IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
21 September  2021 
(21-7041) Page: 1/51 
Council for Trade -Related Aspects of  
Intellectual Property Rights  Original: English  
 
  
REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2  
OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT  
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA  
The following  communication, dated 16 September  2021, from the delegation of the 
United  States  of America is being circulated pursuant to paragraph 1 of the Decision on 
Implementation of Article  66.2 of the  TRIPS  Agreement ( document IP/C/28).  
 
_______________  
 
 INTRODUCTION  …………………………………………………………………………………………..  2 
 GENERAL TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROGRAMMES, INCENTIVES, AND  
PARTNERSHIPS  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  2 
 EDUCATIONAL AND UNIVERSITY -LED PROGRAMMES  ................................ ..................  5 
 COMMERCIAL AND LEGAL PROGRAMMES TO STRENGTHEN CAPACITY  .......................  10 
 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PR OTECTION (IPR) AND ENFORCEMENT CAPACITY -
BUILDING  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  10 
 TRADE AND INVESTMENT POLICY, CAPACITY -BUILDING, AND INCENTIVES  .............  13 
 DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMING AND INCENTIVES THROUGH PRIVATE SECTOR 
MODELS  ................................ ................................ ................................ .........................  16 
 PROGRAMMES AND INCENTIVES RELATED TO AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT  
AND FOOD SAFETY AND SECURITY ................................ ................................ .................  20 
 PROGRAMMING AND INCENTIVES RELATED TO ENERGY DEVELOPMENT  ...................  28 
 PROGRAMMING AND INCENTIVES RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION  ..... 31 
 PROGRAMMING AND INCENTIVE S RELATED TO HEALTH  ................................ .........  35 
 PROGRAMMING AND INCENTIVES RELATED TO BUILDING LABOR CAPACITY  .........  50 
 PROGRAMME AND INCENTIVES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION  ............................  51 
 
 
  IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 2 - 
 
  
INTRODUCTION  
The United States is committed to continually enhancing its activities pursuant to Article 66.2 of 
the TRIPS Agreement, and reporting those activities, in keeping with the guidelines established in 
the TRIPS Council 's Decision of 20 February 2 003 ( document IP/C/28).  Consistent with this decision, 
developed country Members shall provide yearly reports to least developed countr ies (LDCs) on 
actions taken or planned in pursuance of the commitments of developed countries under Article  66.2. 
Under t his article, developed country Members have committed themselves to provide incentives to 
enterprises and institutions in their territories for the purpose of promoting and encouraging 
technology transfer to LDCs, in order to enable them to create a sound and viable technological 
base.  United States government funding of these multifaceted activities and collaborations are 
incentives to the many partners in the United States that work with LDC recipients and institutions 
to promote, encourage, and enable te chnology transfer.  
The intellectual property (IP), trade capacity training, development assistance, educational, 
financing, entrepreneurship, and infrastructure -related program mes described in this report are 
integral elements of the efforts of the United States to support LDCs in fostering the necessary 
environment to encourage the effective, voluntary transfer of technology to LDCs. No report can 
represent every activity that directly or indirectly incentivizes enterprises and institutions for the 
purpose  of promoting and encouraging technology transfer.  This report attempts to describe the 
most significant activities and program mes and to convey the breadth and depth of efforts by the 
United States.  
The U S Government attaches great importance to providing incentives to help LDCs obtain 
technology transfer. A key element to this objective is that the U S Government, in collaboration with 
many other national and regional government agencies and IP organizations,  such as the World 
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), works to assist LDCs to improve the functioning and 
utilization of their IP systems to promote economic, social and cultural development. Our goal is to 
help LDCs establish an environment that a ttracts and sustains technologies that address local needs 
and are valued in local markets.  The strengthening of IP protection is an essential measure to 
promote technology transfer.  
Much of the U S government research conducted by federally operated labora tories and federally 
funded research and development (R&D) centres results in inventions or findings that contribute to 
the development of new technologies and processes.  Commercialization of these outputs can yield 
economic and social benefits that increa se returns on the investment in federal R&D.  
The United States continues to believe that the effective functioning of Article 66.2 of the 
TRIPS  Agreement requires a robust dialogue between developed country Members and LDCs.  This 
targets incentives in a wa y that is most responsive to the self -identified technology transfer interests 
and needs of LDCs.  The United States encourages the efforts of the TRIPS Council Secretariat and 
Members to organize discussions among the Members regarding Article 66.2 impleme ntation.  
GENERAL TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROGRAMME S, INCENTIVES, AND PARTNERSHIPS1 
Through the Bayh -Dole Act of 1980, the U S Congress directed that inventions resulting from 
federally funded research be used to promote commercialization and public access thro ugh practical 
application. U S laboratories often partner with external organizations to conduct cooperative 
research and development.  
Federally Sponsored Research and Development  
The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) workgroup on Lab-to-Market coordinates 
federal initiatives on accelerating and improving the transfer of new technologies from the laboratory 
to the commercial marketplace.  Federal agencies implement these initiatives, which include 
development of human capital and sma ll business innovation.  The National Institute of Standards 
and Technology prepares an annual report that summarizes government -wide technology transfer 
 
1 Paragraphs 6 -8 describe technology transfer policies and legislative tools that are used by the US 
Government to derive much of the technology that is transferred to LDCs.  IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 3 - 
 
  efforts. This report can be found at https://www.nist.gov/tpo/federal -laboratory -interagency -
technology -transfer -summary -reports . 
Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer  (FLC)  
Technology transfer is most effective when the technology is requested by the entity that will 
use the technology. The Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC) plays a key 
role in providing information about technologies that are available for licensing and the availability 
of labora tories for collaboration and partnership.  The FLC is a national network of approximately 
300 federal laboratories and centres  that provides opportunities for linking laboratory mission 
technologies and expertise with the marketplace (see https://www.federallabs.org/ ). The FLC 
promotes technical cooperation among the federal laboratories and large and small businesses, 
academia, and federal, state, and local government agencies.  FLC collaborates with organizati ons 
that promote technical cooperation and works to improve the effectiveness of technology transfer 
through training, recognition, awards, and evaluation.  Moreover, the FLC encourages technology 
transfer and, through its member laboratories, seeks partner s around the world.  The FLC offers a 
broad set of tools including the ability to search available laboratory technologies, find laboratory 
expertise and facilities, and find available partnership mechanisms for different agencies.  The FLC 
Toolkit is availa ble at https://www.federallabs.org/T2 -Toolkit . 
Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research  (PEER)  
The Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) programme  directly supports 
scienti sts in USAID -presence countries through institutional research awards typically ranging up to 
USD 200,000. US scientific agencies such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
(NASA), National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), 
National Science Foundation (NSF), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Smithsonian Institution, US Forest Service (USFS), US Department of Agriculture 's (USDA) 
Agriculture Research Service (ARS), and US Geolo gical Survey (USGS), as well as National 
Instruments, General Electric, and universities and research institutes around the world, have 
partnered with scientists in developing countries through PEER awards.  Since its launch in 2011, 
PEER has supported more  than 370 projects in over 50 countries with a USAID investment of over 
USD 100 million.  PEER aims to build capacity among local scientists and research institutions, 
strengthen research partnerships world -wide, and better translate data and evidence into policy.  
The programme  is implemented by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.  
Of the 3,000 students that are working on PEER research teams, 50 % are women.  PEER researchers 
have contributed to over 900 publications and journal arti cles. More than 75 % of PEER awardees 
secure further funding to continue their research in: Agriculture ; Biodiversity; Disaster Mitigation; 
Education; Energy; Family Planning; Food Security; Infectious Diseases; Nutrition; Reproductive 
Health; and Water and Sanitation.  
PEER Project: Affordable Technologies for Cervical Cancer Screening – 
Mozambique  
The proje ct has provided over 3,500 cervical cancer screenings using the GeneXpert HPV testing 
platform.  A subset of samples was stored and will be tested on a novel point of care (POC) HPV test, 
which was developed by Rice University, and has the potential to dram atically decrease the costs of 
HPV-based cervical cancer screening.  Results will be compared to those from the "gold-standard " 
GeneXpert platform.  After a pause due to COVID -19 pandemic, POC testing resumed in August 2021. 
The project runs between January 2019-June 2022.  
Strengthened Counter -Poaching in the Rungwa/Kizigo/Muhesi Game Reserve 
Complex - Tanzania  
This project supports the Government of Tanzania 's counter -poaching effort. Working with the 
Tanzanian Wildlife Authority (TAWA), the project: strengt hens technical skills to prevent, deter, and 
respond to poaching activities; supports mobility to and within the Rungwa Game Reserve complex; 
builds capacity of the Rungwa Game Reserve wardens; and increases the impact of environmental 
law enforcement acti vities in the Ruaha -Katavi Landscape and more broadly within Tanzania.  In 
particular, the project is currently focused on SMART data collection by using smart phones or tablets 
and reporting software as a wildlife monitoring/management law enforcement tool  by: training and IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 4 - 
 
