The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is set to unveil a new five-year (2020-2025), Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) to support the Nigerian economy, health and education to build a more a more prosperous country, founded on greater stability and transparent, responsive governance that provides access to essential services for all.
The USAID made this known in a statement issued to BusinessDay, stressing that it is inspired by the great opportunities that Nigeria has at hand to enable its dynamic private sector and nurture the talents of its diverse population.
USAID Mission Director to Nigeria Anne Patterson said “With this new strategy USAID continues its main focus on improving health, education, economic growth, good governance, and conflict mitigation in the most underserved areas of Nigeria. What’s new in the strategy is an emphasis on creative partnerships with government and civil society that will help Nigeria improve its own self-reliance.”
The 2020-2025 CDCS outlines how USAID will support Nigeria on its Journey to Self-Reliance (J2SR) and make progress towards the ultimate objective of ending Nigeria’s need for development assistance and to support a healthier, more educated, prosperous, stable, and resilient Nigeria.
The statement pointed out that USAID/Nigeria will make progress towards this goal through three Development Objectives (DO) and one Special Objective (SpO) that prioritize the core approaches needed to advance Nigeria’s self-reliance.
“These objectives are: broadened and inclusive economic growth; a healthier, better educated population; accountable, inclusive, and responsive governance strengthened; and greater stability and early recovery advanced in targeted states,” the statement said.
The statement said further that each of these Objectives incorporates four cross-cutting strategic priorities – good governance, conflict sensitivity and mitigation, resilience, and inclusion – that serve as foundational principles for making lasting progress toward self-reliance.
It said, “Through DO1, USAID will promote inclusive economic growth by reducing poverty, hunger and malnutrition; increasing access to energy; enhancing private sector contributions to inclusive growth; and improving water, sanitation and hygiene. This DO takes a multi-pronged approach including enhanced private sector engagement (PSE) and a new emphasis on water resources management and service provision.
“Under DO2, USAID will advance both health and education outcomes in targeted states by addressing each at systems, access, and quality levels and by strengthening civic voice to hold government institutions accountable to their citizens. Health, the largest sector in USAID’s portfolio will follow a variable geography, based on need and states’ commitment.
“Education programming will concentrate on up to 17 states, including many across the north, where there will be renewed emphasis on equipping Nigerian education stakeholders with the policies, tools, and skills needed to implement effective education reforms. This DO presents one of the greatest opportunities for Redefining the Relationship with the Government of Nigeria (GON).”
The aid agency emphasized that DO3 will build stronger democratic governance by strengthening conflict prevention, mitigation, early warning and early response efforts; improving civic voice and engagement; enhancing the credibility of elections; and increasing the accountability and effectiveness of public institutions.
It also said the SpO will address conflict and instability in targeted states in Nigeria, which have an operating environment that is dramatically different from the rest of the country, requiring the USAID to take an approach that reflects an earlier stage of the humanitarian assistance-transition-development spectrum.
“Achieving stability in these states will be fundamental to the overall development of Nigeria and is interdependent with GON and donor community efforts to enhance public infrastructure and provide public security,” the statement added.
