Timeline of the United States Agency for International Development

From Timelines
Jump to: navigation, search

This is a timeline of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a United States government-run international development agency which describes itself as the world's premier development agency.[1]

Big picture

Time period Development summary
1960s USAID is Born. Once it gets to work, international development assistance opportunities grow tremendously. The time during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations become known as the “decade of development.”[2]
1970s USAID begins to shift its focus away from technical and capital assistance programs, focusing on "basic human needs" such as food and nutrition, population planning, health, education, and human resources development.[2]
1980s Foreign assistance seeks to stabilize currencies and financial systems. In the 1980s, USAID reaffirms its commitment to broad-based economic growth, emphasizing employment and income opportunities through a revitalization of agriculture and expansion of domestic markets. Development activities become increasingly channeled through private voluntary organizations (PVOs), and aid shifts from individual projects to large programs.[2] In the mid-1980s, USAID fully commits itself to a significant effort to improve global childhood immunization coverage.[3]
1990s USAID’s top priority becomes sustainable development, or helping countries improve their own quality of life. During this decade, USAID tailors development assistance programs to the countries' economic conditions.[2] During the 1990s, USAID engages in a process of structural reform. Programming and funding authority are being shifted dramatically within the Agency to further decentralize responsibilities. The centralized strategic decision making that characterized the Agency in the first part of the decade is being shifted to missions and the role of Global projects changes dramatically.[3]
2000s War and rebuilding becomes a top concern. With the Afghanistan and Iraq wars at the height of activity, USAID is called on to help those two countries rebuild government, infrastructure, civil society and basic services such as health care and education. The agency also begins an aggressive campaign to reach out to new partner organizations – including the private sector and foundations – to extend the reach of foreign assistance.[2]
2010s Today, USAID staff works in more than 100 countries around the world.[2]


