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).
BOLIVIA
FY 1998 Development Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $30,124,000 FY 1998 P.L. 480 Title II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $20,291,000 FY 1998 International Narcotics Control Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25,000,000 Introduction
Bolivia is important to the national interest of the United States because: (1) Bolivia is the world's second largest illegal coca/cocaine producer, which is damaging to both countries; (2) both countries share common interests in the democratic process and in encouraging widespread participation in that process; (3) the United States is Bolivia's major trading partner, accounting for approximately 27% of all Bolivia's trade; (4) Bolivia maintains a relatively open foreign trade regime attractive to U.S. investors because of its low tariffs, free movement of capital and absence of trade restrictions; 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 help Bolivia reduce and eventually eliminate the illegal coca and cocaine industry, to encourage market-driven and sustainable economic growth and stability, and to nurture Bolivian democracy. In the counternarcotics effort, alternative development programs supported by the United States have successfully promoted licit economic opportunities and employment in the Chapare coca-growing region. The United States is helping Bolivia take 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 restored democracy, now in its 15th year. Presidential elections are scheduled for 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. The United States is helping Bolivia develop sound environmental regulations and build local capabilities to bring increased areas of forests under responsible environmental management. Bolivia hosted the Hemispheric Summit on Sustainable Development and the Environment in late 1996.
The Development Challenge
Landlocked and rugged, Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in the hemisphere, with a per capita GNP of about $800 in 1996. One of the clearest manifestations of that poverty is the extensive prevalence of malnutrition: 38% 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 the leading cause of the high infant mortality rate which, at 75 per 1,000 births in 1994, remains one of the highest in the region. Bolivia's young population of 7.4 million is growing at the rate of 2.4% a year.In spite of its poverty and its fragile democratic and economic institutions that are endangered by the illegal coca/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 solid macroeconomic policies; have moved to deepen stabilization measures; have increasingly addressed the social needs of poor, predominantly indigenous people; and have taken steps to confront 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, andimplementing a national policy for sustainable development. The program includes five key reforms: privatization of former wholly state-owned companies and their capitalization, primarily with foreign investment; education reform; popular participation which devolves resources and political power from the national level and decentralizes many state functions to 311 newly created municipalities; reform of the state's administrative structure; and judicial reform. As the current administration completes its final year in office, progress has already been made. While inflation is expected to reach close to 10% in 1996, its 10.1% average over the last three years (1994-1996) is among the lowest in Latin America; and GDP growth, averaging around 4%, is among the highest.
In 1996, Bolivia attracted a record level of foreign private investment, largely through its privatization/ capitalization program. In little more than a year after passage of the Capitalization Law in March 1994, three U.S. companies won bids for the joint ownership of the state power company's three generating plants. Nineteen U.S. companies have expressed interested in investing in the state owned oil company.
Approximately 30% of Bolivia's total 1996 national budget was transferred directly to regional and municipal governments in compliance with the Popular Participation and Administrative Decentralization Laws. This transfer provides an unprecedented level of resources for local and regional authorities. The GOB expects that these reforms will provide greater accountability and more necessity-based investment, largely in the social sectors. Already, resources flowing to the 311 municipalities nationwide are estimated to have increased to three times the 1993 level, and there has been a significant shift of national resources from the major urban centers to poor rural communities.
The judicial reform process begun in 1992 continues. Concrete results include: drafting of the new code of criminal procedures; establishment and expansion of an effective public defender system; establishment of pre-trial release for non-dangerous defendants; and elimination of unconstitutional provisions of the anti-narcotics law. The proposed creation of a nominating committee for judges and a Constitutional Tribunal would bring greater transparency to the judicial selection process and assure respect for and observation of constitutional law. Efforts continue to strengthen court administration, case tracking and the management support system, 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 Environment and the development of a National Park Service in 1993, and the decision to host the Hemispheric Summit on Sustainable Development and the Environment in December 1996. Protecting these natural resources is important because of concerns about global warming and conservation of biological diversity.
Bolivia is not a 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 averages around 10% of GDP annually. Major systemic constraints continue to impede 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/cocaine industry, while offering innovative programs to improve family health, build democratic institutions, and sustainably manage forest resources and protect biodiversity.
