More than 75 years ago, in the shadow of the devastation wrought by World War II, President Harry S. Truman signed into law the Foreign Assistance Act of 1948 with these words: foreign aid “is an outstanding example of cooperative endeavor for the common good.”
Indeed, in the more than 60 years since this Agency was created, USAID teams have partnered with governments, multilateral organizations, non-profits, activists, private sector entities, and communities to drive tremendous progress for humanity. We helped launch an agricultural revolution that lifted farmers out of poverty and staved off an era of global famine that threatened a billion lives. We helped launch a global vaccines program that eradicated smallpox around the world—a disease that, in the 1900s alone, killed more than 300 million people. We have helped build schools for children and rebuild communities after disasters. We have helped protect the environment and promoted human rights around the world. We strive, in every way and every day, to further the common good.
Today, USAID is as committed as ever to continue that work, advancing dignity and opportunity for all. But as the challenges we face grow ever more immense—from historic levels of conflict, to declines in democratic governance, to a climate crisis that is growing more and more urgent—we are increasingly facing a reality where our global challenges are growing faster than the resources we have to take them on.
So we have continued to embrace our strategy of Progress Beyond Programs, seeking new and innovative ways to leverage USAID’s resources for maximum impact.
We know that with limited resources and a growing slate of global emergencies, we need to leverage new sources of funding and engage with new partners to supplement our own work. In the last year, we have mobilized more than $16 billion in public and private finance to support USAID’s work, driven by such tools as the $50 million per year Enterprises for Development, Growth, and Empowerment (EDGE) Fund, which just launched its third annual round of funding.
We also know that one of USAID’s greatest strengths is our ability to raise the profile of global issues that may not be widely recognized as threats to human life or human dignity—and our capacity to build cross-border, cross-sectoral coalitions to address those issues. We have built broader movements for change around challenges such as lead poisoning and extreme heat, which threaten hundreds of millions of lives. These movements are already beginning to garner far greater attention and resources. In September, for example, USAID helped launch the Partnership for a Lead-Free Future, which has drawn in new partners from the public, private, and non-profit sectors to spearhead global lead mitigation efforts. Already, these partners have helped mobilize $150 million for lead mitigation—ten times the average amount of funding available per year in the past.
We also made internal changes to provide our teams with the staff, time, and diversity of perspective they need to revamp our processes and strategies effectively and make our Progress Beyond Programs agenda possible. As part of our Burden Reduction Program, we eliminated over four million hours of burdensome processes—freeing our teams to spend more time on the high-impact work that makes a measurable positive impact in the communities where USAID works. We created more than 900 new federal employee positions in the Civil and the Foreign Services—the single biggest increase in more than a decade. By the end of 2024, the Foreign Service at USAID will be at its highest staffing level since 2017—and the most diverse it has ever been. We also increased the number of senior positions for our local staff in our Missions by more than 60 percent, enabling them to use their expertise to devise efficient and enduring solutions to the problems their communities face.
In this Agency Financial Report, we worked closely with the Office of Inspector General to provide complete, reliable, and accurate financial and summary performance data. The Independent Auditor’s Report, including reports on internal control and compliance with laws and regulations, appears in the Financial Section of this report. The section on Management’s Discussion and Analysis reviews our assessments of our internal controls, risks, and financial stewardship of resources.
Foreign assistance can continue to be a force for the common good—just as President Truman envisioned it decades ago. To do so in the face of growing, urgent challenges, we will need to change our methods—to push the limits of what has long been possible, identify unorthodox solutions to unorthodox problems, and find ways to effect change beyond traditional means. We have an opportunity today to do aid better—and USAID is seizing it.
