Speeches Shim
The Feed the Future East Africa Analytics for Development program helps USAID Kenya and East Africa programs adapt to the environmental, political, and market changes in areas affected by multi-faceted shocks and stresses. To be effective, programs need responsive and timely analytics to support decision making and programmatic adaptation based on analysis and learning.
In order to lay the foundation for this vision, over the course of the next five years, USAID will promote East African leadership for regional resilience, prosperity and stability. In order to effectively promote East African leadership, USAID/KEA will diversify our partnerships to improve their utility in reaching desired development outcomes.The regional platform has historically partnered with three Regional Economic Communities (RECs): East African Community (EAC), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
Despite great strides in economic growth and increased women in leadership in the region, significant gender gaps remain. Gender inequality remains a significant impediment to growth and well-being across East Africa. Women face differential barriers in access to markets, capital, training, and technologies; and they are underrepresented in—if not restricted from—decision-making spheres at all levels. This limits them from reaching their full potential and fully contributing to their countries’ economies.
While the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), passed in 2000 and extended in 2015 until 2025, provides duty-free access to the U.S. market for African footwear products, East African countries have for the most part struggled to take advantage of it. Although Ethiopia exported, on average, a little over $25 million in footwear products per year to the U.S. from FY 2016-20, the rest of East Africa generated, in the aggregate, an average of just $0.332 million annually over that period. East Africa’s performance under AGOA is compounded by a slowing U.S. end market.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is one of the regional intergovernmental organizations of the African Union Commission in the Horn of Africa, with a combined population of over 260 million people. It comprises eight member states: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Somalia, and South Sudan. The Horn of Africa experiences migration and cross-border mobility due to economic uncertainties and the fragile political environment.
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Last updated: September 22, 2021
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