Other Donors
USAID and the donor community pledged $725 million for 1996, with actual bilateral and multilateral loans and donations reaching $565 million in 1996, complemented by a projected $450 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, the United Nations, and the European union are major multilateral donors.FY 1998 Program
USAID supports sustainable development in Bolivia under all five Agency goals: Encouraging broad based economic growth; Building democracy; Stabilizing world population growth and protecting human health; Protecting the environment; and Providing humanitarian assistance. In FY 1998, U.S. national interest will continue to be defined by the facts that Bolivia: is the world's second largest producer of coca/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 combating the corrupting nature of the drug trade on the economy and political system. Expanding economic opportunities and access by expanding microfinancial services and promoting nontraditional exports helps generate employment and legal income for poor Bolivians. To combat the illegal drug trade, USAID promotes licit agricultural production, infrastructure investments and market development activities, provides balance of payments support that lets the GOB free up resources to pursue compensated coca eradication, and supports drug awareness programs. To improve the health of the Bolivian population, USAID targets mothers and children and help Bolivian institutions to lower fertility and space births, provide access to high-quality primary health care, and promote maternal and child survival, which is 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 objectives is enhanced by a proactive food aid program that supports sustainable economic growth and improves maternal and child health. Nearly one-half of the requested Development Assistance funds in FY 1998, along with about 40% of the P.L. 480 Title II food program, will support the family health strategic objective. About 60% of P.L. 480 Title II and part of the remaining DA funds will support the economic growth objective. The balance of the available DA funds will be divided between the democracy and environment strategic objectives. International Narcotics Control Funds (INCF) are concentrated on achieving results under USAID's counternarcotics activities.
Agency Goal: Building Democracy
The first municipal elections conducted under the new Popular Participation Law took place in December 1995, and newly elected officials took office a month later. USAID provided assistance to the National Electoral Court, which contributed to the success and transparency of these elections by training over 100,000 election officials. The legislative support services center currently provides bill drafting, fiscal and budget analysis, research, and outreach services to nine Congressional committees. Under the Democratic Development and Citizen Participation activity, USAID provides assistance to selected municipalities, enabling them to develop and carry out their municipal action plans in a participatory fashion.Judicial reform is supported through USAID assistance to the Ministry of Justice. This included assistance in the drafting of: a new code of criminal procedures, which provides mechanisms to better ensure the protection of human rights and due process of law; a recently approved Assets Forfeiture regulatory decree, which streamlines procedures for the seizure of illegally obtained assets; and a law to criminalize money laundering. USAID provided assistance to the judicial training school on 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.
Strategic Objective 1: Broaden the Social Base of Bolivian Democracy While Progressively Strengthening its Governance Agency Goal: Encouraging Broad-based Economic Growth
In support of the broader agency goals of encouraging broad-based economic growth and providing humanitarian assistance, the P.L. 480 Title II program provides local currency and food for work to improve market access roads, watershed management, micro irrigation and basic sanitation in 59 rural provinces. The food-for-work program provides temporary employment to 28,505 poor heads of households in the poorest rural towns and peri-urban areas of the country. The Title II program offers agricultural extension and marketing services and training to more than 84,822 farm families in Bolivia's most food-insecure regions. This agricultural program increases production of staple crops and introduces vegetables and other high-value crops, which increase income and home consumption, improving the families' food security.In 1996, more than 130,000 households received financial services through USAID-supported microfinancial institutions; more than 13,500 permanent jobs were created under microcredit and export promotion activities; and more than $50 million in nontraditional exports were generated. As a result of the USAID-supported Bolivian Banking Law of 1993, 12 credit unions now report to the Superintendency of Banks and three have obtained licenses to provide a range of credit services to Bolivia's poor.
In 1998, USAID-supported programs will continue to help Bolivia confront critical development challenges caused by severe poverty. 70% of Bolivian households and 94% of rural households are classified as poor, severely lacking jobs and financial services. USAID is supporting expanded economic opportunity and access through national programs to expand microfinancial services, promote nontraditional exports, expand the domestic markets, strengthen the financial sector, and assist in policy reform.
