USAID's Strategy in Southern Africa

The Regional Center for Southern Africa (RCSA) based in Gaborone, Botswana, covers 12 of the 14 countries that are members of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), namely Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The region is anchored by the modern and dominant economy of South Africa, and many of the countries in Southern Africa continue to be predominantly agricultural, and very poor. Challenged by poverty, hard hit by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and once again facing the threat of famine, this region has seen its average life expectancy drop from 57 to 33 years. The political crisis in Zimbabwe illustrates the fragility of democratic institutions in the region.

Against this bleak picture is the more positive one of a region with relatively well-developed infrastructure, diverse natural resources, generally better health and education than the rest of sub-Saharan Africa (aside from HIV/AIDS) and nascent democratic governments. With the cessation of hostilities and subsequent peace in Angola, and potentially in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), exciting new opportunities for development are presenting themselves in the region.

The United States has three main interests in Southern Africa. First, the United States would like to increase trade and strengthen economic ties with Southern Africa. At the same time, the United States is extremely concerned about the region's unfolding food security and HIV/AIDS crises, both from a humanitarian perspective and because they are decimating a limited pool of skilled workers and managers, thereby eroding the basis for regional economic development and trade. Finally, the United States has an interest in strengthening democracy to improve the climate for trade and reduce the risk of conflict in the region.

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