify and manage scarce natural resources, i.e., coastal and biodiverse plant and animal resources, while increasing the sustainable productivity of the natural resource base: soils, water, etc., throughout the region. USAID's regional office provides specialized technical support services to assist in the achievement of these objectives, while managing innovative regionally-oriented activities focused on the protection of the environment.
In FY 1996, USAID responded to increased requests for assistance by providing a pool of regional environmental expertise in natural resources management, biodiversity, and capacity building for environmental impact assessment and environmentally sound design. By substantially augmenting available environmental information, the capability of regional decision makers to set environmentally sound policies was reinforced. In addition, the management of the following activities contributed to the achievement of the regional environmental protection agenda: developing and implementing a process to test an innovative training program to enhance USAID, governmental and non-governmental organizational (NGO) institutional capacity to conduct environmental reviews and assessments; developing models for successful integrated coastal zone management; cataloguing and disseminating data on trade in rare plants and animals for medicinal purposes to understand and improve legal trade, while limiting threats to biodiversity; and convening the first regional workshop with 13 countries and regional organizations on the design of strategies for environmentally sustainable development.
Funding requested for FY 1998 will permit USAID to maintain its high quality regional environmental expertise, while continuing innovative activities addressing critical environmental challenges. These activities will be drawn from the results of a GHA Environmental Stakeholders Survey so as to address principal regional environmental and natural resources management issues related to food security and conflicts in the GHA region as well as to support the training for participants from around the region to build capacity in the ministries and NGOs to manage coastal resources.
* SSO 1:
Effective Program and Technical Support to All ESA Missions.* SO 2:
Increased Utilization of Critical Information by USAID and Other Decision Makers in the Region.* SO 3:
Establishment of a Strong Basis for Implementation of the GHAI.Agency Goal: Building Democracy
Fifteen USAID country programs in the region have adopted strategies to build democracy. USAID's regional office provides specialized technical expertise to assist in the design and implementation of bilateral democracy activities to support the achievement of result under these strategic objectives.
In FY 1996, USAID contributed to the achievement of a variety of democracy related results. These efforts included: assisting in the design of the Ethiopia and Tanzania Democracy and Governance strategies; working with the key USAID grantee in Namibia to develop a monitoring and data collection plan which will focus on the achievement of results in the first National Democracy Program; assisting in the design of a local governance component of the Government of Rwanda's program to promote the expansion of democracy in the country; and developing a Customer Service Plan as part of USAID's support for a program to enhance the development of democracy in Zambia.
The funding requested in FY 1998 for building democracy will enable USAID to maintain high quality regional democracy and governance advisory services for USAID missions, governments and NGOs in the region, while continuing to play a key role in formulating and coordinating conflict prevention and mitigation activities and strategies under the GHAI.
* SSO 1:
Effective Program and Technical Support to All ESA Missions.* SO 2:
Increased Utilization of Critical Information by USAID and Other Decision-Makers in the ESA Region* SO 3:
Establishment of a Strong Basis for Implementation of the GHAI.Agency Goal: Providing Humanitarian Assistance
Historically, the east and southern Africa region has been devastated by repeated manmade and natural disasters. Humanitarian assistance and disaster planning are integral to sustainable development, as such disasters can wipe out years of development in a very short time. For more than a decade, significant numbers of "at-risk" and refugee populations have negatively affected economic and political stability in the region. In recognition of the importance of humanitarian assistance planning as an integral part of a strategy aimed at achieving sustainable development, nine of the ESA missions have included humanitarian assistance objectives in their strategic plans. REDSO/ESA's regional perspective and expertise have enabled bilateral USAID missions and the Bureau of Humanitarian Relief (BHR) to strengthen their ability to assess emergency needs, identify logistical and security constraints, coordinate with other donors and plan for a more timely response, and to assist in the preparation of humanitarian intervention strategies which utilize GHAI principles to address food security and conflict prevention strategies.
In FY 1996, USAID staff continued to assist ESA missions and work with regional partners, e.g., the multilateral and bilateral donors; NGOs; and PVOs to design and implement a wide range of humanitarian interventions and strengthen coordination with donors to respond more effectively to disasters and emergencies. For example, REDSO/ESA's regional staff provided direct management of the southern Sudan humanitarian assistance program, while initiating pilot transitional programs aimed at enhancing local capacity and supporting traditional coping mechanisms aimed at reducing the need for external assistance; supervised the Famine Early Warning System III project to provide decision makers with remote surveillance imagery and analysis of agro-climatic and socio-economic conditions and potential for famines in the region; continued to monitor overall relief operations in the Great Lakes region; provided critical inputs to the development of food security strategies for Mozambique, Ethiopia, and Somalia; and assessed food needs in Angola, Malawi, Zambia and Sudan.
