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Updated January 12, 2022
U.S. Agency for International Development: An Overview
Background
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
is the lead international humanitarian and development arm
of the U.S. government. Established in 1961 to lead
implementation of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as
amended, its programs support U.S. strategic and
development aims by providing assistance to strategically
important countries and countries in conflict; leading global
efforts to alleviate poverty, disease, and humanitarian need;
and assisting U.S. commercial interests by furthering
developing countries' economic growth and building these
countries' capacity to participate in world trade.
USAID is responsible for the management of more than
$25 billion in combined annual appropriations, representing
more than one-third of the funds provided in the
Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related
Programs (SFOPS) appropriation and international food aid
provided in the Agriculture appropriation. Some USAID
appropriations accounts are programmed collaboratively
with the Department of State (State), making any
calculation of its current budget imprecise. (For more on
SFOPS, see CRS Report R46935, Department of State,
Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2022
Budget and Appropriations.)
USAID's workforce totals more than 10,000, with
approximately two-thirds serving overseas. The agency
maintains more than 60 country and regional missions that
design and manage a range of projects, most intended to
meet specific development objectives as outlined in a
Country Development Cooperation Strategy. Most projects
are implemented-through a grant, cooperative agreement,
or contract-by one of thousands of foreign and U.S.
development partners, including nonprofit private voluntary
organizations and other nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs), for-profit contractors, universities, international
organizations, and foreign governments.
In FY2021, the most recent year for which detailed
estimates are available, USAID provided assistance to more
than 130 countries. Foreign aid allocations reflect both
recipient needs and U.S. foreign policy priorities. The top
10 recipients of USAID-implemented funds in FY2021
were, in order of funding, Ethiopia, Jordan, Yemen, South
Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, Nigeria,
Sudan, Afghanistan, and Kenya. Reflecting USAID's
poverty reduction mandate, 72 of the 82 World Bank-
determined low- and lower-middle-income countries
received assistance in FY2021, with 30% of USAID funds
programmed in sub-Saharan Africa (Figure 1).
Since the early 1990s, health has consistently been the
largest USAID sector, bolstered since 2004 by billions of
dollars in transfers from State's President's Emergency
Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and since 2020 by
emergency assistance to combat the Coronavirus Disease
2019 (COVJD-19) pandemic. Humanitarian assistance has
also increased in recent years in response to both the
emergence of new natural and human-induced humanitarian
crises, and ongoing protracted crises. (See CRS In Focus
IF10568, Overview of the Global Humanitarian and
Displacement Crisis.)
Figure I. USAID-Implemented Program Funding, by
Sector and Region: FY2021 Estimate
2021 Total Funding: $31.7 billion
A by Sector t
Hea-1h `_s0b
Humanitarian $8.3b
Administrative $3.2b
Economic Growth 1SI h
Democracy and Gov. Sl~ b
Agriculture 3Sb
Education $7b
Conflict and Security $o.3b
Environment & Infr. $.3b
1 by Region
Multiple regions
Sub-Saharan Afri $9.Eb
Middle East & N.Afriiza$3.,
Western Hemisphere $L9
South and CentraI Asia $_7b
East Asia and Oceania 'S.
Europe and Eurasia 0.(,
Source: ForeignAssistance.gov and CRS calculations.
Notes: Gov. = Governance; Infr. = Infrastructure.
USAID Under the Biden Administration
USAID Administrator Samantha Power, who took office in
May 2021, set three priorities for institutional change at
USAID in her New Vision for Global Development: (1)
increasing the number and diversity of voices involved in
the USAID mission by broaden[ing] the coalition; (2)
focusing assistance more on the voices and needs of the
most marginalized; and (3) making aid more responsive
by better incorporating the perspectives of those on the
ground. Such priorities build on those of previous
Administrations, including those articulated in USAID
Transformation (Trump) and USAID Forward (Obama).
In her nomination hearing, Administrator Power also
identified four interconnected and gargantuan challenges
that USAID will aim to address over the next four years.
These include the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change,
conflict and state collapse, and democratic backsliding.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/govehct0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)