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1 1 (January 6, 2025)

handle is hein.crs/goverxs0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service informing the Ieg s ative debate since 1914 S Updated January 6, 2025 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 implement the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, it provides assistance to strategically important countries and countries in conflict; leads U.S. efforts to alleviate poverty, disease, and humanitarian need; and assists U.S. commercial interests by supporting developing countries' economic growth and building countries' capacity to participate in world trade. In FY2023 (the most recent year for which complete data are available), USAID managed more than $40 billion in combined appropriations, representing more than one-third of the funds provided in the FY2023 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 USAID's current budget imprecise. (For more on SFOPS, see CRS Report R48231, Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2025 Budget and Appropriations.) USAID's workforce totals more than 10,000, with approximately two-thirds serving overseas (the reported workforce level does not include institutional support contractors). 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 organizations, for-profit contractors, universities, international organizations, and foreign governments. In FY2023, USAID provided assistance to approximately 130 countries. The top 10 recipients of USAID-managed funds in FY2023 were, in descending order of funding, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Jordan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Syria. Reflecting USAID's poverty reduction mandate, 70 of the 77 World Bank-determined low- and lower-middle- income countries received USAID assistance in FY2023. USAID programmed 40% of its funds in Europe and Eurasia in FY2023, the majority of which were for Ukraine (Figure 1). Beginning in the early 1990s, health was consistently the largest USAID sector by funding, bolstered since 2004 by billions of dollars in transfers from State's President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and since 2020 by emergency assistance to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. In FY2022, humanitarian assistance surpassed health as the largest sector. This followed year-over-year increases in humanitarian assistance in response to natural and human-induced humanitarian crises. (See CRS In Focus IF10568, Overview of the Global Humanitarian and Displacement Crisis.) For FY2023, governance was the highest funded sector, a result of U.S. direct financial support for the Government of Ukraine. (See CRS In Focus IF12305, U.S. Direct Financial Supportfor Ukraine.) Figure I. USAID-Managed Program Funding, by Sector and Region: FY2023 Obligations Estimate FY2023 Total Obligations: $43.4 billion __ - - - - - -- --- - J' by Sector Governance $16.8b Humanitarian $10 5b Health $7Ob Administrative $3.5b Other $1.6b Agriculture S1.3b Education $1.1b Infrastructure $0.7b Economic Growth $0.7b > by Region Europe and Eurasia $1.2b Sub-Saharan Africa $12.1b Multiple Regions $5.5b Middle East and N.Africa $3.9b South and Central Asia $1.9b Western Hem. $1.8b East Asia and Oceania $l1ib Source: ForeignAssistance.gov, accessed on October 10, 2024, and CRS calculations. USAID Under the Biden Administration USAID's Policy Framework, released in March 2023, set three priorities for USAID: (1) confronting the greatest challenges of our time, such as complex emergencies, authoritarianism, and global health security; (2) embracing new partnerships, including support for locally led development and greater engagement with the private sector; and (3) investing in USAID's enduring effectiveness, such as through workforce development initiatives and increased focus on evidence-based programs. Such priorities build on those of previous Administrations, including those articulated in the USAID Transformation (Trump) and USAID Forward (Obama) initiatives. In addition to its long-standing development work, USAID in recent years has also provided significant humanitarian,

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