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USAID Promotes Development of Women
WASHINGTON, DC 20523
PRESS OFFICE
http://www.usaid.gov
Press: (202) 712-4320
Public Information: (202) 712-4810
2004-010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 8, 2004
On March 8, 2004, the U.S. Agency for International Development will recognize International Women's Day. USAID has been a leading proponent in implementing programs to improve the health, education, and safety of women in developing countries. Below are just a few of the many projects supported by USAID to assist women in these countries. USAID has also compiled success stories highlighting women around the world.
Education
USAID works to promote basic education for girls as well as boys in order to reduce poverty, improve health and social well-being, and sustain economic growth. Statistics currently show 45 percent of girls in least developed countries are not enrolled in classes. Of those enrolled, nearly 40 percent drop out before completing fifth grade.
Twenty USAID mission offices implemented education programs in 2002; 19 paid particular attention to improving opportunities for women and girls.
- In late 2003, USAID started a groundbreaking new program to address school-related gender-based violence in Ghana, Malawi, and Ethiopia.
- A USAID project focusing on girls from rural areas in Morocco succeeded in raising the enrollment of girls from 16 percent to 41 percent in sixth-grade classes
- The enrollment of primary school aged girls attending school in Guinea has doubled, making it the first among African countries in sustained increased enrollment for girls
- A program to raise the acceptance of girls in the classroom in Mali, Morocco, Guatemala, Guinea, Peru, El Salvador, Ghana, and the Democratic Republic of Congo helped achieve a number of successes, including establishment of a universal law for the enrollment of girls under 18 in Peru and 47,500 scholarships through the private sector given to girls in Guatemala.
Economic Growth
Women can substantially contribute to economic growth in developing countries. In order to improve economic growth, USAID provides women with sustainable development tools, such as loans, training, and technical assistance.
Of USAID-funded business development programs in 2002, 48 percent were provided to women.
- Of USAID-funded microloans in 2002, 69 percent were given to women-owned microenterprises.
- USAID helped 50 women in Mali finance a small produce operation with a concrete irrigation system, fence, seed, and a motor pump for 2.5 acres. This funded school fees, medicines, and clothes.
- By training an entrepreneurial group of women in Peru, 5,000 jobs were created in a poverty stricken region and the women's company achieved annual sales in excess of $500,000.
- USAID helped support the creation of the West African Women's Regional Trade Facilitation Program, which works to reduce procedural barriers for women business owners in the region.
- USAID funded Conservation-Based Economic Opportunities for Women in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru to produce income-generating activities through new processes, products, or markets.
Women's Health/HIV/AIDS
USAID promotes a number of women's health programs ranging from pregnancy complications to HIV/AIDS. Currently, 50 percent of the estimated 40 million adults with HIV/AIDS are women; of young people between 15 and 24 living with HIV/AIDS, approximately two-thirds are female.
- With life expectancy in southern Africa dropping from 57 years to 33 from HIV/AIDS, USAID has developed a program to focus on the health and family planning needs of HIV-positive women in Swaziland.
- USAID built 400 new medical clinics in Afghanistan aimed at reducing maternal deaths from childbirth.
Trafficking/Violence Against Women
Violence against women and children was reported in over 95 percent of conflict zones. Trafficking of women and children is in 85 percent of those zones. USAID addresses violence in education-related programs and trafficking through various programs in order to combat the negative effects it has on women's health, education, and economic productivity.
- USAID provided $15 million for specific anti-trafficking programs in 2003 and supports anti-trafficking programs in 40 countries worldwide.
- A Trafficking in Persons Strategy created by USAID helps guide the agency's efforts to combat trafficking practices for sexual or economic exploitation, provide recovery for victims, and support legislation and prosecution measures against traffickers.
- The Bangladesh National Women Lawyers' Association, a USAID-funded nongovernmental organization, helped to release 32 women and children from internal trafficking rings and gave police information that led to the arrests of 76 traffickers between January and November 2003.
- In East Timor, USAID is working to draft anti-violence legislation and motivate gender-based violence campaigns that raise men's awareness and change their behavior. Recently, it organized an innovative local campaign with the Association of Men Against Violence.
The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years.
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