West African countries have experienced frequent incidents of violent conflict. Although the causes of state fragility and political instability in the region are deeply rooted and structural in nature, there have been occasions when large-scale violence and instability have been sparked by elections or election-related processes.
The Feed the Future C-4 Cotton Partnership (C4CP) Project focuses on three main themes of intervention: sustainable agricultural productivity, creating new and strengthening existing partnerships, and increasing economic and social benefits to women within the “C-4” countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali, where cotton is a main agricultural commodity. Cotton contributes significantly to the national budgets in each country and accounts for a large share of their agricultural export earnings.
With the support of USAID and other donors, Afghanistan began making rapid progress toward World Trade Organization (WTO) accession starting in 2009.
USAID’s Strengthening Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development (SEED) project will offer technical support to business service providers, entrepreneurs, and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to help develop new business ideas, strengthen essential business development services, introduce new financial tools, and enhance financial literacy and management. SEED will also focus on improving access to essential financing, information, and technology; reducing bureaucratic procedures; addressing policies that impact ease of doing business; and expanding and improving public one-stop shops responsible for business registration and licensing.
Through the Workforce Improvement and Skills Enhancement (WISE) project, USAID will improve technical secondary education to meet the needs of the job market, benefiting vocational school students and teachers as well as the private sector. The project will establish partnerships between businesses and technical schools in order to understand skills needed for employment – reducing the current skills mismatch, creating a pool of qualified candidates, and linking students with jobs. WISE will also improve the performance of the private sector through in-house training and improved human resource strategies that reduce staff turnover. It will seek to build the capacity of business associations to advocate for policy and regulatory reforms related to labor market efficiency.
The U.S.-Egypt Higher Education Initiative (HEI) is an investment in Egypt’s future that provides educational opportunities for high-achieving Egyptians to learn skills that will better meet the needs of a 21st century economy. In partnership with the Government of Egypt and the private sector, the U.S. Government is providing thousands of Egyptians with access to higher education opportunities in Egypt and the United States and facilitating strategic partnerships in key fields to strengthen Egypt’s economy.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) with headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria was founded in 1975 with fifteen West African member states. Its mission is to promote economic integration in "all fields of economic activity, particularly industry, transport, telecommunications, energy, agriculture, natural resources, commerce, monetary and financial questions, social and cultural matters
Government of Iraq (GoI), humanitarian partners continue to respond to cholera outbreak. UN requests $861 million to address Iraq humanitarian needs in 2016. United States Government (USG) partner WFP reaches besieged cities in Anbar Governorate with emergency food assistance. USG provides nearly $70 million in additional aid, including winter-appropriate and other relief items.
The USAID Civic Initiatives Support Program (USAID CIS) aims at cultivating a strong and vibrant civil society in Jordan through supporting a broad range of civic initiatives. Working at both national and local levels, it supports civic initiatives and advocacy responding to common interests; strengthens the organizational capacity of civil society organizations; and promotes Government of Jordan-civil society collaboration efforts to address reform and development challenges.
Since 2005, the International Republican Institute’s (IRI) program in Jordan has focused on connecting citizens and government by promoting democratic governance and strong political parties. IRI grassroots-focused activities encourage democratic participation on the national and local levels by engaging civil society, particularly women and youth, and preparing political parties and candidates for elections.
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