WASHINGTON, D.C. – President John. F. Kennedy created the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) by executive order in 1961. Using less than 1 percent of the U.S. federal budget, USAID works in over 100 countries to promote mutual economic prosperity, democracy and good governance, and sound human rights.
Many other countries have developed similar foreign development programs to do their part in bettering the world. Scan through the list below!
Australia: Australian Development Cooperation (AT)
Budget: $1.1 billion, 0.25 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: Concentrates on six key regions in Africa, Asia, Central America, and South-Eastern and Eastern Europe.
Themes: poverty reduction, education and science, energy, peace-building & conflict prevention, gender, health, governance and human rights, rural development, private sector development, public finance management, environment & natural resources, and water supply & sanitation.
Belgium: Belgium Development Agency (BTC)
Budget: $260.2 million, 0.53 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: Focus on 18 partner countries. Most are in sub-Saharan Africa, while South America and Asia are also areas of focus.
Themes: agriculture & rural development, climate & environment, decentralization, education, gender equality, governance, health care, HIV & AIDS, social and solidarity economy, and water & sanitation.
Brazil: Brazilian Agency of Cooperation (ABC)
Budget: $1 billion, 0.02 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: Latin America, Caribbean, Africa, Asia, Middle East, and Oceania.
Themes: South to South technical aid concentrated in agriculture (including agricultural production and food security), training, education, justice, sport, health, environment, information technology, prevention of accidents at work, urban development, biofuel, air transport, and tourism.
Canada: Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Development (DFATD)
Budget: $5.5 billion, 0.34 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: Ethiopia received the most aid in 2012 followed by Haiti, Tanzania, Afghanistan, Ghana, Sudan and South Sudan, Mozambique, and Pakistan.
Themes: human rights, global poverty, post disaster support, and education.
Chile: Agency of International Cooperation (AGCI)
Budget: $3.8 million, 0.003 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: Latin America and the Caribbean.
Themes: South to South cooperation, focusing on transferring skills and knowledge in matters of public policy.
Denmark: Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA)
Budget: $2.72 billion, 0.81 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: The top ten recipients of aid include Tanzania, Mozambique, Uganda, Ghana, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Kenya, Nigeria, Benin, and Bangladesh.
Themes: human rights and democracy, green growth, social progress, and stability and protection.
Egypt: Egyptian Fund for Technical Cooperation with Africa (EFTCA)
Budget: $10 million
Countries of focus: More than 30 countries in Africa.
Themes: provide training and facilitate knowledge-sharing on a variety of issues, including health, agriculture, water resources and education through the South to South cooperation.
European Union: European Aid, Development, and Cooperation
Budget: $206.7 billion
Countries of focus: Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific, Asia and Central Asia, Latin America, Gulf Region, and the EU neighborhood, and Russia.
Themes: development policies, Millennium Development Goals, governance, human rights & democracy, civil society & local authorities, security & conflict, migration & asylum, fighting hunger, sustainable development, environment, water, energy, agriculture, rural development, gender equality, children & youth, health, education, culture, employment, social protection, economic support, and infrastructures & transport.
Finland: Finnish Department for International Development Co-operation (FINIDA)
Budget: $101.3 million, 0.47 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: Finland’s longterm partner countries are Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nepal, Tanzania, and Zambia.
Themes: human rights, climate sustainability, gender equality, reduction of inequality, and human development.
France: French Agency of Development (AFD)
Budget: $958.7 million, 0.47 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: AFD operates in more than 70 countries worldwide, including countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and the Middle East.
Themes: agriculture, local authorities, water and sanitation, education, business and finance, environment, infrastructure and energy, health, and capacity building.
Germany: Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ)
Budget: $821.7 million, 0.35 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: Germany partners with 57 countries. Africa is the area of focus, with a total of 24 partner countries.
Themes: business, development financing, education, energy, food, good governance, health, human rights, peace-building, poverty, protecting the climate, protecting the environment, rural development, social security, and urban development.
Greece: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Budget: $238 million, 0.11 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: Top ten include Albania, Kosovo, Egypt, Afghanistan, West Bank and Gaza Strip, Serbia, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, and Ukraine.
Themes: drug-organized crime, trafficking in persons, terrorism, responsibility to protect, fight piracy, human rights, international sanctions, and disarmament of weapons of mass destruction.
Ireland: Irish Aid
Budget: $682 million, 0.41 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: Provides assistance in over 80 countries. Key Partner Countries, all located in sub-Saharan Africa, are Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zambia.
Themes: ending poverty, hunger, gender equality, environment and climate change, health, HIV and AIDS, governance and human rights, education, water and sanitation, and trade and economic growth.