Although traditionally the BHR resources used in disasters and emergencies are not part of a bilateral USAID mission's operating year budget, USAID's FY 1998 request for funding for REDSO/ESA includes funding for two pilot programs in support of the GHAI aimed at enhancing USAID's efforts at making humanitarian assistance more effective and timely.
Under both of these pilot activities, REDSO/ESA will be requesting BHR to redelegate approval authority to program, in the one case, up to $10 million in P.L. 480 Title II emergency programs (including monetization) and, in the other, up to $2 million in BHR/Office of Disaster Assistance funds (from the International Disaster Assistance account) to address presently unforeseen emergencies and to permit more timely responses, including local purchases. Both pilot programs will develop a set of criteria and modalities for how such resources can be approved.
In addition, REDSO/ESA anticipates a continued requirement for BHR and possibly International Disaster Assistance resources to work with the Sudanese populations who continue to be adversely affected by the ongoing civil strife, with likely requirements estimated at $20.0 million in International Disaster Assistance/DA funds and 20,000 metric tons of Title II emergency food resources.
* SO 3:
Establishment of a Strong Basis for Implementation of the GHAI.* SO 4
Effective Delivery of USAID's Humanitarian Assistance.
REDSO/ESA
FY 1998 PROGRAM SUMMARY
Encouraging
Broad-based
Economic
Growth
Stabilizing
World Population
Growth &
Protecting
Human
Health
Protecting
the
Environment
Building Democracy
Providing Humanitarian Assistance
TOTALS
USAID Strategic Objectives SSO1. Effective Program and Technical Support to all ESA Missions - Dev. Fund for Africa
756,000
750,000
215,000
199,000
---
1,820,000
SO2. Increased Utilization of Critical Information by USAID and Other Decision-Makers in the ESA Region - Dev. Fund for Africa
990,000
1,659,000
85,000
210,000
---
2,944,000
SO3. Establish a Strong Basis for Implementation of Greater Horn of Africa Initiative - Dev. Fund for Africa
266,000
---
---
41,000
---
307,000
SO4: Effective Delivery of USAID's Humanitarian Assistance - Dev. Fund for Africa
54,000
---
---
---
---
54,000
Totals - Dev. Fund for Africa
2,066,000
2,409,000
300,000
450,000
---
5,225,000
REDSO/ESA Mission Director: Keith E. Brown
ACTIVITY DATA SHEET
PROGRAM: REDSO/ESA
TITLE AND NUMBER: Effective Program and Technical Support to all ESA Missions, 623-SS01
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1998: $1,820,000 DFA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1996; ESTIMATED COMPLETION: Continuing
Purpose: To provide effective program and technical support to all east and southern Africa missions.
Background: The provision of effective program and technical support to all east and southern Africa missions has been the main objective of REDSO/ESA since it was established in 1972. REDSO/ESA has since established three additional regional objectives, but the provision of services remains at the core of the REDSO/ESA strategic plan while contributing in a synergistic way to the achievement of each of the other objectives of the REDSO/ESA strategy.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date: USAID missions in the region require specialized advisory services to supplement their own staffs in developing strategic plans, designing and implementing results packages, and monitoring and evaluating progress in attaining targeted results. REDSO/ESA is the repository of a significant portion of USAID's program and technical expertise in east and southern Africa. As such, this regional staff provides state-of-the-art advisory services in their respective fields to bilateral USAID missions in the region. The annual scheduling of services is negotiated with client missions early in the fiscal year. Requests from the 19 ESA missions are matched with available skills to most effectively address the required work assignments throughout the region. The work accomplished on these travel assignments is supplemented by support from Nairobi via electronic communication facilities.
In FY 1996, REDSO/ESA continued to respond to an increasing number of requests for the provision of programmatic and technical support services. Among its many accomplishments under this objective, REDSO/ESA has, in recent years, been instrumental in the development of country strategies and the design of major activities in most countries in the ESA region. REDSO/ESA also responds to urgent requirements, such as assuming management of the USAID/Burundi program in 1996 when the security situation forced the evacuation of long-term U.S. personnel stationed in Bujumbura. The regional office also serves as a center of excellence by providing training unavailable from other sources in such critical areas as USAID's New Management System, reengineering and environmental impact assessments. The continuing high level of demand for services is seen as a quantitative indicator of REDSO/ESA effectiveness in achieving this strategic support objective.
