WASHINGTON, D.C. – William Hammink was sworn in today as the U.S. Agency for International Development Mission Director to Afghanistan, USAID’s largest country program in the world.  Hammink will direct projects to support sustainable economic growth, good governance, and support for maintaining critical development gains in health and education.

Prior to this assignment, Hammink served as USAID's mission director to India where he oversaw a $109 million program addressing the critical challenges of food security, climate change and health.  Under his leadership, USAID engaged in a new model of development cooperation, where U.S. assistance was a powerful catalyst in the creation of innovative models that scaled-up pilot programs with funds from Indian public and private partners to reduce poverty in the country. 

Prior to his India posting, Hammink served as the USAID mission director in Sudan, where he helped the parties of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement implement many of the agreement’s provisions, including nationwide elections in April 2010.

From 2006 to 2007, Hammink was the director of the Office for Food for Peace, managing over $2 billion in U.S. food aid and working with the U.S. Congress on the reauthorization of the Farm Bill.  Prior to this, he was the USAID mission director in Ethiopia from 2003 to 2006 where Hammink managed one of the largest USAID programs in sub-Saharan Africa. 

Hammink received bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Minnesota, and has served in eight posts on three continents: Ethiopia; Madagascar; Russia; Senegal; Sudan; Swaziland; and West Bank/Gaza.

In part due to USAID’s efforts, more roads have been built in Afghanistan in the last 11 years than in the entire history of the country and the life expectancy has increased by 15 to 20 years.  GDP has increased by nearly four times since 2001 and independent media has flourished, with over 50 private TV stations, 150 radio stations and over 800 newspapers and periodicals.

U.S. assistance to Afghanistan implemented by USAID totaled nearly $1.7 billion in fiscal year 2012.