Where We Work

This map captures OTI's open and closed programs - February 2013

OTI Mission Statement

OTI's mission is to help local partners advance peace and democracy in priority conflict-prone countries.  Seizing critical windows of opportunity, OTI works on the ground to provide fast, flexible, short-term assistance targeted at key transition needs.

Since 1994, OTI, part of USAID’s Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, has laid the foundation for long-term development in conflict-prone countries by promoting reconciliation, jumpstarting local economies, supporting nascent independent media, and fostering peace and democracy through innovative programming. In countries undergoing a transition from authoritarianism to democracy, violent conflict to peace, or pivotal political events and natural disasters, initiatives serve as catalysts for positive political change. OTI programs are short-term—typically, two to three years in duration.

OTI works closely with regional bureaus, missions, and other counterparts to identify programs that complement other assistance efforts and lay a foundation for longer-term development. OTI programs often are initiated in fragile states that have not reached the stability needed to initiate longer-term development programs. OTI strategies and programs are developed and designed to meet the unique needs of each situation.

OTI is currently operating in Afghanistan, Burma, Côte d’Ivoire, Haiti, Honduras, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen.  Programs are designed to impact the country’s transition and are not limited to particular sectors.  Examples include:

• Supporting political participation of previously marginalized groups while linking constituents with their elected representatives
• Backing alternative media and public information campaigns to encourage peace, reconciliation, and informed participation in political processes
• Fostering community stabilization
• Implementing small-scale infrastructure repairs  to rapidly demonstrate benefits of peace
• Jumpstarting a new governments’ ability to provide services and communicate with citizens
• Supporting local efforts to mitigate and manage ethnic and religious conflict through training and confidence-building measures