Description: REDSO/ESA will continue to provide services as requested by client missions through FY 1998. The resources requested for FY 1998 will fund advisors associated with REDSO/ESA and AID/W projects who will devote part of their time to providing services requested directly by client missions. Data on requests for services as well as qualitative feedback from client missions through the customer survey initiated in early FY 1997 will be used to decide how to most effectively configure strategic support personnel and manage the provision of services.
Host Country and Other Donors: USAID staff regularly work with government and donor agency staff at the bilateral and regional level to ensure effective donor coordination and programming of scarce development resources. For example, in FY 1996 REDSO/ESA assistance led an exercise which brought together key government decision makers and other donors in the health sector in a series of work sessions, resulting in a health strategy for USAID/Eritrea that is an integral part of the overall Government of Eritrea health strategy and ensures coordination of donor resources in the sector.
Beneficiaries: USAID missions in east and southern Africa are the primary beneficiaries of the servicesprovided.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: In addition to a cadre of foreign service officers, implementation is performed by personal services contractors, a variety of fellows, and institutional contractors, as well as an employee under a service agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In recent years, these in-house skills have been supplemented by local indefinite quantity contracts in specific fields paid for by client USAID missions in the region, e.g., in the development of private sector activities: Price Waterhouse Inc., Deloitte and Touche Inc., and Development Alternatives, Inc. and in financial management: Price Waterhouse Inc., Peat Marwick Inc., and Ernst and Young Inc.
Major Results Indicators:
Baseline Annual Target
REDSO/ESA achievement of planned 67% (FY 1995) 80% (1998)
service days and tasks
Requests for REDSO/ESA services ranged from minimum 80%
satisfied in each of the major skill categories 59% to 150% by (FY 1998)
by skill category
(FY 1995)
REDSO/ESA staff trained in reengineering 0% (FY 1994) 100% (FY 1998)
REDSO/ESA client missions satisfied None available 100% (FY 1998)
with services provided, as measured
by customer satisfaction index
ACTIVITY DATA SHEET
PROGRAM: REDSO/ESA
TITLE AND NUMBER: Increased Utilization of Critical Information by USAID and Other Decision Makers in the Region, 623-SO02
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1998: $2,944,000 DFA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1995; ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2000
Purpose: Increased utilization of critical information by USAID and other decision makers in the region.
Background: The USAID regional office, in collaboration with its many regional partners, is facilitating the flow and utilization of information critical to the successful achievement of USAID's bilateral, host government, NGO, and PVO strategic objectives throughout the region. This enhanced REDSO/ESA role includes the identification and transfer of practical lessons which have been learned in the region, as well as intensive analysis, development of innovative models and technologies, and other types of formal and informal communication exchanges.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date: The USAID regional office is working with a host of partners, including client USAID missions, collaborating governments, private networks and regional research institutions, universities, NGOs and PVOs to develop, analyze, disseminate and use critical information on priority regional development issues. The current REDSO/ESA portfolio includes ongoing initiatives at various stages of implementation in: regional trade, health, family planning, environment and natural resource management, women in business and agricultural research. Four of these activities are described below.
Regional Trade Analytical Agenda - The objective of this agenda is to identify the impact of evolving trade and agricultural policies on agricultural productivity and food security in the region. The information generated is being used to inform policy makers and encourage the appropriate policy responses to achieve stated national and regional objectives concerning trade, agricultural production and food security. REDSO/ESA has established a process which allows the activities in this agenda to move "from policy analysis to policy implementation," and builds the capacity of African decision makers (private and public) to develop, implement and disseminate their results related to regional trade. There are a number of examples of accomplishments to date. First, the Government in Malawi has sanctioned the free movement of maize both in-country and cross-borders. Second, Uganda's National Food Security strategy has informal trade as its cornerstone. Third, the East African Cooperation Secretariat has adopted recommendations from the Cost of Transport Analyses and has identified a committee to be the pressure group for reforms. Fourth, results from the Southern African Comparative Advantage study are being used to formulate a regional food security strategy which will be put forward to the 1997 SADC Ministerial meeting. Fifth, the Ministry of Transport of Ethiopia requested that one component of the Agenda, the East African Cost of Transport Analyses, be extended to include the northern tier countries of the Horn of Africa. Sixth, the TRADENET, connecting the Trade Ministries in the SADC with the SADC secretariat has allowed USAID to fulfill the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Vice President Gore in 1995. This activity also contributes significantly to the strategic objectives of GHAI, the Initiative for Southern Africa and Africa Bureau.