  mentoring on SMART and integration of the data collection and analysis platform for wildlife law 
enforcement thru September 2021.  
TAWA, Game Warden, and Rangers Applaud the Project  
The acting Conservation Commissioner for TAWA continues to voice support for the SMART data 
collection system and hopes to expand its use even after the current project ends.  Rangers also 
report appreciation for the added tool in the anti -poaching tool kit.  Equipment maintenance (for 
system computers and data s ervers, especially) remains of critical importance, and faces substantial 
challenges in the bush.  Game Warden Chifuno Jembe, Manager of the Lukawati/Piti Game Reserve, 
reports that using and becoming proficient with SMART as a data collection and analysis tool allowed 
him and his patrol teams to better target their anti -poaching patrol efforts.  It also helped them 
better allocate personnel, vehicles, and field gear.  
Innovation Discovery & Testing  
Generating new ideas for innovation, building evidence of the ir efficacy, and attracting further 
investment helps development solutions reach more people more quickly and sustainably. The US 
Global Development Lab serves as an innovation hub.  Working collaboratively with the USAID and 
our external partners, the lab 's mission is two -fold: 1) to produce breakthrough development 
innovations by sourcing, testing, and scaling proven solutions to reach hundreds of millions of 
people; and 2) to accelerate the transformation of the development enterprise by opening 
developme nt to people everywhere with good ideas, promoting new and deepening existing 
partnerships, bringing data and evidence to bear, and harnessing scientific and technological 
advances.  
The lab uses two approaches to identify promising innovations, which are then rigorously tested, 
iterated, and put in use on a broad scale for global impact. The first approach – open innovation – 
includes the Development Innovation Ventures (DIV)  programme , a year -round grant programme  
open to nearly any individual or orga nization for any sector in any country where USAID operates.  
Grants are awarded based on cost -effectiveness, evidence of impact, and the potential to scale. DIV 
assesses each applicant through the lens of these principles, commensurate to the stage or type  of 
funding sought. DIV has supported innovation in 47 countries during 2010 -2020 
(https://www.usaid.gov/div/about ). 
Science and Technology Agreements  
The United States utilizes science and technology (S&T) a greements as frameworks for 
increased international collaboration by facilitating cooperation between US technical agencies and 
foreign counterparts on topics including public health, watershed management, agriculture, 
environment and biodiversity protecti on, biotechnology, earth sciences, marine science, and 
alternative energy.  These agreements support relationships that strengthen science education 
systems, build institutional and human resource capacity, and promote a deeper appreciation of 
innovation an d its role in technology transfer and commercialization.  The United States supports 
programme s that strengthen institutional capacity to translate research into commercial activity, 
while improving individual capacity to enter labour  markets (see https://www.state.gov/key -topics -
office -of-science -and-technology -cooperation/ ). Through these efforts, US scientific and technical 
agencies and their counterparts pro mote economic growth and jobs creation.  
Regional Programme s 
Smart Infrastructure for the Mekong (SIM) - Lower Mekong Initiative  
Founded in July 2013, the Smart Infrastructure for the Mekong (SIM) programme  offers 
governments participating in the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) an array of technical advisory, 
capacity -building , and support services related to climate -smart, environmentally sound and socially 
equitable infrastructure, clean energy development, and land and/or water resources use related to 
sustainable management of the Mekong . Through a multi -agency US Government agreement, SIM 
has access to some of the US government 's best engineers, scientists, and technical and policy 
experts to support such activities.  IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 5 - 
 
  
Wonders of the Mekong – Cambodia  
The activity seeks to provide technical assistance, tools and training to Cambodian natural 
resource managers to establish data collection and monitoring networks that will enhance existing 
capacity and complement ongoing projects within the Lower Mekong Basin. The objectives are:  
a. to improve capacity for monitoring of the freshwater environment, hydrology, and fishery 
resources within Cambodia;  
b. to gain critical biological information necessary to promote sustainable enviro nmental 
management for key areas and fisheries, including the Tonle Sap Lake to River and Lower 
Mekong Rivers; and  
c. to provide information to communities, fishery managers, and policy makers at multiple 
levels of government and civil society to support sus tainable environmental pathways and 
policies.  
Wonders of the Mekong activities have addressed several key uncertainties related to 
monitoring and managing impacts to the Mekong River 's health and productivity from threats like 
overfishing, loss of biodive rsity, dam -modified flows, pollution, deforestation, and climate change.  
Project results have been shared at numerous conferences, workshops, and forums including the 
US State Department 's Mekong Virtual Symposium: "An Uncertain Future: Working Towards a 
Thriving Tonle Sap ", the Stockholm Environment Institute webinar "Can the Mekong be Saved? ", 
the Mekong -US Partnership Track 1.5 Policy Dialogues, and a hosted discussion with the 
US Ambassador to Cambodia and delegates from the four countries of the Lower Mekong River Basin.  
Wonders of the Mekong research results are available to the public and project activities have 
been featured in many national and international media outlets including National Geographic "New 
Project Targets Mekong River " (now a 17 -part news series), the Khmer Times "Spotlight: Celebrating 
Woman in Conservation " and Circle of Blue "Five Bright Spots in the Mekong. " 
Government Officials and Private Sector Laud Wonder of the Mekong  
Mr. Bunthang Touch, Acting Director of Inland Fisheries Research and Development Institute, 
Cambodian Fisheries Administration expressed appreciation for Wonders of the Mekong 
collaboration . "The Wonders of the Mekong project plays a critically important role in fisheries 
research, capacity -building , and education including development of the largest, most highly trained 
team of Cambodian fisheries scientists in our country, design of resear ch and monitoring protocols 
to guide sustainable fisheries policy, and establishment of partnerships with the Mekong River 
Commission for data sharing and analysis.  The Wonders of the Mekong Project is the single most 
important entity guiding scientific fr eshwater fisheries and biodiversity research in Cambodia today, 
and the results of this research will guide and improve future natural resource management for 
sustainability. " 
Dr. Ratha Sor, former Development Manager of the RUPP Graduate Programme  in Biod iversity 
Conservation, expressed appreciation for Wonders of the Mekong support for the RUPP PhD 
Program me in Applied Ecology and Management and Master of Science in Biodiversity Conservation. 
"Wonders of the Mekong support has funded three master 's studen ts and four PhD students. 
Wonders of the Mekong is the largest single supporter of students in our programme s. Wonders of 
the Mekong -supported students have shown extraordinary improvements in ability and commitment, 
as demonstrated by the excellence and b readth of their research and continued record of high -quality 
publications.  The project 's contributions to capacity -building  and social network development have 
led to international scholarly exchanges, data sharing, national and international level collab orations 
on fisheries research and biodiversity conservation. " 
EDUCATIONAL AND UNIVERSITY -LED PROGRAM MES 
US agencies such as the Department of State and USAID work closely with universities to 
promote appropriate technology transfer and knowledge sharing t hrough academic exchanges and 
programme s that harness the intellectual power of professionals, students, and researchers to 
address challenges including climate variability, food security, and global health.  IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 6 - 
 