The alternative development program, which supports licit agricultural production and investments in infrastructure and marketing in coca-growing areas, is key to combatting the illicit coca and cocaine industry in Bolivia. In the Chapare coca-growing areas, a recent survey shows that almost 75% of the total land under cultivation is in licit crops; i.e. three times as much land is dedicated to alternative crops as to coca. In close coordination with the Narcotics Affairs Section of the U.S. Mission in Bolivia, USAID will continue to expand licit activities directly linked to voluntary coca eradication through the alternative development and balance of payments programs.
Strategic Objective 2: Increased Broad-based Licit Employment and Income for the Poor Agency Goal: Stabilizing World Population Growth and Protecting Human Health
Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in the hemisphere. Poverty contributes to high infant, child and maternal mortality rates, and diminishes the family's 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 Bolivian women 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.A 50% increase in contraceptive prevalence (from 12% to 18%) between 1989 and 1994, coupled with a 24% reduction in infant mortality, 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 311 newly created municipalities, enabling them to contract private-sector NGOs for high-quality health care and family planning. To take advantage of the momentum and opportunities for health sector privatization created by popular participation, USAID increased its support to NGO service providers in FY 1996, which allowed them to expand services.
In support of the Improved Health Strategic 0bjective, the P.L. 480 Title II maternal and child health program provides supplementary feeding, oral rehydration therapy, nutrition education and other services to approximately 15,000 pregnant or lactating women and 32,000 pre-school age children in the most food-insecure areas of the country. This program has been successful in reducing mortality and morbidity among infants and children under five. Water and sanitation services have been provided to over 79,000 rural and peri-urban families to help reduce the incidence of water-borne diseases, especially diarrhea and parasitic diseases.
Strategic Objective 3: Improved Health of the Bolivian Population 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 gives it a clear and impressive global comparative advantage for USAID investments in conserving biodiversity and reducing global warming.In 1996, many key results were achieved in environmental protection. More than 1 million hectares, an area larger than the state of Connecticut, of national parks were under sustainable management with biodiversity protection. Two national parks, Amboro and Noel Kempff Mercado, graduated from the USAID-supported Parks in Peril program. Working with the local Izoceño peoples, USAID has begin work to insure the sustainable management of the new biologically-rich Chaco Park, an area the size of Costa Rica. Comprehensive regulations to the General Environmental Law were passed in 1995, establishing time specific limits for air and water pollution for the first time and providing an institutional framework for enforcement. National guidelines for sustainable forest management were also developed. The GOB passed the Forestry Law in 1996, with extensive involvement of NGOs and other key stakeholder groups, and began work on enabling legislation.
USAID will support the GOB's efforts to include environmental concerns in its programs for economic growth (e.g., capitalization and popular participation.) Additional USAID funding to assist with the wise stewardship of forests and their biodiversity will be critical. The GOB will also rely on USAID's help in following up on recommendations taken at the Hemispheric Summit on Sustainable Development and the Environment, hosted by Bolivia in December 1996, and in securing the donor support necessary to implement these actions.
Strategic Objective 4: Reduced degradation of forest and water resources and biodiversity protected. Agency Goal: Providing Humanitarian Assistance
The P.L. 480 Title II program is fully 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 health strategic objectives.
BOLIVIA
FY 98 PROGRAM SUMMARY (000's)
USAID Strategic Objectives Encouraging Economic Growth Stabilizing Population Growth
and Protecting
Human Health
Protecting the Environment Building Democracy Providing Humanitarian Assistance Total 1. Broaden the Social Base of Bolivian Democracy While Progressively Strengthening its Governance.