Environmental Assessment NGO/PVO Training - Training has taken place in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Uganda, Tanzania and Madagascar for USAID, governmental, NGO and PVO partners, with course participants grounded in environmentally sound project design, the principles of environmental assessment and USAID requirements, and the critical importance of integrated land-use planning to attain sustainable natural resource management. This activity has been extended to provide additional training courses because of the importance of environmental capacity building, including regional environmental assessment training, and to promote the inclusion of African facilitators/trainers in course adaptation andimplementation.
Regional Health Networks - REDSO/ESA is working to maximize USAID's regional investments in child survival, reproductive health, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome and other health related initiatives by sharing, adapting, and borrowing lessons learned across national borders. Working in partnership with the Global and Africa Bureaus, REDSO/ESA has improved the design and implementation of health and population activities in Mozambique, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Tanzania; and has facilitated communications, about successful approaches for improved health financing systems, among an extensive network of service delivery groups (governmental, private, and NGO) in the region. Building upon the evidence from ongoing activities in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Mozambique, and Zambia, REDSO/ESA will take the lead in disseminating and facilitating the use of critical information in the areas of improved integration of HIV and Family Planning services, and affordable and practical improvements in the quality of child, adolescent, and reproductive health services. In addition, logistical support information for the improved supply of essential drugs for child survival, treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, and the supply of contraceptives has recently been added to the Health Network agenda. This agenda of critical concerns has been developed in response to a survey of the various organizations and USAID missions in the region.
Regional Coastal Resources Management - The positive results achieved in utilizing integrated coastal resource management systems and strategies which included two pilot projects in the region were disseminated and thoroughly discussed at a Regional Coastal Practitioners' Workshop in Tanzania which was jointly sponsored by REDSO/ESA, the Global Bureau, the UN Environmental Program, the World Bank, and other donors. This workshop provided the substance of the agenda of the Second Ministerial Conference on Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) in eastern Africa held in the Seychelles in October 1996 at which ministers of all the represented east African nations reconfirmed the importance of ICZM to sustainable development, recognized progress made to date, and committed themselves to furthering ICZM initiatives in the region. Through this activity, REDSO/ESA has played a key role in assisting to set a regional agenda focused on the promotion of ICZM and local participation which promises to have lasting long term beneficial impacts on this long neglected, priority area of environmental and economic development.
Description: REDSO/ESA is focused on five Intermediate Results (IRs) in order to achieve this SO:
- Improved availability of regional information in priority development areas;
- Improved models and technologies for use in priority development areas;
- Enhanced dissemination of critical regional development information;
- Increased regional collaboration in addressing critical regional development issues; and
- Strengthened human and institutional capacity to generate, analyze and use critical regional
development information.
Results packages (RPs) in each of the major Agency goal areas support the achievement of the targeted IRs. In FY 1998, RPs will include funding for ongoing activities, new activities and in some cases critical expert techical advisory services. The agenda, which determines the composition of these regional RPs, is based on extensive consultation with client USAID missions and other regional organizations and partners so as to ensure that their priority, focus and targeted results are matched to those of these REDSO/ESA's regional partners and are achievable.
Host Country and Other Donors: USAID collaborates with host country governments and with many bilateral and non-governmental donors to ensure complementarity of regional agendas and the coordination of the allocation and use of scare resources.
Beneficiaries: Intermediate beneficiaries include collaborating governments, private regional networks and research institutions; universities; NGOs and PVOs; REDSO/ESA's client missions; and other USAID offices. Ultimate beneficiaries include the people at the grass-roots level for such SO2 activities as:Regional Trade; Regional Health Networks; the Centre for African Family Studies; and the All-Africa Businesswomen Association.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: Current contractors include Technoserve, the University of Swaziland, Partnerships for Child Health, Pathfinder International Inc., The Population Council, The Association for Voluntary Surgical Contraception, John Snow, Inc., Family Health International, Abt Associates, B.J. Systems Corporation and Roy Littlejohn Associates, Inc.
