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USAID Information:
External Links:
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DR Congo
The Development Challenge:The DRC is emerging from years of civil war, long-term corruption, and government mismanagement under the Mobutu and Laurent Kabila regimes. With the installation of Joseph Kabila as President in January 2001, a political will emerged for intensified movement towards peace, greater stability, and improved economic management. In 2003 peace agreements among all former belligerents were reached, a new Transitional Government was formed, and uninvited foreign forces left the Congo. National elections are scheduled for 2005. Despite the optimism that the start of the transition brings to the DRC, poverty and despair still characterize the lives of most Congolese. The infant and underfive mortality rates are 126 and 213 per 1,000 live births respectively. The maternal mortality ratio, among the highest in the world, is 1,289 deaths per 100,000 live births. Life expectancy is estimated at only 46 years for men and 51 years for women. The estimated 55 million Congolese subsist at a per capita Gross Domestic Product of $107. An estimated 3.4 million people are internally displaced by armed conflict that still continues in parts of eastern DRC. The average literacy rate for the country is 68% (82% for males and 56% for females.) Persistent discrimination against women, including a still valid law that requires women to obtain their husbands' permission for basic legal acts such as obtaining credit, severely undercuts development prospects. Human rights atrocities and the regular use of child soldiers continue, particularly in the eastern portion of the country.
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Given its size, population, and resources, the Congo is an important player in Africa and of long-term interest to the United States. The United States seeks to strengthen the process of internal reconciliation and democratization within the DRC to promote a stable, developing, and democratic nation. In partnership with the Government of the DRC (GDRC), the United States is working to address security interests on the continent and develop mutually beneficial economic relations.
The USAID Program: USAID's Integrated Strategic Plan for FY 2004-2008 consists of four Strategic Objectives (SOs) in health, democracy and governance, livelihoods, and education and one Special Objective (SpO) in reintegration of ex-combatants. The Data Sheets provided cover these four SOs and SpO for which USAID is requesting FY 2004 and 2005 funds. While the Central African Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE) is managed by USAID/DRC and contributes to the Mission's overall goal for the DRC, CARPE operates under a new, stand-alone, Central Africa Regional Strategic Objective.
USAID support in eastern Congo - a region rife with human rights abuses - has proven critical. Security problems and human rights violations continue, however the situation has much improved in the past year. USAID has taken advantage of this improved situation by accessing previously inaccessible areas and supporting programs that address the needs of victims of violence. USAID's Education SO builds on successful activities funded by the President's African Education Initiative that focus on improving basic education, especially for girls, in targeted areas. While the private sector in the DRC is extremely limited, the Mission is exploring opportunities to collaborate directly with the private sector in developing public-private alliances.
Until very recently the GDRC was under sanction for nonpayment of debt under Section 620q of the Foreign Assistance Act and the Brooke Amendment under Section 512 of the Foreign Operations Appropriations Acts. Consequently, USAID has had no direct assistance relationship with the GDRC but supported international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to implement programs in the DRC. These implementing partners are seasoned and remain flexible to work in the fluid environment of the DRC. On June 5, 2003, however, the sanction was lifted pursuant to a rescheduling agreement between the GDRC and the USG. As a result, the program may entail direct work with the GDRC once successful national elections are held and a new government takes power.
Other Program Elements: Four offices within USAID's Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA) supported programs in the DRC in FY 2003: the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), the Office of Food for Peace (FFP), the Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI), and the Office of Private Voluntary Cooperation (PVC). DCHA will continue to fund and manage programs in FY 2004 and beyond, as necessary. OFDA provides emergency assistance primarily in the eastern DRC in the health, water and sanitation, nutrition, food security, logistics, child reunification, and geological hazard sectors. FFP will continue to support the World Food Program's Protracted Relief and Recovery Operations and it's Emergency Operations which currently provide P.L. 480 Title II food assistance to approximately two million beneficiaries. OTI's goal in the DRC is the informed participation of Congolese people in political and economic decision-making processes that contribute to a peaceful, unified, and democratic country. In FY 2003, PVC awarded $3 million to an NGO to implement a five-year program to strengthen the capacity of NGOs in the microfinance sectors in eastern DRC and Burundi. USAID's Bureau for Global Health manages field support activities. USAID uses Economic Support Funds to promote family planning as well as a successful transition from conflict to peaceful and democratic governance. USAID also supports programs that assist victims of violence with financing from four funds: Victims of Torture, Trafficking in Persons, War Victims, and Displaced Children and Orphans. USAID-supported assistance targeting an estimated 15,000 victims of Gender Based Violence (GBV) includes health and psychosocial care, legal services, protection, and the provision of economic opportunities for victims. Separated and abandoned children are numerous in DRC with an estimated 1 million AIDS orphans, and tens of thousands of street children. Through a $4 million three-year program financed by the Displaced Children's and Orphans Fund (DCOF), USAID finances programs that reintegrate children into their communities, while creating opportunities through formal or non-formal education, job training, and/or the creation of work opportunities.
Other Donors: With the exception of large infrastructure projects (in which the World Bank and European Commission (EC) are heavily engaged), the sectors in which other donors are engaged roughly mirror USAID's portfolio. The largest donors beyond USAID (by ranking) are the World Bank, the European Union (EU), and Belgium. All major bilateral and some multilateral donors support programs in the health sector. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Belgium, Canada, the EU, France, and Germany support programs directed at income generation which are often linked to agriculture and food security. The EC, World Bank, France, and Canada support government capacity building activities and Belgium, Canada, Sweden, and the United Kingdom support civil society. Relatively few donors are working in the education sector or in the northern part of the country - although USAID is heavily engaged in both. Like USAID, Belgium, Canada, and UNICEF integrate gender considerations throughout their programming. USAID actively participates in several donor coordination groups (at the working group and senior level) that focus on health, DDR, food security, emergency assistance, elections, key issues related to the transition, and donor interaction with the GDRC in the preparation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. USAID also participates in yearly Consultative Group meetings held on the DRC.
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