Full timeline

Year Event type Details Location/involved countries
1961 United States President John F. Kennedy signs the Foreign Assistance Act into law and creates USAID by executive order.[2] United States
1966 Program USAID joins the global effort to eradicate smallpox.[4]
1970 Funding USAID allocates some funding to four U.S. universities to study legislatures in developing countries.[5]
1970 Program USAID commences the 10-year Maasai Range Development and Management Project. Range development specialists are brought in from the USA, and US$1.7 million are loaned to the Tanzanian government for capital equipment. The production target is a 100% increase over 10 years. The project entails constructing cattle dips to Žght disease and watering points to prevent overgrazing, improving herds, increasing marketing facilities and training select Tanzanians in conservation and range management.[6] Tanzania
1971 Program USAID develops a "positive list" of commodities, including pesticides that are eligible for agency financing.[7]
1971 Collaboration USAID participates in the establishment of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), a partnership of international research centers.[8][9]
1972 Assistance USAID begins family-planning assistance in Kenya.[10] Kenya
1972 – 1976 Funding USAID finances approximately 9,000 tons of pesticides in the period.[7]
1974 Program USAID’s partnership with Cyprus begins as a humanitarian relief operation.[11] Cyprus
1975 Program USAID establishes the Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC) in order to strengthen development activities by making development experience documents available to a wide variety of audiences.[12]
1975 Assistance USAID begins working in the health sector in Egypt.[13] Egypt
1976 Program USAID initiates its first agricultural research project which concentrates on supporting the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) at Joydebpur, developing the Ishurdi Centre for work on wheat, and providing funds for technical assistance, training and contract research.[14] Bangladesh
1976 Program USAID funds the Portage Project to set up non-formal early education programs in collaboration with the Ministry of Education of Peru and the National Institute of Educational Research and Development. This 3-year project, establishes in 6 urban and rural sites using community workers as interventionists, would expand to 1500 sites by 1987.[15]
1976 Assistance USAID develops a major new development program for the Sahel and successfully obtains Congressional funding for it.[16] Sahel
1977 Assistance USAID/Egypt begins providing assistance to the Government of Egypt in the area of population and health.[17]
1977 Assistance USAID in Nepal provides funds to World Education and the Centre for Educational Research Innovation and Development (CERID) at Tribhuvan University to pilot a nonformal education program. This program would evolve into the Nepal National Literacy Program.[18] Nepal
1978 Assistance USAID becomes deeply involved in reforming the fertilizer supply system of Bangladesh.[19] Bangladesh
1978 Program USAID starts modification of its centralized model for program and project development, through a series of delegations of authority.[20]
1979 Funding USAID makes the largest donor investment in the establishment of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research.[4]
1980 Program USAID launches its Forest Resources Management project, which would contract with the U.S. Forest Service to provide a variety of technical services in forestry to missions.[21]
1980 Assistance USAID starts providing large fertilizer shipments to Kenya as components of various aid packages.[22] Kenya
1981 Program USAID creates the program MERC, aimed at supporting cooperation in Egyptian-Israeli research.[23]
1981 Funding USAID sponsors the Colloquium on Rural Finance in Low-income Countries. This would be considered a watershed event in rural lending.[24]
1982 Policy USAID issues a policy paper on population assistance, which clearly states its commitment to voluntarism in the provision of family planning (FP) services. Annex PD-3 of the Population Policy of 1982 includes specific requirements for USAID-supported programs that include voluntary sterilization. These requirements cover informed consent, ready access to other methods, and guidelines on incentive payments.[25]
1983 Organizaton USAID establishes the Institute for International Studies in Natural Family Planning at Georgetown University through a 5-year US$15 million grant. The Institute would conduct a program of research, training, and technical assistance to increase the knowledge, availability, acceptability, and effectiveness of natural family planning methods in developing countries.[26]
1983 Assistance USAID begins providing assistance to the Nigerian Federal and State Ministries of Health to develop and implement programs in family planning and child survival.[27] Nigeria
1984 Organization USAID and the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA) establish CBI Global, an industry leader that connects coffee and spice farmers to more than 160 companies in over 40 countries.[28]
1985 Program USAID teams up with UNICEF and the United States Congress to launch the Child Survival Revolution, as effort to reduce child mortality in the developing world.[29]
1985 Program USAID launches the Technology and Resources for Child Health Project. This marks the first major effort for a global project that would provide assistance to countries and the global technical community in support of childhood immunization services.[3]
1986 Program USAID launches its HIV and AIDS program. Since then, the agency would play a leading role in averting the global AIDS crisis.[30]
1987 Program USAID starts the HealthTech Program, which is charged with discovering new and appropriate cost effective technologies to apply to immunization programs in the developing world.[3]
1988 Organization USAID creates the Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI), one month after Hurricane Gilbert makes landfall as a Category 5 storm that would affect 10 countries.[31]
1989 Assistance Following Paraguay’s democratic elections, USAID provides support to strengthen the Electoral Tribunal, to help ensure free, fair and transparent elections.[32] Paraguay
1990 Assistance USAID sponsors a satellite-based forest and other land cover survey in Guatemala in support of that country's tropical forestry action plan. Conservation organizations with matching grants from USAID would employ imagery in tropical America.[33]