Major Results Indicators: The achievement of results under this SO will be measured by the percentage increase of ESA missions actively investing in and participating in REDSO/ESA's critical regional development areas.
Baseline (1995) Target (1998)
Regional Economic Growth
- Regional Trade 45% 75%
- All-Africa Businesswomen Assoc. 20% 70%
- Regional Agricultural Impact 0% 60%
Assessments
- Association for Strengthening Agricultural 0% 60%
Research in East/Central Africa Strategy
Regional Population and Health
- Health Care Financing 20% 60%
- Integration of HIV/Sexually Transmitted 20% 80%
Disease/Family Planning/Maternal
Child Health
- Improving Quality of Child and 20% 80%
Reproductive Health Services
- Adolescent Health 30% 60%
- Logistics - Essential Drugs and 30% 50%
Contraceptives
- Centre for African Family Studies 40% 80%
Regional Environmental Protection
- Regional Coastal Resources Mgt. 0% 20%
- National Environmental Strategic 10% 20%
Networking
- Trade in Wildlife Medicinals 10% 20%
- Environmental Assessment Training 10% 40%
- GHA Regional Environmental 10% 50%
Stakeholders Survey
ACTIVITY DATA SHEET PROGRAM: REDSO/ESA
TITLE AND NUMBER: Establish a Strong Basis for Implementation of the GHAI, 623-SO03
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1998: $307,000 DFA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1995; ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2000
Purpose: To establish a strong basis for implementation of the Greater Horn of Africa Initiative (GHAI).
Background: The GHAI was launched in 1994 in response to continuing political, and humanitarian crises in the Greater Horn of Africa (GHA) region, consisting of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. USAID adopted the basic objectives of this Initiative - improving regional food security and establishing systems of conflict early warning, response, and mitigation - as the guiding principles for developing a program of activities in the region. The GHAI acknowledges that food insecurity in the region is growing due to a complex and interrelated set of political, environmental, social and economic factors that can only be successfully dealt with on an integrated, regional basis through a participatory and collaborative process among African states, NGOs, PVOs, the bilateral and multilateral donor community, and regional organizations. By addressing the root causes of food insecurity and conflict, the GHAI will be critical to long term sustainable development in the region. GHAI activities involve a large number of development partners, including several U.S. Government (USG) departments and agencies, other multilateral and bilateral donors to the GHA region, and GHA-region governments, regional networks and organizations, NGOs and PVOs, the private sector, and universities.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date: REDSO/ESA has adopted the GHAI as one of its four strategic objectives. Given REDSO/ESA's location in Nairobi (a regional hub), its resources and its diverse in-house expertise, it is the logical place to house the field presence of the GHAI. REDSO/ESA's SO3 is the framework within which REDSO/ESA's GHAI-oriented activities are designed and implemented. Notwithstanding this, as there are many resources and factors that contribute to the achievement of GHAI objectives which are outside the manageable interests of REDSO/ESA, the focus of the GHAI within REDSO/ESA is the Horn of Africa Support Project (HASP).
The HASP is an innovative project designed to implement the principles of the GHAI - African ownership and active participation; doing business differently; the adoption of regional approaches to the solution of problems; strategic coordination; linking relief efforts to sustainable development; and promoting stability through change. The HASP was approved and signed in FY 1995 to institute a collaborative regional process for establishing development priorities among development partners in the region and then addressing them in a coordinated, complementary and non-duplicative fashion. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional organization located in Djibouti which consists of seven of the GHA states (all of the GHA countries except Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania) is the implementing entity for HASP. REDSO/ESA provided HASP funding in FY 1996 to IGAD for a diverse set of activities to enhance its effectiveness as a development agent. These included: the acquisition of computer equipment and staff training to improve IGAD's financial management and control systems; a financial assessment of IGAD to determine the steps needed to achieve USG standards of funds accountability to qualify IGAD to award HASP sub-grants for pilot projects in GHAI priority areas; technical assistance in developing IGAD's portion of the Africa Food Security Platform, which was discussed at a continent-wide April 1996 meeting in Ouagadougou and subsequently presented at the 1996 World Food Summit in Rome; and a series of conferences with regional actors to set GHA development priorities.