Dev. Assistance
INCF
4,500
3,000
4,500
3,000
2. Increased broad-based Licit Employment and Income for the Poor Dev. Assistance
P.L. 480 Title II
INCF
3,362
22,000
12,175
3,362
12,175
22,000
3. Improved Health of the Bolivian Population Dev. Assistance
P.L. 480 Title II
162
16,600
8,116
16,762
8,116
4. Reduced Degradation of Forest and Water Resources and Biodiversity Protected Dev. Assistance
5,500
5,500
Total Dev. Assistance
P.L. 480 Title II
INCF
3,524
22,000
16,600
5,500
4,500
3,000
20,291
30,124
20,291
25,000
USAID Mission Director: Frank Almaguer
ACTIVITY DATA SHEET
PROGRAM: BOLIVIATITLE AND NUMBER: Broaden the Social Base of Bolivian Democracy While Progressively Strengthening its Governance, 511-SO01
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1998: $4,500,000 DA; $3,000,000 INC
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1995 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2001
Purpose: To broaden the social base of Bolivian democracy while strengthening its governance by: improving conflict resolution processes; making public sector institutions increasingly accountable, transparent, and responsive; improving congressional functions, and making local governance more effective and participatory.
Background: USAID's focus on democracy coincides with Bolivia's implementation of the April 1994 Popular Participation Law -- viewed as the most important redistribution of political and economic power since Bolivia's 1952 Revolution -- and other important laws.
USAID's Role and Achievements to Date: Municipal governments elected to a four-year term for the first time in history in 1995 took office in January 1996. Under the Democratic Development and Citizen Participation activity, USAID's assistance to selected municipalities is enabling them to identify, rank, develop, and carry out their municipal action plans in a participatory fashion as mandated by the Popular Participation Law. Successful experiences will be replicated in up to 200 other municipalities.
USAID helped the Bolivian Congress establish permanent, non-partisan, bicameral legislative support services: bill drafting assistance, fiscal and budget analysis, research and documentation, and outreach to constituencies, brought together in the Congressional Research Center (CICON). Over the years, USAID turned to the U.S. Congressional Research Service for advice in setting up CICON. Although initially funded by USAID, CICON is now entirely funded by the Bolivian Treasury. USAID's assistance, however, will be critical to helping the Bolivian Congress manage the pivotal upcoming transition: in the June 1997 general elections, slightly more than one-half of the Lower House will be directly elected from single-member districts. This new form of election will radically change the way Congress functions, and must be well managed.
USAID provided assistance to Bolivia's Justice Ministry in drafting an ambitious set of laws. These include laws to: (1) establish a Judicial Council with powers to select, discipline, and manage judges; (2) establish a Constitutional Court granted powers of judicial review; and (3) set up a new Criminal Procedure Code, stressing oral procedure through public hearings and publicly announced judicial decisions leading to swifter resolution of cases. USAID also helped the Ministry of Justice draft a law to criminalize money laundering, and is helping the Superintendency of Banks establish a unit to detect money-laundering. The Office of Public Defense, whose USAID-financed training has made it one of the best in Latin America, has grown significantly and now defends the indigent throughout Bolivia.
USAID also supported a pilot Automated Criminal Case Tracking System for all criminal courts in one district that is ready for replication nationally. The first Bolivian Prosecutors' Manual sets standards, procedures, and a policy framework for prosecutors. The case tracking system installed in a Model District Prosecutors Office is a further tool for prosecutorial work. Finally, the Judicial Training Unit served over 500 judges in 1996.
Approximately 120 men and women in leadership positions are benefiting from two USAID-supported masters' degree programs at the Catholic University of Bolivia in auditing and financial controls and in public policy and management. In addition, almost 300 public servants received short-term training in accounting, fraud auditing, and internal control systems.
Description: USAID's Democracy Strategic Objective will be achieved through activities promoting improved municipal governance, effective citizenship, and a representative Congress. USAID is helping municipal government and civil society representatives work together effectively in accordance with the mandates of the Popular Participation Law. Most of the 311 new municipal governments in Bolivia desperately need training, which USAID is giving to a cluster of "teaching municipalities," which will serve as models for other municipalities. To broaden the electorate, USAID promotes programs that enable citizens to register and to cast valid ballots. To bring Congress closer to its constituents and vice versa, USAID provides widespread education grass-roots organizations and municipal governments. Through the Bolivian Peace Scholarship Program, human resource development reinforces popular participation and justice sector activities.