1991 Program USAID contracts NASA's Goddard Space Center to map the forest cover in portions of Central Africa.[33]
1991 Program USAID purchases more than 633 million condoms for its family planning service.[34]
1991 Assistance USAID starts providing assistance in Azerbaijan with humanitarian relief and the health sector, as well as economic and democratic reforms.[35] Azerbaijan
1992 Assistance USAID signs a bilateral agreement on humanitarian, economic and technical cooperation with Ukraine to help the country develop its economic, political and societal potential.[36] Ukraine
1992 Assistance USAID begins operating in Georgia.[37] Georgia
1993 Assistance USAID opens its mission in support of Macedonia's transition to a democracy and free-market economy.[38] Macedonia
1994 Program USAID creates its Microenterprise Initiative to raise the priority of microenterprise to one that matches its importance for poverty alleviation.[39]
1995 Legislation to abolish USAID is introduced by Senator Jesse Helms, the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, with aims at replacing USAID with a grant-making foundation.[40]
1996 Program USAID awards the first grant aimed at promoting democratic transition in Cuba.[41] Cuba
1997 Publication USAID issues USAID Disability Policy Paper, a non-binding guidance note that has, as its objective, the avoidance of “discrimination against people with disabilities in programs which USAID funds and to stimulate an engagement of host country counterparts, governments, implementing organizations and other donors in promoting a climate of nondiscrimination against and equal opportunity for people with disabilities.”[42]
1998 Program USAID establishes a data repository for collecting and tracking performance data from HIV/AIDS programs.[43]
1999 Assistance USAID begins disbursing multimillion dollar grants for anti-trafficking projects in Russia and Ukraine.[44] Russia, Ukraine
2000 Assistance USAID funds a large regional anti-trafficking effort for South Asia, managed by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), focused on prevention and education in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.[45] South Asia
2001 Program USAID creates the West Africa Regional Program headquartered in Bamako, Mali. This program is aimed at working on regional issues supported through a regional approach. It provides capacity building support for the Economic Community of West African States, and support to the West African Power Pool project.[46] Mali
2002 Assistance USAID and Chevron Corporation form a public-private alliance to revitalize the peace-time economy of Angola. Each commit US$10 million for projects to assist refugees and decommission soldiers returning home after a 27-year civil war.[47] Angola
2003 Program United States President George W. Bush establishes PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, putting USAID's HIV/AIDS programs under the direction of the State Department's new Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator.[48]
2004 Assistance USAID helps the Government of Egypt establish the Holding Company for Water and Wastewater (HCWW), a national umbrella organization to standardize and govern local water utility companies, as well as the Egyptian Water Regulatory Authority. USAID also launches a program to strengthen institutional capacity and the policy, legal, and regulatory framework for water distribution and access.[49] Egypt
2005 Assistance USAID immunizes 97 percent of Iraqi children under five (4.56 million) against polio.[50] Iraq
2006 Program USAID develops a customs software called the Revenue Authorities Digital Data Exchange (RADDEx), which allows customs officials to communicate virtually across borders, saving time, money and increasing transparency.[51]
2008 Controversy Coca growers union affiliated with Bolivian President Evo Morales eject the 100 employees and contractors from USAID working in the Chapare region, citing frustration with U.S. efforts to persuade them to switch to growing unviable alternatives.[52] Bolivia
2008 Program launch USAID launches the "Development Leadership Initiative" to reverse the decline in USAID's Foreign Service Officer staffing, which has fallen to a total of about 1,200 worldwide.[53]
2009 Assistance As of June USAID has invested in Iraq approximately US$6.6 billion on programs designed to stabilize communities, foster economic and agricultural growth, and build the capacity of the national, local, and provincial governments to represent and respond to the needs of the people.[54] Iraq
2010 Program USAID embarks on an ambitious reform, USAID Forward, which becomes critical to achieving the US President's vision to restore the United States as the global leader in international development.[55]
2011 (September 19) Program USAID and the Ad Council launch the "Famine, War, and Drought" (FWD) campaign to raise awareness about that year's severe drought in East Africa. Through TV and internet ads as well as social media initiatives, FWD encouraged Americans to spread awareness about the crisis, support the humanitarian organizations that were conducting relief operations, and consult the Feed the Future global initiative for broader solutions. Celebrities Geena Davis, Uma Thurman, Josh Hartnett and Chanel Iman take part in the campaign via a series of Public Service Announcements. Corporations like Cargill, General Mills, PepsiCo. and General Mills also sign on to support FWD.[56]
2012 (Summer) Controversy ALBA countries (Venezuela, Cuba, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua, San Vicente y Las Granadinas, Dominica, Antigua y Barbuda) call on its members to expel USAID from their countries for interfering with national sovereignty.[57]
2013 Local retreat The President of Bolivia, Evo Morales, asks USAID to close its mission, after having worked in the country for 49 years.[58] Bolivia
2014 (April 3) Controversy The Associated Press publishes an investigative report describing how USAID was behind the creation of a social networking text messaging service aimed at creating political dissent and trigger an uprising against the Cuban government.[59]
2016 (June) Staff USAID's staffing reports to the United States Congress totaling 10,235, including both field missions "overseas" (7,176) and the Washington DC headquarters (3,059).[60]
2019 Local retreat USAID ends its projects in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.[61] Palestinian territories

