USAID research paper
SAID is a volunteer program that seeks to “extend a helping hand to those people overseas struggling to make a better fife, recover from a disaster or striving to live in a free and democratic country” (“IFS – Suppliers – Company Details”). SAID is a beneficial program that provides foreign aid in order to further develop many countries. Most people in the United States show awareness to the problems that face many people in developing countries, but do they really know the seriousness of the issue? Every year hunger alone kills more people than malaria, tuberculosis, and AIDS combined.
Food is something that everyone should have access, yet more than 840 million people suffer from chronic hunger. In Northfield, having a toilet and access to running water is something we probably take for granted, yet “783 million people do not have access to clean water and almost 2. 5 billion do not have access to adequate sanitation. “(“Facts and Figures. “). Adequate sanitation is such a simple commodity for people living in the united States that we often do not think about what it really means.
Adequate sanitation means having access to utilities such as toilets, trashcans, and a simple and efficient method to get rid of waste, like landfills or septic tanks. The need for social action is clear and SAID does exactly that. SAID has worked tirelessly for almost fifty-three years to provide foreign aid In an attempt to fix these issues (“SAID History’). The United States Agency for International Development (SAID) was founded as a direct result of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1 961. On November 3, 1961, President Kennedy created SAID by executive order.
The time during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations became known as the “decade of History’). As times change, so must our approach to fulfilling our goals. SAID is a fluid, versatile, and flexible organization set forward on fulfilling the needs of the unfortunate. Because of this, SAID shifted its focus towards a basic human needs approach in the sass’s. The five basic needs SAID focused on were food and nutrition, population planning, health, education, and human resources development (“SAID History’).
In 1 974, an amendment added to the Foreign Assistance Act prohibited the assistance of foreign police and prisons; resulting in the termination of Squid’s involvement with Public Safety programs (Stats). In the early sass’s SAID worked to collaborate with other similar organizations, eke Peace corps, in order to further their mission and provide more foreign assistance (“SAID History”). SAID has come a very long way since 1 961 and continues to better the lives of many. Today they operate in more than 1 00 countries to deliver foreign aid. “SAID History”) SAID focuses on a wide variety of issues towards the betterment of Developing Countries. SAID has ten different sectors for foreign aid ranging from education to water sanitation to gender equality and many more. In one sector, agriculture and food security, SAID works to develop stronger seeds so that farmers can row more produce, they provide emergency food assistance so that malnourished children can survive, and they also help farmers expand buy helping them access capital (agriculture and Food Security”).
Another one of their sectors is education. SAID works with current teachers in developing countries to improve the reading skills in primary schools, expand access to education in regions that wouldn’t normally have it, and strengthening workforce development programs so that people who are at a disadvantage can find jobs (“Education. “). Global Health is another important sector that SAID has worked to improve. Over the past 50 years, SAID has contributed to decreasing child mortality rate by 70 percent (“Global Health. “). More than 3 million lives are saved every year through Squid’s immunization programs. ” (“Results and Data. “). Immunization is the process by which a person is made immune or resistant to an infectious disease. The programs generally involve immunization administered by a vaccine. Vaccines generally contain a weakened virus that stimulates the bodies immune system so that if they get the actual disease their body is able to fight it off. Some of the diseases most molly vaccinated against are measles, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus and polio.
SAID is always finding new ways to provide foreign aid to developing countries. It’s easy to talk about all the great things SAID does along with all the problems that they could potentially fix, but exactly how effective is SAID? In every sector SAID has shown to provide significant aid and effectiveness. One strong example is the help given to farmers in Honduras; “With the help of SAID, 21 ,OHO farm families in Honduras have been trained in improved land cultivation practices which have reduced soil erosion by 70,000 tons. ” (“Results and Data. “).
Land cultivation practices that can prevent erosion include planting more trees to bind the soil, building terraces on hillsides, irrigating to overcome droughts, crop rotation, and contour plugging (“Soil Preparation. “). Preventing soil erosion is an important part of farming because erosion removes the nutrient-rich top soil. Once this layer of soil is gone, it is difficult for anything to grow. Another system designed to ensure the sustenance of people is FEES, “Early SAID action in southern Africa in 1992 prevented massive famine in the region, avian millions of Key Accomplishments. ). In 1 985 SAID created the Famine Early Warning System (PEWS) to provide information and analysis on food insecurity. Since then they have prevented countless famines including the one in 1992 (key Accomplishments”). Preventing a famine is a lot easier and timelier than it is to fix one. SAID is not only fixing existing problems, but it is preventing additional ones that could hinder their ability to focus on the main issue. From 1980 to 1 995, 57 nations made the transition to democratic governments.
Of these 57, SAID provided democracy and overspent assistance to 36 of these nations (key Accomplishments. “). Most of these countries previously had corrupt, oppressive governments or no government at all. Bringing law and order to a country is the first step to getting that country back on its feet. SAID has proved their effective in all areas of development. Over the past 53 years, SAID has touched the lives of millions and continues to do so even today. SAID offers a wide variety of services in order to facilitate growth and promote the general welfare of those suffering in developing countries.