Host Country and Other Donors: A World Bank has provided a loan for judicial reform. The Inter-American Development Bank's (IDB) loan to support citizen documentation, decentralization, and congressional modernization supports these GOB activities, begun with USAID's assistance. The host country's estimated contribution for this strategic objective in FY 1998 is $3,000,000. A donor coordination group formed by USAID and the Swiss Cooperation for Development Agency works to avoid overlapping programs in the Justice Sector.
Beneficiaries: The Bolivian public will benefit from an accessible, fair, and expeditious justice system. Constituents will benefit from closer relations with members of Congress, and Congress will become more effective. USAID's Democratic Development and Citizen Participation activities will have a widespread impact on the conduct of local government.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: USAID implements its democracy activities through the State University of New York, the Center for Electoral Assistance and Promotion, Management Sciences for Development, the Inter-American Bar Foundation, Harvard Institute for International Development, and Chemonics International, Inc. The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Professional Development and Training and the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program provide direct assistance to their GOB counterpart agencies.
Major Results Indicators:
Number of district court case-tracking
and judicial planning statistical systemsNumber of courts presided over by judges (J)
and managed by court administrators (A) trained under project assisted training programCongressional Committees using new legislative support services
Baseline 0 (1993)
J:O (1993)
A:O (1993)
0 (1993)
Target 7 (1998)
200 (1998)
50 (1998)
12 (1998)
ACTIVITY DATA SHEET
PROGRAM: BOLIVIA
TITLE AND NUMBER: Increased Broad-based Licit Employment and Income for the Poor, 511-SO02
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1998: $3,362,000 DA; $12,175,000 P.L. 480 Title II; and $22,000,000 INC
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1995 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2003
Purpose: To increase employment and income through expanded economic opportunities, including financial services, to the poor; and to coordinate the U.S. Government's alternative development efforts in the Chapare, assist in the reduction of coca production, and increase awareness of the harmful and dangerous consequences of drug use and the drug trade to Bolivian society.
Background: Seventy percent of all Bolivian households and over 90 percent of rural households are classified as poor. The percentage of unemployed and underemployed Bolivians exceeds 35%. Although significant progress has been made in providing financial services for the poor, the vast majority still lacks access to credit and other vital services. The small business sector, vital to Bolivia's economic growth, suffers from burdensome taxes and other regulations and generally cannot gain access to technical assistance and financial services. Despite recent major reforms in privatization, decentralization and social security, economic growth continues to stall. Bolivia's small market and low purchasing power point to competitive non-traditional exports as a critical element of future growth. The country is beginning to achieve success in exporting to neighboring countries but remains far behind the other countries in the region. The Chapare has traditionally been a coca-producing area, and coca has accounted for a large majority of income and employment in the region. USAID has been extensively involved in alternative agriculture, but only in the last five years has it made a concerted effort to create conditions conducive to broad-based profitable licit agriculture.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date: USAID's assistance improves entrepreneurial and labor skills, supports rural infrastructure, facilitates economic activities of the poor by providing access to financial services, and promotes increased private investment and exports. USAID plays a lead role in microfinance and export promotion. Activities during the past five years have generated $195 million in nontraditional exports, created more than 92,000 permanent jobs, and helped provide financial services for over 128,000 poor Bolivians. The P.L. 480 Title II program provides local currency funds and food for work to improve market access roads, watershed management, micro irrigation and basic sanitation in 59 rural provinces. The food-for-work program brings temporary employment to more than 28,000 heads of households in the poorest rural towns and peri-urban areas of the country. The Title II program also offers agricultural extension services, marketing services, and training to more than 85,000 farm families in Bolivia's most food-insecure regions. This program increases production of staple crops and introduces vegetables and other high-value crops, which increase income and home consumption, improving the families' food security.
Alternative development has been concentrated in Bolivia's primary coca-producing area, the Chapare Region, since 1983. The cash transfer and development assistance tied to narcotics reduction are making excellent progress, and licit crop production is now three to four times higher than coca production in the project's areas. Until recently, USAID had to persuade private growers to enter into priority licit alternative crop production and had to offer investment incentives to profit-seeking private agribusiness but farmers now understand the income potential of bananas, pineapples, palm hearts, black pepper, and passion fruit. Growers actively solicit planting material and are rapidly expanding licit crops in planted areas.
