At the Sauyemwa Primary School in Caprivi Region, Namibia, students arrive to class in uniforms sewn by volunteer tailors. A small grant program provides money for the materials the tailors use to create uniforms specifically for students who have been orphaned. Academy for Educational Development (AED) Image
Lack of education and training, poor health and disease, high levels of unintended pregnancy, and lack of services, particularly for vulnerable populations, are important root causes of the problems faced by U.S. partners in development assistance. These problems destroy lives and destabilize countries. The U.S. approach for the Investing in People Strategic Goal is to help partner nations achieve sustainable improvements in the wellbeing and productivity of their citizens, and build sustainable capacity to provide services that meet the people’s needs in three priority program areas: health, education, and social services and protection for especially vulnerable populations. These programs also seek to improve the lives of individuals by increasing their ability to contribute to economic development and participate in democratic decision-making, and mitigating the root causes of poverty and conflict.
Of the 17 indicators within this Strategic Goal, 13 met or exceeded targets, and one was not met. Ratings are not available for three indicators that are either new or for which data are not yet available. The Department of State and USAID allocated $10.7 billion toward this Strategic Goal in FY 2009, which is 22% of the total State-USAID budget supporting all strategic goals. A more detailed discussion of the priorities under this Strategic Goal and U.S. Government performance for seven illustrative indicators is provided in the following section.