Programs

Economic Growth

Increased Regional Trade and Integration

The USAID East Africa Mission serves some of the world’s poorest nations. Economic growth in the region is dampened by a lack of industrial competitiveness, poor infrastructure, low agricultural productivity, and poor management of natural resources. USAID/East Africa works with bilateral mission and regional organizations to promote broad-based economic growth and reduce fragility by increasing agricultural productivity, removing barriers to trade, and raising incomes. Activities supported by USAID East Africa aim to achieve the goals of both the Presidential Initiative to End Hunger in Africa (IEHA) and the Africa Global Competitiveness Initiative (AGCI). Environmental sustainability is a deeply held value of USAID/EA, and the office hosts the East and Central Africa regional Environmental Quality Management (EQM) team, based in the Regional Economic Growth and Integration (REGI) Office. One of the important roles the EQM team plays is to ensure that the spirit and letter of the Agency’s Environmental Procedures are complied with, to support the achievement of quality development results. Learn more...

Conflict Mitigation

Peace Advanced in the Horn of Africa and Great Lakes

Significant areas in East and Central Africa are distinguished by persistent political instability and conflict, with high levels of poverty, weak governance and institutions that are unwilling or unable to respond to the needs of thousands of marginalized and impoverished people. The Great Lakes region and the poorly governed pastoral belt extending in a northerly arc across the Horn of Africa in particular, have seen continuous conflict leading to security risks, extremism, smuggling and natural resource degradation. This conflict, which is often regional in nature, creates constant refugee flows, internal displacement, food insecurity, poverty and prevents economic progress. Gender-based violence, human rights abuses and the transmission of HIV/AIDS are additional causes for concern that add to the persistent instability. Learn more...

Health and HIV/AIDS

A Healthier Population in the East Africa Region achieved through African Leadership

Countries in sub-Saharan Africa are among the poorest in the world, with extremely high rates of infant, child and maternal mortality. Malaria and TB are rampant killers, with a combined mortality rate of almost three million people each year. Women bear an average of six children and few have access to family planning services. Over 6 million adults and 600,000 children in the region are now living with HIV/AIDS and by 2004 more than 4.5 million children had become orphans due to the disease. Clearly the severity of health threats, the inadequacies of overburdened public health care systems and the inability of struggling economies to cope with the burden make it difficult for governments in the region to deal with the problems on their own. Learn more...

Food for Peace

Addressing food security crises in Eastern and Central Africa

U.S. support for overseas food aid was formalized in the Agricultural and Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954, also known as P.L. 480 or “Food for Peace”. On a global level, more than 800 million people today are chronically undernourished, and more than 180 million children are significantly underweight. For the United States, reducing the number of chronically undernourished and underweight people throughout the world is both a humanitarian concern and a strategic goal. The P.L. 480 Title II program, administered by USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (FFP), is the largest source of resources within the U.S. Government (USG) available to focus on the problem of food insecurity in the developing world. In fiscal year (FY) 2007 the United States provided more than $2.1 billion of food aid to 78 developing countries. Learn more...