Description: USAID's economic growth strategic objective focuses on increasing export sales and 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 institutions which provide technical assistance for production and marketing, facilitate exports,promote investment, and provide business skills to micro and small businesses. In FY 1998, USAID's programs will help provide financial services to an additional 45,000 poor clients and will generate over 25,000 new jobs, and millions of dollars in exports. Should adequate resources be available, USAID plans to initiate technical advisory and financial support to Bolivia's small business sector. This sector is important to Bolivia's economic growth and technological competitiveness.
In FY 1998 USAID Bolivia will continue efforts to foster an environment conducive to the promotion of licit private sector investment in the Chapare coca growing region. The alternative development activity will continue to support sustainable broad-based free market economic growth in the Chapare. This includes farmer outreach and support services, distribution of improved seed and planting materials, and advice on the production of new licit crop alternatives to coca. In addition to direct support to farmers to improve on-farm production through technical assistance and training, USAID-financed activities include the construction of off-farm processing facilities, major transportation lines, market infrastructure, electricity for industrial and household consumption, and farm-to-market roads. The alternative development activity will consolidate the gains achieved by Cochabama Regional Development Project (CORDEP), which will be completed in FY 1998. It will be implemented in close coordination with Narcotics Affairs Section (NAS) of the U.S. Mission in Bolivia, other USAID programs, and the programs of other donors. The primary modification of the alternative development activity from previous projects will be a clear linkage of alternative development with voluntary coca eradication. This linkage will be achieved by identifying multiple "intensive development zones" which will enable closer coordination with the NAS. Balance-of-payment support, which enables the GOB to free up resources to pursue compensated eradication, is a critical element of the assistance.
Host Country and Other Donors: Although government policies are relatively export-friendly, the GOB has not been effective in implementing its regulations. In the microfinance sector, the GOB signed a Supreme Decree authorizing the Superintendency of Banks to regulate and supervise microfinance institutions. Currently, the GOB is trying to coordinate donor support to this sector and to develop policy criteria for programming assistance. The World Bank and Dutch Government support an export-oriented venture capital program. Sweden and the United Nations Development Program have supported exports of alpaca wool and sweaters. Most of the major bilateral and multilateral donors support microfinance in one form or another. On the counternarcotics side, 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 region. IDB's improvement of major roads and export corridors enables marketing of licit products from the Chapare. The European Union is expected to finance infrastructure and road improvements in the Chapare. The estimated host country contribution for this strategic objective is $17,000,000.
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 incomes and expand access to financial services reach about 140,000 poor households, with plans to reach 275,000 by the year 2000. The Chapare region includes about 35,000 family farms, and it is estimated that some 75%, or 26,000 of them, cultivate at least some coca. The total area cultivated with licit alternative crops (including pastures) is about 92,000 hectares. To date, the area has benefitted from $3.5 million of private sector investments in off-farm agribusiness, and $10 million in additional private sector investments are planned by some 20 different companies.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: USAID implements activities through U.S. organizations (e.g., World Council of Credit Unions, Agriculture Cooperative Development Incorporated, ACCION International, Planning Assistance, Development Alternatives, and the Harvard Institute for International Development); U.S. and local cooperating sponsors for the implementation of P.L. 480 Title II activities (Project Concern International, Adventist Development and Relief Agency, CARITAS Boliviana, and Food for the Hungry International); and numerous local institutions.
Illustrative Major Results Indicators: BASELINE TARGETAnnual non-traditional export sales ($ million) $11.5 (1991) $50 (1998)
Number of permanent jobs created 3,422 (1991) 60,505 (1998)
Number of households receiving non-bank financial services 62,433(1993) 275,000 (2000)
Additional non-coca crops in the Chapare Region 92,300 Has. (1996) 130,000 Has. (2003)
ACTIVITY DATA SHEET
PROGRAM: BOLIVIA
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE: Improved Health of the Bolivian Population, 511-S003
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1998: $16,762,000 DA, $8,116,000 P.L. 480 Title II
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1995 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE : FY 2000
Purpose: To improve health throughout Bolivia by: (1) improving child survival and reproductive and sexual health practices; (2) improving quality and increasing coverage of community health care; and (3) providing timely and sustained support for the implementation of relevant elements of the Popular Participation and Administrative Decentralization Laws in health policy and local health services.