  
Educational Enrolment  in the US University Syste m 
The US university system constitutes a major avenue for the appropriate transfer of knowledge 
and technology. Foreign students employ acquired knowledge and skills in their home countries, and 
some continue to collaborate with their US colleagues on mutu ally beneficial research.  
University Enrolment  by Foreign Students  
During the 2019 -2020 academic year (the most recent data), there were  38,687  students from 
LDCs enrolled in US institutions of higher education, representing an increase of  nearly 1.5 % over 
the 2018-2019 academic year, and 3.6 % of the total US higher education international student 
enrolment. US institutions of higher education hosted many students from LDCs, including large 
numbers from  Nepal (12,730 students)  and Bangladesh (8,838 students).  The top five most popular 
fields of study for all international students in the United States in academic year  2019-2020 were 
Engineering (220,542);  Math and C omputer Science (205,207); Business and 
Management  (174,470);  Social Sciences (84,440); and Physical and Life Sciences (81,971).  
International Visitor Leadership Program me (IVLP)  
In support of the Department of State 's strategic goal of enhancing economic development, the 
Education and Cultural Affairs Bureau continues its International Visitor Leadership Program me to 
assist partner countries, including LDC member countries.  Under normal conditions, IVLP projects 
take place in -person with visits to the Unit ed States.  As a result of travel restrictions due to the 
ongoing COVID -19 pandemic in 2020, all IVLP programming took place virtually.  
IVLP  Women and Entrepreneurship - Angola, Burkina Faso, Chad, 
Democratic  Republic of Congo, Guinea, Liberia, Niger, Senegal, Zambia  
This virtual IVLP project was for participants from the Africa region including Angola, 
Burkina  Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Liberia, Niger, Senegal, and Zambia.  It 
illustrated the impact of women -owned businesses on the US economy and explored the progress 
of women in participating more fully in the global economy. During 17 May – 12 June 2021, the 
group engag ed a variety of actors to discuss the social, economic, and political factors that influence 
and encourage women as entrepreneurs and owners or managers of small, medium, and large -scale 
businesses.  Participants examined leadership development, job creatio n, access to capital, 
marketing, education, and innovations in encouraging entrepreneurship in the United States.  
Participants learned about incentives for entrepreneurship offered at the federal, state, and local 
levels of government.  
IVLP Combating Infec tious Diseases - Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, 
Mozambique, Rwanda, Togo  
This virtual IVLP project supported the State Department 's goal of protecting the health and 
well-being of global populations. Participants from the Africa region including Benin, Burkina Faso, 
Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Togo explored how communities identify and prioritize 
responses to disease outbreaks and reviewed new practices and techniques to prevent and treat 
infectious diseases at the local, s tate, and federal levels.  During 8 March – 2 April 2021, the project 
examined ways to raise awareness of health issues and introduce participants to US public health 
and media networks working on outreach and global health awareness strategies. In addition , 
participants explored how the public and private sectors foster partnerships to assist in finding, 
mobilizing, and sharing resources and best practices.  
IVLP Sustainability and the Extractive Industry - Mali, Mozambique, Niger, 
Uganda  
This virtual IVLP p roject focused on best practices in the extractive industry, including labour  
protections, environmental regulations, transparency in bidding, and profit management. 
Participants from the Africa region including Mali, Mozambique, Niger, and Uganda learned about 
the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) as a gold standard to bring transparency in business and 
governance, and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative as a global standard for the good 
governance of oil, gas, and mineral resources. Durin g 14 June – 9 July 2021, the project addressed IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 7 - 
 
  indigenous land rights regulations and policies that preserve human rights, sustain cultural diversity, 
protect the environment, and ensure collective survival. Participants learned how transparency and 
accoun tability help ensure public trust, as well as how these same values promote financial stability 
and economic growth. In addition, the project addressed the roles of civil society and the media as 
watchdogs and catalysts for the creation and maintenance of transparent and accountable 
government and business practices.  
IVLP Empowering Youth through Workforce Development - Benin, Burkina Faso, 
Chad, Guinea, Liberia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Togo  
This virtual IVLP project supported US efforts to promote stable dem ocratic governance and 
global economic growth and development through workforce development among youth and those 
in job or career transition. Participants from the Africa region, including from Benin, Burkina Faso, 
Chad, Guinea, Liberia, Mozambique, Tanza nia, and Togo explored the important role that 
vocational/technical education plays in providing Americans with training and skills tailored to fit 
targeted employment needs. During 8 February – 5 March 2021, participants examined how to adapt 
curricula to  economic demands and ways to interest youth in careers of the future, including 
technology, communications, and other innovative fields that will allow them to foster new 
industries. Participants visited businesses that offer targeted internships and/or e mployment for 
young people, including at -risk youth. Participants also explored the federal government 's 
investment in innovative programming for youth.  
IVLP Managing Foreign Aid and Foreign Direct Investment - Angola, 
Democratic  Republic of Congo, Liberia  
This virtual IVLP  project explored new and existing development finance avenues and identified 
best practices in analysing  and implementing finance options to maximize efficiency and minimize 
additional costs. Participants from the Africa region including  Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, 
and Liberia learned about recent US efforts to promote a common set of global standards for 
infrastructure lending and investments, explored the underpinnings of the US support for transparent 
and sustainable financin g, and examined how the US uses developmental finance to advance its 
foreign policy interests and enhance its overall global economic competitiveness. During 19 July – 
16 August 2021, the project incorporated meetings with federal agencies, think tanks, pr ivate 
finance companies, and donors on the variety of funding options available and best practices to 
secure economically sustainable development.  
IVLP US Energy Policy - Security, Independence, and Innovation - Bangladesh, 
Cambodia, Nepal  
This virtual IVL P project included participants from Bangladesh, Cambodia and Nepal examined 
domestic and international cooperative efforts to promote energy innovation and US policies that 
enhance energy security. During 14 October – 6 November 2020, participants examine d US efforts 
to reduce pollution, promote clean energy sources, mitigate environmental impact, ensure secure 
power grids and waterways, and enact sound energy policies. Participants met virtually with policy 
makers, industry leaders, academics, scientists,  and citizen groups to discuss their views on local 
and regional energy resources, production, and sustainability.  
IVLP Strengthening Economic and Commercial Ties: Fashion Ecosystems - 
Senegal  
This virtual IVLP  project  brought together 15 fashion professio nals from Senegal to examine the 
fashion industry from the US perspective. During 9 November – 4 December 2020, this project 
supported the Department of State 's goal of promoting broad based economic growth and the 
mission 's goal to strengthen commercial t ies between Senegal and the United States. The project 
enhanced understanding of US methods of small business development and digital marketing, 
leveraging diverse contacts through meetings and workshops. Participants focused on US examples 
of fashion -based business models including brands, events, educational institutions, and professional 
associations. Participants explored ways to strengthen international commercial ties in the fashion 
industry.  IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 8 - 
 