IGAD has responded to the significant financial and technical contribution that REDSO/ESA has provided by initiating a series of technical meetings that resulted in the revitalization of IGAD and the expansion of the organization's operational mandate to include crisis prevention and food security. This hassubstantially improved IGAD's effectiveness and enhanced its impact as a regional organization. The IGAD revitalization included: a complete revision of the organization's charter so as to greatly facilitate decision making; the attainment of new financial commitments from its member states; the recruitment of dynamic new top management for the organization; and a substantive and far-reaching dialogue with regional development partners on an integrated approach to the challenges in the GHA region.
Description: Current plans call for the HASP to be fully funded by the end of FY 1997. Funds requested for FY 1998 will enable USAID to continue building the framework for the implementation of the GHAI by partially funding contracts for key regional technical advisors that are not funded under the HASP. Additional non-REDSO FY 1998 funding for GHAI activities and personnel is requested in a separate Africa Bureau GHAI Congressional Presentation.
Host Country and Other Donors: USAID is playing a leading role in engaging GHA-region governments and donors in the GHAI. While the GHAI is a Presidential initiative, it is anticipated that other major donors to the region, including Canada, the European Union, the Netherlands, Italy, and Japan, will participate extensively in GHAI activities. Major donors are now working toward a coordinated and non-duplicative approach to development assistance in the region, principally through their combined efforts to develop IGAD as the major regional organization focused on development.
Beneficiaries: It is anticipated that GHA governments, NGOs and PVOs, and other local institutions and organizations will be the intermediate beneficiaries of the GHAI. These benefits will ultimately accrue to the grass roots level through the realization of true food security and the ability of the people in the GHA region to pursue productive economic endeavors as a result of stability and peace realized through the achievement of conflict prevention, mitigation and resolution objectives.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: Currently, REDSO/ESA's principal grantee under this strategic objective is IGAD. REDSO/ESA's role in GHAI implementation will be through the HASP, providing funds to IGAD to award sub-grants, primarily to indigenous and international NGOs and PVOs engaged in food security and conflict prevention, mitigation and resolution activities.
Major Results Indicators:
Baseline Target
Establishment of an operational No framework, Framework
framework and implementation of no formal and formal
formal mechanisms to improve coordination mechanisms
coordination between and among donors mechanisms. are functioning.
and IGAD in humanitarian assistance (FY 1995) (FY 2000)
and sustainable development activities
in the IGAD sub-region.
Development of IGAD's Capacity IGAD sub-grants
capacity to independently solicit, untested. process.
review, rank, award and manage (FY 1995) (FY 2000)
sub-grants under the HASP for proposals
in GHAI priority areas (food security and
conflict prevention).
ACTIVITY DATA SHEET PROGRAM: REDSO/ESA
TITLE AND NUMBER: Effective Delivery of USAID's Humanitarian Assistance (HA), 623-S004
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1998: $54,000 DFA
STATUS: Continuing
INITIAL OBLIGATION: 1995 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: Continuing
Purpose: To improve the effectiveness and timeliness of USAID's humanitarian assistance programs in eastern and southern Africa (ESA).
Background: Humanitarian assistance is an act of national conscience, an investment in the future, and integral to USAID's overall strategy to achieve sustainable development. In the ESA region, USAID is funding significant programs in Angola, Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and eastern Zaire which in FY 1996 totaled together more than $350 million (P.L. 480 Title II/III and IDA funds). Thus, there is a continuing need for a regional humanitarian assistance approach that goes beyond national boundaries, while enhancing USAID bilateral capacities to prepare for and respond to crises. REDSO/ESA's regional experience in coordinating humanitarian assistance led to the adoption of a strategic objective that is based on the conviction that breaking the cycle of continual humanitarian crises can only be achieved through effective delivery of that assistance focused on a deliberate transition from relief to development.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date: The impact of USAID's humanitarian assistance is unquestioned in the ESA region. USAID's assistance has: saved millions of lives and reduced the suffering of vulnerable populations; protected economic assets; built local capacity to prepare for and respond to disasters; facilitated a return to normalcy and local self-sufficiency in the aftermath of emergencies through effective rehabilitation interventions; and helped affected populations return to the path of social and economic development over the longer term. The impact of USAID's assistance, in conjunction with assistance provided by other donors, can be immediately gauged through the data on the number of East Africans "at risk" (those requiring external assistance). Over a three-year period (1994 to 1996), the "at risk" population in the region has been nearly cut in half (16.6 million in June 1994; 11.6 million in June 1995; 8.9 million in June 1996). Although favorable growing conditions and more accurate head counts of the "at risk" population were a significant factors, timely inputs of seeds/tools and other causes were key to the reduction of those "at risk" numbers. Notwithstanding this, external constraints beyond the control of USAID will continue to seriously affect achievement of SO results. The major humanitarian assistance programs in which REDSO/ESA staff is currently active include:
--
Southern Sudan: management of emergency food/disaster relief programs and preparation of transitional programs and strategic planning. Overall USAID funding levels have dropped due to better targeting, more accurate head counts of the "at risk" population, agricultural rehabilitation/recovery programs, better understanding of traditional coping mechanisms, etc.;-- Rwanda Regional Emergency: monitoring USAID food aid, disaster needs and liaison with operational partners. Joint assessments with UN agencies and closer coordination among operational partners and donors have improved the timeliness and effectiveness of humanitarian assistance;
-- Angola and Somalia: assistance in food needs assessments and transitional strategies;
-- Mozambique, Eritrea, and Ethiopia: assistance in the development of food security strategies; food management plans; and design of P.L. 480 Title III activities;
--
Kenya: monitoring drought and food security situation and resolving food aid taxation problems; and--
Uganda: food aid management plan development; monitoring World Food Program activities; and assistance in design/implementation of the P.L. 480 Title II monetization programs.Description: In support of SO4, REDSO/ESA focuses on three intermediate results: (1) improved preparedness in the east and southern Africa region for effective responses to crises; (2) more effective USAID responses to problems as they arise; and (3) enhanced target population capacity to re-establish their livelihoods following a crisis. Improved preparedness capacity is implemented by providing regional decision makers up-to-date remote sensing data and analysis of agriculture, climatic and socio-economic conditions which impact on food production and security through the Famine Early Warning System III project. REDSO/ESA also works closely with USAID bilateral missions and other implementing partners in needs assessments, strengthened coordination, logistical systems, timely delivery of emergency supplies, and establishment of monitoring systems. To enhance the target populations' capacity to restore their livelihoods, appropriate assistance and transitional strategies will be developed and implemented. It is anticipated that these strategies will facilitate the initiation of rehabilitation and recovery activities that the donor community will support, focusing on capacity building and supporting indigenous coping mechanisms. GHAI principles are utilized in the planning of all interventions so as to move rapidly from relief to development.
Development Fund for Africa (DFA) funding requested for FY 1998 will partially fund key advisors to the humanitarian assistance objective and a small amount of program development activity. Capitalizing on the regional USAID staff's significant level of first-hand knowledge of the region and events, two new initiatives are being proposed to the BHR in FY 1997 and FY 1998. These will enhance REDSO/ESA's ability to address presently unforeseen emergencies and permit more timely responses. In an unprecedented effort at more efficient programming of emergency resources, BHR will be requested to re-delegate to REDSO/ESA approval authority to program up to $10.0 million in P.L. 480 Title II emergency programs resources (including monetization) and the authority to approve up to $2.0 million in BHR/Office of Disaster Assistance (OFDA) funds (from the International Disaster Assistance account). Criteria for the use of these funds, for which approval authority has heretofore rested solely with BHR, will be established in advance.
Host Country and Other Donors: USAID coordinates with host country governments and the full range of bilateral and multilateral donors in support of effective humanitarian assistance interventions and transitional initiatives. This is critical to the success of emergency efforts. Through interaction with its main implementing partners - PVOs, UN agencies and Red Cross organizations, REDSO/ESA continues to play a key proactive coordination and communication role which will result in maximized impact and more effective response to disasters and emergencies.
Beneficiaries: The direct beneficiaries of SO4 are the multilateral and bilateral donors, and the NGO and PVO operational partners that REDSO/ESA staff work with. The ultimate beneficiaries will continue to be primarily the women and young children in the vulnerable groups that are threatened by both natural and man-made disasters.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: Most interventions are carried out through USAID grants to United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Program (WFP), as well as international and indigenous NGOs. The proposed new pilot activities will generally be carried out by the same type of grantees.
Major Results Indicators: Baseline Target
Reduction in number east Africa at risk 16.6 million 8.9 million
population (FY 1994) (FY 1999)
Increased % of Joint Assessments of 33% (FY 1994) 100% (FY 1999)
major USAID emergency food interventions
Increased % of USAID non-food resources 42.9% (FY 1995) 60% (FY 1999)
in southern Sudan allocated to recovery/rehab.
vs. emergency activities
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