Background: The health of Bolivians is among the worst in Latin America. Maternal mortality in the high plains ranges from 600 to 900 deaths per 100,000 live births, a rate comparable to some of the poorest countries in Africa. The infant mortality rate is 75 deaths per 1,000 births. These rates are among the highest in the hemisphere. The majority of these deaths are preventable. Family planning has been shown to be one of the most important interventions in saving the lives of mothers and infants worldwide, and this intervention clearly contributes to Bolivia's economic growth and environmental objectives as well.
The Popular Participation and Administrative Decentralization Laws have contributed significantly to this objective by conferring increased authority and financing on local governments. Already, a movement has begun among the 311 newly created municipalities to contract private sector nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) for high-quality health care and family planning services. This public/private cooperation has great potential to improve the quality of care, increase financial sustainability, and release Secretary of Health resources for deployment in the most rural and needy areas.
USAID's Role and Achievements to Date : USAID over the last five years has contributed to the decline in infant and child mortality by helping to fund the Government of Bolivian's (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. The incidence of STDs has been reduced by up to 35% for some groups at high risk for AIDS.
Modern contraceptive use among women increased from 12% to 18% between 1989 and 1994. During the same period the total fertility rate decreased from an average of 5.6 to 4.8 children per woman during her reproductive years. In 1996, USAID's major providers of family planning services expect an increase of 23.4% in the number of new users of modern contraceptive methods. The Contraceptive Social Marketing Program tripled average monthly condom sales, from 48,000 in 1994 to 130,000 in 1995, and averaged over 200,000 per month in 1996. The incidence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) has been reduced through the AIDS/STD prevention project.
Description: The Family Health Strategic Objective has three sub-objectives: (1) to improve child survival and reproductive and sexual health practices by Bolivian women, men, adolescents, and children; (2) to improve quality and increase coverage of community health care services established by local governments and NGOs; and (3) to provide timely and sustained support for the implementation of relevant elements of the Popular Participation and Administrative Decentralization Laws. In FY 1998 the Improved Health Strategic Objective will continue to emphasize support for expanding and improving primary health care services in the public and private sectors. USAID, in concert with the United Nations Family PlanningAssociation (UNFPA), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and other donors, will increase support to the GOB's National Secretariat of Health, which has doubled new users of family planning among the poorest 30% of Bolivia's population. USAID finances 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.
USAID financing will continue to improve the GOB's National Social Security Medical System reproductive health services throughout its network of 58 hospitals and 61 clinics serving 20% of the population. USAID continues to support the national immunization, diarrhea prevention and treatment, and GOB social marketing of oral rehydration salts and fortified sugar programs. Support at the district level through the Community Child Health activity is contributing to Bolivia;s rapid reduction in infant mortality.
In the private sector, support will continue (1) for Bolivia's model self-financing, high quality, primary health care provider (PROSALUD) to expand its network; (2) for Bolivia's most important provider of family planning services in the private sector (Center for Information, Education and Services) to become an International Planned Parenthood affiliate; (3) for a federation of 24 private and nongovernmental organizations (PROCOSI) to continue providing child survival and family planning services to 30% of Bolivia's rural population; (4) for CARE to expand reproductive and AIDS/STD prevention activities in southern Bolivia; and (5) for Population Services International, which in one year has raised condom sales 261 percent, to market new brands of contraceptive products and to expand its household water purification project project, Claro, from a successful pilot to a nationwide social marketing effort.
USAID/Bolivia will also launch a third multi-media family planning campaign. The 1994 campaign increased family planning use by 61 percent. The 1996 campaign won the Population Institute's Global Media Award for Best Advertising campaign. New episodes of a television drama series advocating family planning, AID/STD prevention, abstinence, and prevention of abortion are in production. The pilot episodes were watched by 2.5 million Bolivians, breaking all ratings records.