  
IVLP Strengthening Economic and Commercial Ties: Fashion Ec osystems II - 
Senegal  
This two -part IVLP Virtual Activity included Senegalese participants from a November 2020 IVLP 
Virtual project as well as other fashion professionals in the US Embassy 's network. During 16 June 
– 24 June 2021, the primary goal was to b uild on contact with a Seattle -based non -profit 
organization from the original programme , the Refugee Artisan Initiative (RAI). RAI presented their 
organizational model to promote skills building and work opportunities for home -based, small batch 
manufactu ring and engaged participants in a dialogue of how such models could be useful in Senegal. 
Time was set aside for fashion professionals and artists from both Senegal and those in the Seattle 
area to share their culture and work with each other. Refugee art isans based in Seattle shared how 
they have continued their home communities ' unique forms of art and design in the United States 
and how they participate in local events/markets, combining business opportunities from the United 
States with their knowledge  from home to create economic opportunities.  
Exchange Programming from the Department of State 's Bureau of Educational and 
Cultural Affairs  
The Department of State 's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) designs and 
implements educational, profe ssional, and cultural exchange programme s that increase mutual 
understanding between people of the United States and the people of other countries 
(see https://eca.state.gov/ ). 
Additional Programming from ECA  
Through its programme s, ECA enables students, exchange alumni, and young adults to pursue 
higher education, leadership, and professional development opportunities globally. The Fulbright 
Program me sponsored approximately  4,000 participants in fiscal year (FY) 2020. This number 
represents a reduction due to the global pandemic from the typical annual total of 8,000 participants 
from the United States and more than 150 countries, many of whom do in -country work in LDCs. 
These programme s included participants in FY  2020 from almost every LDC country.  The students 
enter the United States as non -immigrant exchange visitors ( "J-1"), which make them ineligible to 
remain in the United States after their studies.  Thus, students partic ipating in these education 
programme s generally return to their home countries, thereby bringing back knowledge and training.  
Regional and Country Program mes 
MoLab – Togo  
MoLab is a US Embassy 's mobile STEM (science, technology, engineering and math fields) 
learning lab. Built by young Togolese inventors, it is a vehicle filled with science, engineering, 
chemistry, and math activities. The US Embassy and Contour Global, an American energy compan y 
with a plant in Togo, financed MoLab. The vehicle runs as a non -profit organization. Its mission is to 
bring STEM education to under -resourced rural schools, and it has a full calendar of activities. While 
MoLab continues to operate year -round, in FY 202 1 it is still looking to achieve full financial 
independence.  
Female Tech Camp – Togo  
Since 2014, the US Embassy 's Public Affairs Section has supported the organization of an event 
called Female Tech Camp, which encourages young Togolese women to be more active in STEM 
fields through specialized training on coding, e -business, web design, and more. In its most recent 
editions, the event has attracted significant private sector support, including a major contribution 
from TogoCom, the country 's biggest inte rnet operator. It also has strong support from the Minister 
of the Digital Economy, who in 2018 took the founder and several alumni to Paris for a technology 
conference called Viva Tech. The event has launched several successful e -businesses and 
applicatio ns. By August 2019, 300 girls across the country were trained at the tech camp. This 
programme  is still ongoing.  IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 9 - 
 
  
Girls Coding Camp – Togo  
Girls Coding Camp is a programming camp designed to train and encourage high school girls to 
take an interest in the f ield of technology and STEM in general. The Public Affairs Section awarded 
a grant to local tech NGO Minodoo to hold this camp during CY 2020 (postponed due to the COVID -19 
pandemic). The week -long camp will teach design thinking, 3D modelling  and printing , and 
programming language, among others.  
USAID 's Girls Leadership and Empowerment through Education (GLEE) – Mali  
USAID 's Girls Leadership and Empowerment through Education (GLEE) activity addresses 
persistent gender gaps in education enrolment  partly th rough the payment of school fees to 
locally -based School Management Committees (SMCs) via Orange Money, a mobile money service. 
GLEE collects data on the number of girls in the partner schools and provides money to cover 
distribution school supplies, hygie ne and sanitation materials, school furniture, repairs of shutters, 
rehabilitation of classrooms and management offices, fences to improve school security, and secure 
transport of funds. GLEE favours  transparency in the management of the school fees funds and the 
funds are used following a SMC 's action plan for promoting girls education.  
As a result of the GLEE activity that spans over FY 2018 – FY 2022, a total of 35,786 students 
from primary and lower secondary schools have benefited from this support; 5, 564 out -of-school 
adolescent girls were enrolled and 5,448 successfully transitioned to formal public schools. 
Facilitators, grandmothers and aunts, and teachers mentored girls about reproductive health, gender 
equality, and leadership. More than 8,000 men toring sessions were attended by about 170,000 
participants. Also under GLEE, 92 school management committee members were trained on gender, 
school -related gender based violence, and school safety.  
School Director Lauds GLEE  
Mobile transfers go directly to SMCs, which builds their capacity to better manage their funds. 
Seydou Filifing Keita, Director of the Djidjan -Kenieba 1st Cycle School commented that, "The transfer 
of school fees by Orange Money is a quick and secure way t o send money to SMCs. The transfer 
allows SMC members to avoid having to travel to the bank in town to collect money, which incurs 
other additional costs. With mobile transfer, the SMC can receive the resources in the village without 
moving and this also h elps to avoid robberies on the main roads when traveling to collect money. 
Also, with the mobile transfer system, we can check all the money movements that have been made 
on the mobile account and this is a good means of verification for a good management of its 
resources. In our school, we really appreciated the transfer of school fees by Orange Money. " 
Learn to Read – Lao PDR  
USAID supported the development of a digital Teaching and Learning Platform titled 
Khangpanya (in Lao ຄ ັ ງປ ັ ນຍາລາວ ). The digital pla tform provides access to storybooks and decodable 
readers, digitalized official curriculum textbooks with interactive quizzes, and interactive 
international resources available in both Lao and English that promote STEM learning for pre -primary 
and Grades 1 -12 school children. This digital platform can be accessed via a web browser for use 
online and on mobile devices. The programme  started in August 2018 and is ongoing.  
Lecture Pour Tous – Senegal  
The USAID Lecture Pour Tous activity pivoted its support fo r Senegal 's Ministry of Education 
(MoE) to advance COVID -19 pandemic prevention efforts and keep the estimated 3.5 million children 
affected by school closures learning while out of school. USAID developed new activities using 
technology to support distanc e learning; developed and implemented a radio and SMS -based 
COVID -19 prevention communication campaign; and adapted pre -service training modules to an 
online format.  
To date, the programme  achieved the following: 40,000 prevention text messages to school 
personnel and education officials; 308,000 individual prevention and home -learning messages sent 
to over 121,000 stakeholders; 1,400 WhatsApp messages sent to youth empowered as community IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 10 - 
 
