United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the United States government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $50 billion, USAID is one of the largest official aid agencies in the world and accounts for more than half of all U.S. foreign assistance—the highest in the world in absolute dollar terms.
Some of the key events about United States Agency for International Development
- 1961Established as an independent agency to administer U.S. foreign economic and humanitarian assistance programs
- 1961Criticized for supporting authoritarian regimes during the Cold War
- 1965Launched the "Food for Peace" program to combat global hunger and malnutrition
- 1965Accused of using food aid as a political weapon in India
- 1970Initiated environmental programs to address global ecological challenges
- 1970Implicated in covert operations in Chile to undermine the elected government
- 1974Implemented the "New Directions" mandate, focusing on basic human needs in developing countries
- 1985Responded to the famine in Ethiopia with a massive relief effort
- 1985Involved in controversy over funding Nicaraguan Contras despite Congressional prohibition
- 1989Provided crucial support for Poland's economic transition after the fall of communism
- 1996Faced allegations of mismanagement and waste in Bosnia reconstruction efforts
- 2002Criticized for ineffective HIV/AIDS prevention programs in Africa
- 2003Launched the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to combat HIV/AIDS globally
- 2004Led U.S. relief efforts following the Indian Ocean tsunami
- 2005Accused of politicizing humanitarian aid in Iraq and Afghanistan
- 2010Spearheaded the "Feed the Future" initiative to address global food security
- 2010Implicated in a covert social media operation in Cuba
- 2014Played a key role in the international response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa
- 2014Criticized for creating a "Cuban Twitter" to undermine the Cuban government
- 2017Faced scrutiny over ineffective aid programs in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake
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