Visual data

Google Trends

The chart below shows Google Trends data for United States Agency for International Development (Agency), from January 2004 to April 2021, when the screenshot was taken. Interest is also ranked by country and displayed on world map [62]

United States Agency for International Development gt.png


Google Ngram Viewer

The chart below shows Google Ngram Viewer data for USAID, from 1961 to 2019.[63]

USAID ngram.png

Wikipedia Views

The chart below shows pageviews of the English Wikipedia article United States Agency for International Development, from July 2015 to March 2021.[64]

United States Agency for International Development wv.png

Meta information on the timeline

How the timeline was built

The initial version of the timeline was written by User:Sebastian.

Funding information for this timeline is available.

Feedback and comments

Feedback for the timeline can be provided at the following places:

  • FIXME

What the timeline is still missing

Timeline update strategy

See also

External links

References

  1. "United States Agency For International Development (USAID)". investopedia.com. Retrieved 23 April 2019. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 "USAID HISTORY". usaid.gov. Retrieved 29 March 2019. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Trostle, Murray; Shen, Angela K. "Three decades of USAID investments in immunization through the child survival revolution". doi:10.1038/emi.2014.13. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 "USAID Celebrates 50 years of Saving Lives Across the Globe". blog.usaid.gov. Retrieved 29 March 2019. 
  5. Baaklini, Abdo I.; Desfosses, Helen. Designs for Democratic Stability: Studies in Viable Constitutionalism: Studies in Viable Constitutionalism. 
  6. FORSTATER, MATHEW. "Bones for Sale: 'development' , environment and food security in East Africa" (PDF). Retrieved 29 March 2019. 
  7. 7.0 7.1 "Donor policies on pesticide donations: pest and pesticide management". fao.org. Retrieved 29 March 2019. 
  8. Egna, Hillary S.; Boyd, Claude E. Dynamics of Pond Aquaculture. 
  9. "USAID'S LEGACY IN AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT: 50 YEARS OF PROGRESS". usaid.gov. Retrieved 29 March 2019. 
  10. Butterfield, Samuel Hale. U.S. Development Aid--an Historic First: Achievements and Failures in the Twentieth Century. 
  11. "CYPRUS". usaid.gov. Retrieved 31 March 2019. 
  12. "USAID Open Gov Plan". slideshare.net. Retrieved 29 March 2019. 
  13. "Time for self-reliance?". weekly.ahram.org.eg. Retrieved 29 March 2019. 
  14. "The World Bank". documents.banquemondiale.org. Retrieved 29 March 2019. 
  15. "DOCUMENT RESUME". archive.org. Retrieved 29 March 2019. 
  16. "The Electronic Oracle" (PDF). pure.iiasa.ac.at. Retrieved 29 March 2019. 
  17. "Situational Analysis of the Private Sector in the Delivery of Family Planning Services in Egypt: Current Status and Potential for Increased Involvement" (PDF). evidenceproject.popcouncil.org. Retrieved 29 March 2019. 
  18. "Perspectives on learning in the Women 's Economic and Empowerment Literacy Program in Nepal.". scholarworks.umass.edu. Retrieved 29 March 2019. 
  19. Hale Butterfield, Samuel. U.S. Development Aid--an Historic First: Achievements and Failures in the Twentieth Century. 
  20. "50 Years in Development: How Private Companies Adapt & Deliver". issuu.com. Retrieved 29 March 2019. 
  21. Corson, Catherine A. Corridors of Power: The Politics of Environmental Aid to Madagascar. 
  22. "USAID IN KENYA: DEVELOPMENT OF THE CLIENT STATE" (PDF). explorations.ucdavis.edu. Retrieved 29 March 2019. 
  23. Waisová, Šárka. Environmental Cooperation as a Tool for Conflict Transformation and Resolution. 
  24. "USAID's Legacy in Agricultural Development". issuu.com. Retrieved 29 March 2019. 
  25. "Appendices to the Guidance on the Definition and Use of the Global Health Programs Account" (PDF). usaid.gov. Retrieved 17 April 2019. 
  26. "USAID's new directions.". popline.org. Retrieved 30 March 2019. 