  liaisons; nine instructional videos produced & aired on television; 2 4 radio lessons series produced 
and broadcast. The programme  is ongoing.  
COMMERCIAL AND LEGAL PROGRAM MES TO STRENGTHEN CAPACITY  
US agencies such as the Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP), National Institute of 
Standards and Technology (NIST), and ot hers provide commercial law technical assistance to the 
governments and private sectors of developing and transitional countries. The programme s are 
demand -driven and customized to address priority issues in countries ' business climates. The 
programme s help improve the commercial, legal, and regulatory environments to attract foreign 
investment and promote private sector -led growth and technology transfer.  
Country Projects  
Community Resilience in Central Africa – DRC & CAR  
USAID is extending a system of h igh frequency radios across south -eastern Central African 
Republic (CAR) and north -eastern  Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as an early warning network 
against the LRA (Lord 's Resistance Army insurgent group) and other security threats. This 
programme  saves lives, reintegrates former combatants, and assists communities with recovery 
through trauma healing and economic activities. This programme  targets communities and 
combatants and is ongoing.  
Building Resilient Communities in Solomon Islands  
USAID, alon g with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, will 
build national, provincial, and community level capacity to strengthen community resilience to the 
effects of climate change, natural disasters, and severe weather events thr ough training on disaster 
risk reduction and preparedness planning in designated areas. Building Resilient Communities in 
Solomon Islands will increase the resilience of communities in Solomon Islands and increase the 
capacity of Solomon Island Red Cross S ociety branches to support disaster risk management. The 
project will: 1. increase resilience of target communities; 2. enhance capacity of the Solomon Islands 
Red Cross Society to deliver disaster management and community -based health programme s; and 
3. support the Solomon Islands Red Cross Society in developing effective partnerships and 
programme  learning. Training and capacity -building  will directly reach 2000 volunteers, staff, and 
community members at two branches, contributing to increased safety in communities with 20,000 
members. The programme  spans between FY 2018 -2022.  
People to People Peacebuilding Activity – Central African Republic  
USAID is building capacity in communities to build and maintain peace within and across identity 
lines. It trains  community members in savings and entrepreneurial skills to manage their financial 
affairs and build socioeconomic networks. The programme  targets  local news organizations and the 
Association of Journalists for Human Rights.  
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTION (IPR) AND ENFORCEMENT 
CAPACITY -BUILDING   
US agencies, including the Department of State, the Department of Commerce 's International 
Trade Administration (ITA) (see http://www.trade.gov ) and US Patent and Trademark Office 
(USPTO) (see http://www.uspto.gov ), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and others, 
deliver IPR technical assistance programme s to LDCs to strengthen IPR systems and thus increase 
the likelihood of foreign direct investment (FDI).  
USPTO Training and Technical Assistance Collaboration with International 
Organizations  
USPTO offers training and technical assistance on IPR protection and enforcement to many 
countries, includin g LDCs. USPTO supports the LDC assistance efforts of international organizations 
such as with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the World Intellectual Property 
Organization (WIPO). For example, USPTO works with WIPO on its Re:Search  and WIPO Green IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 11 - 
 
  programme s, to promote access to IPR and technical know -how for relevant policy concerns, 
including neglected tropical diseases and environmentally -friendly technologies 
(see http://www.wipo. int/research/en/  and https://webaccess.wipo.int/green/ ). USPTO also 
collaborates with ASEAN on Intellectual Property Capacity -Building Program mes, covering all areas 
of IP, in which LDCs participate.  
USPTO Global Intellectual Property Academy (GIPA)  
USPTO provides IPR training at its state -of-the-art GIPA in Alexandria, Virginia, and throughout 
the world. USPTO delivers targeted training to foreign IP office administrators, examiners, judges, 
prosecutors,  customs officers, and other government and law enforcement officials. Additional 
support is provided by IP Attaché Officers around the world and the DC -based IP interagency. For 
more information about GIPA, see www.uspto.gov/gipa . 
In FY 2021 GIPA conducted more than 188 training, technical assistance, and capacity -building  
programme s for over 11,000 participants from over 110 different countries, including the following 
LDCs: Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Bhutan , Cambodia, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Lao PDR, 
Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Myanmar, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, 
Solomon  Islands, Sudan, Tanzania, Timor -Leste, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, and Zambia. USPTO 
partnered with: Department of State; US Department of Justice; US Department of Homeland 
Security; US Copyright Office; and US Food and Drug Administration.  
USPTO IP e -Learn ing Modules  
In FY 2021, GIPA continued its decade -long commitment to produce on -demand content 
through distance -learning modules on the USPTO website. These modules are available in five 
languages and cover six different areas of IP protection. In addition , self-study materials —including 
recordings of events, training slides, and IP toolkits —were updated for asynchronous learning.  
This on -demand content collectively has drawn more than 176,000 unique views, with the most 
recent videos covering patents and t rade secrets receiving a combined 56,300 views.  
USPTO Intellectual Property Attaché Training and Technical Assistance  
USPTO posts IP Attachés at select US embassies and consulates around the world. These 
Attachés work with host governments, academia, advoc acy groups, international organizations, 
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the private sector to provide IPR technical assistance 
and capacity -building programme s. Program mes have focused on IPR enforcement, as well as 
patent, trademark, and copyr ight policy engagement and best practices (see 
http://www.uspto.gov/ip/global/attache/index.jsp ). A full list of USPTO IP Attachés is available at 
https://www.uspto.gov/ip -policy/ip -attache -program . 
USPTO Patents for Humanity Program me 
The USPTO Patents for Humanity programme  encourages assistance to LDCs by providing 
business incentives for patent owners and licensees to apply  their technology towards humanitarian 
purposes. Participants submit descriptions of how they are improving lives in five broad categories 
of global challenges: household energy, living standards, medicine, nutrition, and sanitation. 
Independent experts re view submissions and recommend awards. Winners receive accelerated 
processing of a patent application or certain other matters. (See 
http://www.uspto.gov/patentsforhumanity ). The latest award winners were honoured  at a virtual 
USPTO ceremony 17 September 2020 (for video recording, and more information, see 
https://www.uspto.gov/patent/initiatives/patents -humanity ). 
The award cate gory for COVID -related patents remains open until 30 September 2021. More at 
https://www.uspto.gov/ip -policy/patent -policy/patents -humanity . IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 12 - 
 