Host Country and Other Donors: USAID works closely with other donors in Bolivia and complements the United Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA) and PanAmerican Health Organization's (PAHO) Reproductive Health Services activities with the GOB's National Secretariat of Health. The National Secretariat provides salaries, clinic facilities, and most other recurrent program costs. 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 1998 is $10,800,000.
Beneficiaries: The 1.1 million Bolivian children under five and 1.8 million Bolivian women of child-bearing age are the major beneficiaries of USAID's population health strategic objective.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: USAID implements its health activities through at least four GOB agencies, and over 25 NGOs, including an NGO network. U.S. and Bolivian commercial sector companies collaborate in social marketing. Significant technical assistance is provided through more than 20 Cooperating Agencies. Four U.S. and local cooperating sponsors implement P.L. 480 Title II health activities.
Major Results Indicators: Baseline TargetInfant mortality per 1000 live births: 75 (1994) 47 (2000)
Child mortality per 1000 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)
ACTIVITY DATA SHEET
PROGRAM: BOLIVIATITLE AND NUMBER: Reduced Degradation of Forest and Water Resources and Biodiversity Protected, 511-SOO4
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION/FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1998: $5,500,000 DA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY-1995 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2000
Purpose: To reduce degradation of forest and water resources and to protect Bolivia's globally important biodiversity by discouraging forest conversion and reducing pollution.
Background: Bolivia has more forest cover than California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana combined protecting these endangered 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 NGO community, very low population pressures, and a strong GOB commitment to sustainable development as evidenced by the creation of the hemisphere's first Ministry of Sustainable Development and Environment, and by the GOB's decision to host the Hemispheric Summit on Sustainable Development in 1996.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date: USAID is a critical player in Bolivia's environmental affairs and the key donor working to protect forest resources. Achievements in 1995-96 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; a new environmentally-friendly forestry law developed and passed, with new regulations on forestry concessions; more than 150 model solar lighting systems installed in rural households and schools; and more than 15,000 men, women, and children trained, leading to improved public knowledge of environmental management.
Description: USAID targets the Strategic Objective by aiming at two Intermediate Results: discouraging forest conversion in target areas, and 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 for improved environmental management; and by managing selected wildlife populations by local groups. Pollution is being reduced in target areas by showing factory owners how they can comply with Bolivia's new environmental regulations and yet improve their rates of return on investment.
USAID has several important activities that support this strategic objective. Sustainable Forestry Management (BOLFOR), works with the GOB, indigenous groups, NGOs, and the private sector to design and implement programs for "environmentally friendly" forest use. Parks in Peril, helps 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 Account is Bolivia's leading source of support for nongovernmental initiatives in the environment. Environmental Planning and Management provides high-level technical assistance to the GOB in planning the Hemispheric Summit on Sustainable Development. The Environmental Pollution Prevention Program, provides models to industry for cost-effective ways to reduce water, soil and air pollution. A program under development with the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Izoceño Indians will sustainably manage the Chaco region's wealth of biological resources, including numerous endemic and endangered species.
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/Global Environmental Facility, Swiss and GOB-funded National System of Protected Areas, and in particular its 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 coordinating closely with Dutch-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 $10 million in GOB funds received to date). The strongest example of donor coordination, however, is the recent evaluation of Bolivia's National Environmental Fund and follow-up actions. USAID took the lead in bringing together donor agencies from Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, England, the World Bank, and the P.L. 480 Executive Secretariat to draft terms of reference for the evaluation; select consultants; review the report's recommendations; and plan a concerted response. The estimated host country contribution for this strategic objective in FY 1998 is $3,000,000.
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 TargetIncreased hectares under improved management 50,000 (1995) 3,000,000 (2000)
Institutions trained to support SO 4 (1995) 15 (2000)
Public awareness increased 15,000 (1995) 100,000 (2000)
Factories adopting pollution prevention 0 (1995) 20 (2000)
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