  27. Nigeria Investment and Trade Laws and Regulations Handbook Volume 1 Strategic Information and Basic Laws. IBP, Inc. 
  28. "THE VANILLA CONNECTION". stories.usaid.gov. Retrieved 30 March 2019. 
  29. "50 years of progress". unicefusa.org. Retrieved 31 March 2019. 
  30. "HIV AND AIDS TIMELINE". usaid.gov. Retrieved 30 March 2019. 
  31. "2015 NEPAL EARTHQUAKE". cidi.org. Retrieved 31 March 2019. 
  32. "HISTORY". usaid.gov. Retrieved 31 March 2019. 
  33. 33.0 33.1 "Satellite Mapping of Tropical Forest Cover and Deforestation". ciesin.org. Retrieved 31 March 2019. 
  34. "Wanted: new condom suppliers for USAID (foreign companies need not apply).". ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 31 March 2019. 
  35. "AZERBAIJAN". usaid.gov. Retrieved 31 March 2019. 
  36. "HISTORY". usaid.gov. Retrieved 31 March 2019. 
  37. "GEORGIA". usaid.gov. Retrieved 31 March 2019. 
  38. "HISTORY". usaid.gov. Retrieved 5 April 2019. 
  39. "ABOUT MICROENTERPRISE RESULTS REPORTING". mrr.usaid.gov. Retrieved 5 April 2019. 
  40. Greenhouse, Steven (March 16, 1995). "Helms Seeks to Merge Foreign Policy Agencies". The New York Times. 
  41. "Cuba". lobby.la.psu.edu. Retrieved 17 April 2019. 
  42. "CRITICAL SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ISSUES OF DEVELOPMENT AND HUMAN RIGHTS.". Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  43. U.S. Agency for International Development : status of achieving key outcomes and addressing major management challenges : report to the ranking minority member, Committee on Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate. 
  44. Gender, Politics, and Society in Ukraine (Olena Hankivsky, Anastasiya Salnykova ed.). 
  45. "Trafficking in Persons: USAID's Response" (PDF). childtrafficking.org. Retrieved 17 April 2019. 
  46. "HISTORY". usaid.gov. Retrieved 17 April 2019. 
  47. "USAID announces development partnership with Chevron in Indonesia". reliefweb.int. Retrieved 17 April 2019. 
  48. "Department of State (DoS)". Pepfar.gov. 2006-11-15. Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2011-03-12.  For the nature of the emergency and the U.S. Government response, see U.S. Government Accountability Office (September 2007). "Intellectual Property: U.S. Trade Policy Guidance on WTO Declaration on Access to Medicines May Need Clarification (GAO-07-1198)" (PDF). Retrieved 30 March 2019. 
  49. "Embassy Visit to Rod El Farag Water Treatment Plant Highlights U.S. Support for Clean Water for all Egyptians". africanews.com. Retrieved 5 April 2019. 
  50. "Top ten USAID strategic accomplishments in Iraq". reliefweb.int. Retrieved 5 April 2019. 
  51. "Extending a helping hand". Retrieved 5 April 2019. 
  52. Andean Information Network, 27 June 2008, "Bolivian coca growers cut ties with USAID"
  53. "Survey of USAID's Development Leadership Initiative in Southern and Eastern Africa" (PDF). USAID Inspector General. p. 1. Retrieved 30 March 2019. 
  54. "Assistance for Iraq". USAID. Archived from the original on 2011-11-14. Retrieved 2014-08-07. 
  55. OECD. OECD Development Co-operation Peer Reviews OECD Development Assistance Peer Reviews: United States 2011. 
  56. "New PSAs: 'FWD' Awareness About the Horn of Africa Crisis". Ad Age. October 26, 2011
  57. ALBA Expels USAID from Member Countries Retrieved 2012-09-16
  58. "Bolivia's President Morales expels USAID, accused it of working against him". Washington Post. May 1, 2013. 
  59. "US secretly created 'Cuban Twitter' to stir unrest". Associated Press. Retrieved 17 April 2019. 
  60. "USAID Staffing Report to Congress" (PDF). USAID. Retrieved 30 March 2019. 
  61. 'USAID to end all Palestinian projects on Jan. 31,' former director says
  62. "United States Agency for International Development". Google Trends. Retrieved 27 April 2021. 
  63. "USAID". books.google.com. Retrieved 27 April 2021. 
  64. "United States Agency for International Development". wikipediaviews.org. Retrieved 28 April 2021.