  
ARIPO -USPTO IPR Capacity -Building Pr ogram me Series for Officials in ARIPO 
Member States  
In partnership with the African Regional IP Office, USPTO provided a series of more than ten 
IPR trainings through its Global IP Academy (GIPA) for ARIPO (African Regional Intellectual Property 
Organizati on) Members and Observers, as well as African Union representatives in FY 2021.  
By the first quarter of FY 2021, ten programme s reached over 470 African officials through the 
ARIPO  Members and Observers network as well as African universities and research institutions. 
Notably, in June 2021, ARIPO and USPTO conducted a programme  on Fostering Technology Transfer 
in Africa. Government officials, university representatives and research ers from 15 Sub -Saharan 
African countries took part in the programme .  
ARIPO Official Thanks USPTO  
ARIPO DG Bemanya Twebaze wrote in a letter of thanks to USPTO March 2021: "The initiatives 
go a long way in enhancing intellectual property awareness and cap acity in the ARIPO region and 
the continent. ARIPO looks forward to continued collaboration with USPTO in promoting IP awareness 
and the use of IP systems and tools for socio -economic and technological development of Africa. " 
 Country Projects   
Global Cybe rcrime, IPR, and Cybercrime Foreign Law Enforcement Training and 
Technical Assistance Initiative  
A USD 15 million  Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) centrally 
funded and managed, DOJ and DHS -implemented, cybercrime and IPR  training programme  is 
administered cooperatively by INL, the DOJ Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance 
and Training (OPDAT), the DOJ Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and the 
DHS National Intellectual Property Righ ts Coordination Center (Center). This centrally managed 
funding supplements existing bilateral rule of law programme s to specifically build the capacity of 
partner foreign law enforcement agencies to combat cybercrime and IPR crime. These programme s 
operat e as part of the US Transnational and High -Tech Crime Global Law Enforcement Network 
(GLEN), which features: DOJ International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Law 
Enforcement Advisors (ICHIPs); DOJ Global Cyber Forensics Advisors (GCFAs); and lo ng-term 
federal agent mentors. Under the framework of the GLEN, DOJ and DHS coordinate closely with the 
US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), who also receives INL funding designed to complement 
the GLEN, in order to develop and deliver IPR and computer crime investigative, prosecutorial, 
judicial and customs and border enforcement training and technical assistance to foreign partners 
designed to improve their capacity to cooperate with US law enforcement in matters involving 
transnational organized crime . 
Intellectual Property Program me – Rwanda  
In May 2021, the US Mission in Rwanda facilitated IP law discussion sessions between 
Professor  Justin Hughes from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, the Rwanda Development Board, 
and the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Rwanda is in the process of creating its own Patents and 
Trade Office.  Professor Hughes gave an overview of patents and trademarks and how a patent and 
trademark office runs. Professor Hughes is expected to give his thoughts on the Government of 
Rwanda 's new IP law which the Cabinet presented to Parliament. He will also conduct a geographical 
indication seminar focusing on how tea and coffee growers can take advantage of their Rwandan 
origins to secure IP protection. The programme  is ongoing.  
IPR Enforcement Coordination  
National IPR Coordination Center (IPR Center)  
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) leads 
the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center), which works to protec t 
public health and safety and the US economy, and to stop predatory and illegal trade practices that 
threaten the global economy. The IPR Centre brings together 25 partner agencies, consisting of 20 IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 13 - 
 
  federal agencies, INTERPOL, EUROPOL, and the governments  of Canada and Mexico along with the 
City of London Police in a task force setting. The task force structure enables the IPR Center to 
effectively leverage the resources, skills, and authorities of each partner and provide a 
comprehensive response to IP th eft (see https://www.iprcenter.gov/ ). The IPR Center 's Operation 
Joint Venture (OJV) trains domestic and international law enforcement to build strong enforcement 
capabilities. The IPR Center, through the financial support of Department of State 's Bureau o f 
International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), provides IPR enforcement capacity -
building  training to many countries, including LDCs.  
The IPR Center works closely with partner USG agencies, overseas Attachés, and US embassies 
to deliver trai ning and support capacity -building  efforts across the globe. In FY 2021, the IPR Center 
participated in eight international trainings in support of country specific and regional program mes 
funded by INL. More than 470 customs, police, and prosecutors atten ded the training programme s. 
The effects of the COVID -19 pandemic had a significant impact on the IPR Center 's international 
training activities in the field, forcing IPR Center  leadership to condense and move many of these 
programme s to virtual platforms. Despite the impacts of the global pandemic, the IPR Center hosted 
the HSI -led Caribbean Regional IPR and Global Trade Enforcement Workshop in August 2021 for 
eighty customs, po lice officers, and prosecutors from the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, 
St. Kitts and Nevis, Guadeloupe, Aruba, Bahamas, Curacao, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, 
Turks  and Caicos, Sint Maarten, the Cayman Islands, and the US Virgin Islands. DOJ, CBP, US PTO, 
and other private sector partners supported the workshop that focused on interdictions, 
investigations and enforcement operations related to IP crime. The workshop emphasized the health 
and safety issues related to IP and global trade violations, thei r connection to transnational crime, 
and the need for broader cooperation between countries and agencies to disrupt and dismantle 
transnational criminal organizations. In FY 2021, the IPR Center also supported DOJ/ICHIP 
(International  Computer Hacking  and Intellectual Property Coordinators) and USPTO -led workshops 
held for foreign counterparts in Botswana, Brunei, Cambodia, the Cook Islands, Dominican Republic, 
Fiji, the Gambia, Ghana, Hong Kong, Honiara, Indonesia, Kenya, Lao PDR, Liberia, Malawi, Malaysia , 
Micronesia, Myanmar, Namibia, Nigeria, Northern Mariana Islands, Philippines, Rwanda, 
Sierra  Leone, Singapore, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor -Leste, Uganda, Vanuatu, Viet  Nam, 
and Zambia.  
STOPFakes.gov  
The Department of Commerce 's International Trade Administration 's Office of Standards and 
Intellectual Property (OSIP) leads the StopFakes.gov programme  including creating resources 
provided on the STOPFakes website ( http://www.stopfakes.gov/ ). The website includes industry 
sector toolkits focused on IP, which provide guidance to US companies seeking to acquire, use, and 
protect copyrights, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets in overseas markets. Additionally, the 
STOPFakes website includes 79 IP Snapshot s which provide IP information about a foreign country 
and numerous country IP toolkits with detailed insight focused on IP protections in foreign markets. 
The STOPFakes Roadshows/Webinars are designed to assist businesses with IP outreach and 
education in cluding the dangers presented by counterfeits. For example, OSIP recently presented to 
several hundred businesses focused on IP via a trade association webinar.  
OSIP provides IP business guidance and insight for entities as they seek to expand their 
oppor tunities for exporting. Further, OSIP participated as a panelist on webinars for businesses and 
consumers seeking to provide IP information for a variety of audiences.  
TRADE AND INVESTMENT POLICY, CAPACITY -BUILDING, AND INCENTIVES  
Because most technology is developed and owned by the private sector, technology transfers 
are often private sector decisions. Technology transfer should not be required as a precondition for 
investment.  
Investment and Trade Policy Negotiations  
US bilateral and multilateral free  trade agreements aim to improve the protection and 
enforcement of IP, thereby improving environments for foreign investment and technology transfer 
often associated therewith.  IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 14 - 
 