Israel: Israel’s Agency for International Development (MASHAV)
Budget: $94.3 million, 0.047 percent of GNP
Countries of focus: MASHAV partners with countries in Africa, Asia and Oceania, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Central Europe and Eurasia.
Themes: agribusinesses, micro-enterprises, gender equality, education, community development, rural and urban development, and medicine and public health.
Italy: Italian Development Cooperation Programme
Budget: $3.1 billion, 0.29 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: Africa and the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
Themes: water and hygiene, agriculture and fisheries, food aid, environment, health, gender, child labor, minor soldiers, sexual exploitation, trade and tourism, communications, debt, economics and finance, training/information, government and society, industry and crafts, migration and development, cultural heritage, and transport and infrastructure.
Japan: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Budget: $5.7 billion, 0.28 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus, Middle East and North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Oceania, and Europe.
Themes: international efforts on development cooperation, cultural grant assistance, debt problems, democratization, disaster reduction, education, gender & development, health, human security, international digital divide, MDGs, and water and sanitation.
Korea: Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA)
Budget: $1.4 billion, 0.118 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: Middle East, Asia, South America, Eastern Europe, and CIS.
Themes: education, health, governance, disaster relief, agriculture forestry and fisheries, industry & energy, environment, and climate change.
Kuwait: Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development
Budget: $145 million, 0.2 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: Arab and other developing countries. A total of 102 countries have benefited from the loans.
Themes: making loans and providing guarantees, making grants by way of technical assistance and providing other types of technical assistance, contributing to capital stocks of international and regional development finance institutions and other development institutions and representing the State of Kuwait in such institutions.
Liechtenstein: Liechtenstein Development Service (LED)
Budget: $26 million, 0.67 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: Priority countries include Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Bolivia, Peru, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, and Afghanistan.
Themes: rural development, food security, and education.
Luxembourg: Luxembourg Development (LUX DEV)
Budget: $107.8 million, 0.87 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: LUX DEV works in 14 countries on four continents–Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America.
Themes: local development, agriculture & food security, decentralization & local governance, natural resources management, water & sanitation, education like vocational training & access to employment, basic education & literacy, vocational training & access to employment, health, and microfinance and finance.
Netherlands: Development Cooperation
Budget: $1.1 billion (2014-2016), 0.82 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Benin, Burundi, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, the Palestinian Territories, Rwanda, Sudan, Uganda, and Yemen.
Themes: security and the legal order, water and food security, and sexual and reproductive health and rights.
New Zealand: New Zealand Aid Programme (NewZAID)
Budget: $550 million, 0.28 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: The Pacific, Asia, Afghanistan, Latin America, and Africa.
Themes: economic development program and the human development and governance program.
Norway: Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD)
Budget: $4.6 million, 0.93 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: Top three countries are Brazil, Afghanistan, and the Palestinian territories. Norway provided aid to a total of 40 countries in 2012.
Themes: climate change and the environment, energy, macroeconomics and public administration, global health education and research, and democracy and good governance.
Poland: Ministry of Foreign Affairs-The Development Cooperation Department
Budget: $579.7 million, 0.08 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: Priority countries include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Libya, Tunisia, Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, the Palestinian territories, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
Themes: democracy and human rights and systematic transformation or capacity building.
Portugal: Institute of Cooperation (CICL)
Budget: $646.3 million, 0.21 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: Africa, America, Asia and Oceania, and Europe.
Themes: The action of the CICL is aimed at promoting the economic, social and cultural development of Portuguese-speaking countries, as well as improving the living conditions of their populations. Most programs focus on promoting Portuguese speaking curriculum in higher education institutions.
Romania: Assistance for Development
Budget: $118 million, 0.09 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: Moldova, Georgia, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, the Palestinian territories, the Islamic State of Afghanistan, and the Republic of Iraq.
Themes: Most funding is allocated to programs in Moldova. Target programs include agriculture, medicine, trainings, and local crime.
Saudi Arabia: Saudi Fund for Development
Budget: $5 billion, 0.9 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: Middle East and South Asia.
Themes: infrastructure development, industry, and agriculture.
Slovakia: Slovak Aid
Budget: 62 million euro, 0.09 percent GNI
Countries of focus: Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Afghanistan, Kazahkstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Serbia.
Themes: agriculture, democratic institutions and market environment, environmental protection, food security, infrastructure development, and sustainable utilization of mineral resources.
Spain: Spanish Agency of International Cooperation (AECID)
Budget: $4.1 billion, 0.29 percent of GN
Countries of focus: Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Morocco, Mauritania, Algeria, the Palestinian territories, Saharaui Population, Ethiopia, Mali, Mozambique, Senegal, Cape Verde, Niger, Philippines, and Vietnam.