  
Bilateral Investment Treaties  
US bilateral investment treaties (BITs) establish  a framework of reciprocal protections that 
include the free transfer of investment -related funds, investor -state dispute arbitration rights, 
limitations on specified performance requirements, non -discriminatory treatment, protection against 
expropriation,  and transparency in governance. These treaties improve the climate for FDI in partner 
countries that can lead to the transfer of technology and know -how. To date, the United States has 
signed five BITs with WTO Member LDCs: Bangladesh, Democratic Republic  of the Congo, 
Mozambique, Rwanda, and Senegal.  
Trade and Investment Framework Agreements  
USTR -negotiated Trade and Investment Framework Agreements (TIFAs) enhance trade 
relations between the United States and other countries. Over the last several years,  the United 
States has launched 12 trade and investment agreements in Sub -Saharan Africa, including three 
bilateral TIFAs with LDCs: Angola, Liberia, Mozambique, and Rwanda. Additionally, the United States 
has launched regional TIFAs with the Common Market  for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), 
East African Community (EAC), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and 
West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA); and a Trade, Investment, and Development 
Cooperative Agreement with the f ive countries of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). The 
United States also has bilateral agreements with several LDCs outside of Sub -Saharan Africa, 
including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, and Yemen, as well as 
with AS EAN and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Together, these agreements cover 30 WTO 
LDC Members: Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, 
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, L ao PDR, 
Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, 
Sierra  Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Yemen, and Zambia (see https:// ustr.gov/trade -
agreements/trade -investment -framework -agreements/ ).  
The United States views trade as an effective means to encourage broad -based economic 
development. Trade constitutes an important means of sustaining momentum for economic reform 
and liber alization. It affords developing countries access to technologies that would otherwise be 
difficult to obtain, and simultaneously opens new market opportunities for US companies.  
Trade Preference Program mes 
US Generalized System of Preferences Program me 
The US Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programme , established in 1976, promotes 
economic development by providing duty -free access to the US market for a wide range of products 
from developing countries. GSP promotes sustainable development in benefi ciary countries via trade 
with the United States. The programme  is periodically re -authorized by Congress and has lapsed as 
of 31 December 2020. GSP benefited 119 developing countries and territories during 
October -December 2020 and provided special, addit ional benefits for products from 31 least  
developed WTO Member beneficiary countries. Nearly 5,000 types of products were eligible for 
duty-free treatment under GSP, including most manufactured products (except apparel and 
footwear), agricultural and fishe ry products, consumer products, chemicals, minerals, and building 
materials (see https://ustr.gov/issue -areas/trade -development/preference -programs/generalized -
system -preference -gsp). 
African Growth and Opportunity Act  
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) expands US -Africa trade and investment, by 
promoting open markets, stimu lating economic growth, and encouraging sub -Saharan Africa 's 
integration into the global economy, while supporting progress toward good governance, poverty 
reduction, and respect for human rights through its eligibility criteria. Since the enactment of AGO A 
in May 2000, the United States has worked closely with African governments, the private sector, 
and civil society stakeholders to help them make the most of AGOA 's trade benefits. In 2015, the 
US Congress renewed the AGOA legislation for its longest exte nsion period to date, through 2025. 
The US government has actively promoted AGOA throughout Africa, developing trade 
capacity -building programme s to help African governments and both African and US firms to identify IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 15 - 
 
  and develop new market opportunities thr ough AGOA (see https://agoa.info/about -agoa/ ). As of 
July 2021, 39  countries are eligible for AGOA:  Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, 
Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Cote d 'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, 
eSwatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, 
Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, 
Rwanda (limited benefits), Sa o Tome & Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, 
Togo, Uganda, and Zambia.  
Programming from the US Trade and Development Agency  
The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) connects the US private sector with 
infrastructure projects in developing and middle -income countries. USTDA also supports overseas 
infrastructure development by funding feasibility studies, technical assistance and pilot projects. 
These early -stage preparation activities lay the groundwork for projects to attract fin ancing and 
reach implementation.  
Recognizing the importance of trade to the economic growth of LDCs, USTDA works closely with 
its US government partners, as well as regional and multilateral development banks, to develop 
trade capacity and apply private -sector solutions to development challenges around the world. As of 
12 August 2021, USTDA has approved USD 4,935,956 in appropriated funds and USD 606,350 in 
transfer funds from the US Department of State in FY 2021 to support assistance activities that 
enhan ce increased trade and investment in LDCs.  
USTDA Reverse Trade Missions - FY 2020 -2021  
Another example of USTDA 's commitment to promoting and encouraging technology transfer to 
LDCs is through reverse trade missions (RTMs). RTMs bring key foreign decision makers to the 
United States to observe the design, manufacture, and operation of US equipment and technologies 
in advance of major procurements. In FY 2020, USTDA approved funding for an RTM of delegates 
from Bangladeshi entities responsible for the develo pment and maintenance of the country 's inland 
waterways and water resources. This complements the Bangladeshi government 's existing plans, 
and the RTM will familiarize delegates with the best practices and advanced technologies of US firms 
for dredging and  inland waterway management. This activity has been paused during the COVID -19 
pandemic and will resume once travel restrictions are lifted.  
Country Projects  
USAID Innovations for Social Accountability in Cambodia (ISAC) Activity  
The ISAC activity uses t echnology to expand and enhance citizen engagement on issues of 
pressing concern for the Cambodian public through increased access to credible information, 
strengthens coalitions for collective actions, improves evidence -based policy analysis and dialogue,  
and develops effective social accountability tools using cutting edge information and communications 
technologies (ICT) in order to provide citizens with venues in which to hold the Cambodian 
government accountable. ISAC has four objectives:  
a. Improved inf ormation access to government decisions and processes, and the planning, 
spending, and investment of public funds;  
b. Increased citizen participation and collective initiative to increase accountability for public 
services;  
c. Increased utilization of new or e xisting technologies, enabling citizen engagement to increase 
accountability for public services;  
d. Education and outreach to raise awareness of accountability and integrity in public 
Administration.  
ISAC supported its six local Implementation Partners (IPs ) to customize and roll out digital tools 
and create digital content to improve citizen engagement and knowledge on social accountability. 
With ISAC 's support, the IPs introduced digital tools into their activities to do online Information for 
Citizens  (I4C) dissemination and meetings, especially during the COVID -19 pandemic, which IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 16 - 
 
  restricted large gatherings of people and traveling. Thousands of citizens learned about civic rights, 
standard services, and local government performance and budget in the areas  of primary school 
education, health centres , and Sangkat administration from these digital tools. Moreover, citizens 
lodged complaints about public services directly in these digital tools for local authorities to address. 
ISAC saw an increase in the user  uptake of the digital tools therefore more citizens are now receiving 
I4C information through the digital tools and have learned about their civic rights and enhanced 
skills resulting into them being more confident to engage with local authorities and dem and better 
service delivery.  
USAID Promoting Advocacy and Rights – Bangladesh  
The USAID -supported Promoting Advocacy and Rights (PAR) activity helps civil society address 
challenges they face in the digital space and strengthen civil society 's ability to reinforce broader 
democratic values and institutions that help support political pluralism and the rule of law. Select 
Bangladeshi civil society organizations (CSOs) and five PAR grantees are anticipated to receive 
advanced information, digital safety tool s such as software installation support, a user -friendly 
manual on the Digital Security Act, and necessary skills to navigate through the digital space. As a 
result, CSOs and grantees that received PAR support will be able to roll out training knowledge to  
vulnerable populations such as women 's groups, gender minorities and other marginalized 
populations.  These interventions benefit from collaboration with the USAID 's Greater Internet 
Freedom (GIF) Project and USAID 's Illuminating New Solutions and Programm atic Innovations for 
Resilient Spaces (INSPIRES) project.  
NGO Official Lauds PAR  
When discussing the PAR project launch of the CS Legal Manual App, the Bangladesh NGO 
Affairs Bureau (NGOAB) Director General said, "What it does - it opens up a door of oppo rtunity for 
millions of people to access legal information, that would be otherwise forced to get through printed 
manuals when we know that the digital wave is the wave of the future, so it 's important to have the 
digital access. " 
International Cybersecuri ty Seminar – Burkina Faso and Other Countries  
US Embassy Ouagadougou in June 2021 partnered with Germany and the George C. Marshall 
European Center for Security Studies to sponsor an international cybersecurity seminar for Burkina 
Faso and other African pa rtners. The Embassy nominated three Burkinabe officials covering 
cybersecurity and information services portfolios for the seminar. The training allowed our Burkinabe 
partners to gain insights into the Framework for Responsible State Behavior in Cyberspace , in 
particular on the value of implementing confidence building measures (CBMs) to reduce the risk of 
misperception that results from cyber disruptions. It also allowed for our Burkinabe partners to 
interact with other partners and to learn from one anoth er by sharing information, best practices, 
and experiences.  
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMING AND INCENTIVES THROUGH PRIVATE SECTOR MODELS  
Through the use of the public -private partnership (PPP) model, US development agencies have 
gained additional financial resour ces for development activities, as well as new technologies, 
intellectual capital, and technical and managerial expertise that address emerging development 
challenges.  
Development Assistance Programming from the Millennium Challenge Corporation 
(MCC)  
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a US government corporation that forms 
partnerships with some of the world 's poorest countries, but only those committed to good 
governance, economic freedom, and investments in their citizens. MCC provides cou ntries with 
large-scale grants to fund country -led solutions for achieving its mission of reducing poverty through 
sustainable economic growth. MCC has approved over USD 14 billion in compact and threshold 
programme s worldwide that support projects in energy, agriculture and irrigation, anticorruption, 
business environment improvements, education, health, enterprise development, finance, land 
rights, trade and transport, and water supply and sanitation initiatives. M CC is currently 
implementing compact or threshold programme s with six WTO LDC Members: Benin, Burkina Faso, IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 17 - 
 