Themes: humanitarian action, culture and science, water and sanitation, economic growth, rural development and the fight against hunger, education, gender, democratic governance, environment and climate change, and health.
Sweden: Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA)
Budget: $5.4 billion, 0.92 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: Africa, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
Themes: economy, infrastructure, humanitarian assistance, water, and urban development.
Switzerland: Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
Budget: $3 billion, 0.44 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: Albania, Bangladesh, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Nicaragua, Honduras, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Chad, Colombia, Cuba, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Yemen, South Sudan, Kosovo, Macedonia, Mali, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Nepal, Niger, North Africa, North Korea, Serbia, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Southern Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, and Ukraine.
Themes: agriculture and food security, climate change, water, health, migration, education, vocational training, state and economic reforms, emergency relief, advocacy and good governance, prevention of violent conflicts, gender equality, and private sector development and financial services.
Taiwan: International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF)
Budget: $310 million
Countries of focus: 29 countries across Africa, Central and Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East.
Themes: environmental protection, pubic health, agriculture, education, and information and communications technology.
Turkey: Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA)
Budget: $1.3 billion, 0.17 percent of GN
Countries of focus: Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ethiopia, the Palestinian territories, Georgia, Montenegro, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo, Macedonia, Egypt, Mongolia, Moldova, Niger, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Senegal, Serbia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Yemen.
Themes: education, health, water and hygiene, administrative and civil infrastructures, other social infrastructures and services, economic infrastructure and services, transportation and storage, communication, energy, banking-finance, work and other services, production sector, agriculture, forestry and fishing, industry, mining and construction, commerce and tourism, and multi-sector/cross-cutting.
United Kingdom: Department for International Development (DFID)
Budget: $13.7 billion, 0.6 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: Ethiopia, Afghanistan, India, Bangladesh, Somalia, and Pakistan received the most aid in 2011 and 2012. A total of 31 countries received financial aid from the UK.
Themes: vocational training, gender equality, health, and disaster relief.
United States: US Agency for International Development (USAID)
Budget: $30 billion, 0.22 percent of GNI
Countries of focus: Afghanistan and Pakistan are the two largest assistance programs. USAID also works in Africa, Asia, Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East.
Themes: agriculture and food security, democracy, human rights, and governance, economic growth and trade, education, environment and global climate change, gender equality and women’s empowerment, global health, science, technology and innovation, water and sanitation, and working in crises and conflict.
Through the combined efforts of these international aid agencies, global poverty issues have been addressed. Here’s some good news:
1. Over the past 20 years, the number of the world’s chronically undernourished has been reduced by 50 percent.
2. Life expectancy in the developing world has increased by about 33 percent.
3. Smallpox has been eradicated worldwide.
4. In the past 50 years, infant and child death rates in the developing world have been reduced by 50 percent.
5. Health conditions around the world have improved more during this time period than at any time in human history.
6. Literacy rates are up 33 percent worldwide in the last 25 years. Primary school enrollment has tripled in that period.
7. An estimated 135 million people were assisted out of extreme poverty in low-income countries between 1999 and 2004.
8. Due to a focused effort to vaccinate children in developing countries since the year 2000, measles deaths have been reduced by 74 percent worldwide.
9. Between 1970 and 2000 the infant mortality rate fell from 96 to 56 per 1000 births.
10. Despite sub-Saharan Africa being one of the most challenging places to tackle poverty, the share of people living in poverty since 1999 has fallen by nearly 5 percent across the region.
11. Since 1990, 800 million people have gained access to improved water supplies and 750 million to improved sanitation.
– Caressa Kruth
Sources: Borgen Project, Polskapomoc, Regjeringen, TIKA, SDC, AID, AECID,Slovakaid, Saudi Fund for Development, Global Humanitarian Resistance, Assistance for Development (Romania), International Cooperation and Development Fund, Institute of Cooperation (Portugal), Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (Germany), Luxemburg Development, Liechtenstein Development Service, Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, Korea International Cooperation Agency, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Italian Development Cooperation Programme, Israel’s Agency for International Development, Irish Aid, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Greece), UK Department for International Development, NORAD (Norway), Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Development Cooperation (Netherlands), French Agency of Development, Finnish Department for International Development Cooperation, European Aid, Development and Cooperation, USAID, Brazilian Agency for Cooperation, UN Millennium Project, Danish International Development Agency, Australian Development Cooperation, Belgian Development Agency, Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Development (Canada) , Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Egyptian Fund for Technical Cooperation with Africa (EFTCA)
Photo: Global Post