  Nepal, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. Currently, MCC is developing new programme s with The Gambia, 
Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Solomon Islands (see http://www.mcc.gov/ ). 
MCC Togo Threshold Program me 
MCC's Togo Threshold Program me entered into force in November 2020 and includes a 
USD 20.5 million Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Project de signed to improve 
citizens ' access to high quality and affordable ICT services —both mobile phone services and 
internet —by encouraging private sector investment, developing an independent regulatory regime, 
expanding service to underserved areas, and increa sing the use of ICT among women and small 
businesses.  
Prime Minister Lauds MCC  
Commenting on the project, the Togo Prime Minister said, "The two areas covered by the 
threshold programme , namely land and information and communication technologies, are very 
important areas and part of a major reform programme  initiated by our own country. We are 
delighted to have taken in hand these areas that you have identified and which are part of our 
partnership namely the MCC partnership. " 
MCC Power Compact  – Benin  
The USD 375 million Benin Power Compact entered into force on 22 June 2017 and is expected 
to complete in FY 2022. The compact seeks to unlock private investment by supporting policy 
reforms and investing in electricity generation, distribution, and off -grid electrification to increase 
business and household access to reliable electricity. The compact includes a strong emphasis on 
strengthening the independence and management of Benin 's national utility, reforming electricity 
tariffs, developing an Independent  Power Producer framework, and creating policies to enable 
off-grid electrification. The compact is modernizing Benin 's electricity distribution infrastructure to 
reduce losses, improve reliability, reduce outages, and accommodate rapidly growing demand. O ver 
a twenty -year period, an estimated 10.6 million Beninese are expected to benefit from MCC 's 
investment.  
Minister Praises MCC  
Praising the MCC project in Benin, Minister of Energy Dona Jean -Claude Houssou said "[MCC 's 
Electricity Distribution Project]  is historic, inspirational and the first of its kind in Benin…These works, 
which are the result of exceptional preparations, align with the Government 's Action Program me and 
will considerably improve the quality and demand management of electric power for  the next 20 to 
30 years. Thanks to MCA -Benin II, a robust electricity distribution system is becoming a reality. " 
MCC Power Compact – Burkina Faso  
The Government of Burkina Faso signed the five year, USD 500 million Burkina Faso II Power 
Compact on 13 August 2020. The compact is designed to address the high cost, low quality, and 
limited access to electricity. The compact consists of three related projects that also align with the 
Government 's national socio -economic development priorities, and collectivel y contribute to 
increasing the supply and quality of, and expanding access to and the consumption of, cost -effective 
electricity. The Strengthening Electricity Sector Effectiveness Project focuses on energy sector 
reforms and capacity -building  of key state  actors in the sector. The other two projects aim to make 
improvements to energy infrastructure: The Cost -Effective and Reliable Electricity Supply Project 
(Supply Project), and the Grid Development and Access Project. The Supply Project will support 
activities to facilitate new solar Independent Power Producer (IPP) deals, targeted infrastructure 
improvements and equipment to improve reliability, and new equipment and studies to foster 
improved regional integration for electricity imports. The Grid Develop ment and Access Project 
supports transmission and distribution infrastructure in and between Ouagadougou and Bobo -
Dioulasso (which account for more than 80 % of total electricity consumed in Burkina Faso), as well 
as activities to facilitate new electricity  connections for households, business, and social institutions 
and to increase productive uses of electricity.  IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 18 - 
 
  
MCC Niger Compact  
The five -year, USD 437 million Niger Compact entered into force on 26 January 2018. The 
compact addresses two major constraints to economic growth and investment in Niger: lack of 
access to water for productive uses, and physical access and institutional barriers to trade. In 
partnership with the Government of Niger, the com pact is increasing rural incomes by improving the 
sustainable, productive use of natural resources for agricultural production and improving trade and 
market access for agricultural products. The compact is expected to benefit approximately 3.9 million 
people. In February 2019, Radar Technologies International (RTI), in partnership with 
representatives from the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), contracted with Millennium 
Challenge Account – Niger (MCA -Niger) to conduct a remote sensing and hydrological  analysis of 
260,000 km2 of Niger 's ground water basin. The purpose of this work was to map out aquifer 
recharge potential across the study area and to develop models to verify those findings and 
demonstrate their sustainable rate of use. MCA -Niger coordin ated the technical oversight of these 
studies through a working group comprised of experts from ministries, universities, and the private 
sector responsible for managing Niger 's groundwater resources. This same working group will benefit 
from formal techni cal training led by UNLV representatives over the course of the coming year to 
ensure that the results and underlying science of these complex studies are fully understood and 
appropriately integrated into Niger 's groundwater management planning and polici es. 
MCC Power Compact – Senegal   
The Government of Senegal signed the five -year, USD 600 million Senegal II Power Compact 
on 10 December 2018. The compact is designed to strengthen Senegal 's power sector, by increasing 
reliability and access to electricity , and aims to help the Government of Senegal establish a modern 
and efficient foundation upon which the nation 's power system can grow. One project supports 
energy sector policy and institutional and regulatory reform through robust sectoral training and 
technical assistance programme s, as well as through a performance incentive programme  which will 
employ a results -based financing approach. The compact also allows for an upgrade of the 
high-voltage transmission network in and around Dakar through a second project, allowing for 
deployment of grid stabilization technology and installation of what is expected to be the longest 
subsea electric cable in Senegal. Another project will benefit the energy sector through the expansion 
of rural electricity access thro ugh distribution network upgrades and enhancements to consumer -
side elements. Ensuring consistent and affordable access to energy in Senegal will allow businesses 
to grow, catalyse  private sector investment, increase productivity and employment, and ultima tely 
support diversification and growth of Senegal 's economy.  
Global Development Alliance Model  
Since 2001, Global Development Alliances (GDAs) have been USAID 's premier model for 
public -private partnerships, helping to improve the social and economic cond itions in developing 
countries and deepen USAID 's development impact. As the private sector plays an increasingly 
critical role in shaping sustainable economic and social development, USAID continues to engage 
corporations, local businesses, financial inst itutions, investment firms, private foundations and 
others as core partners in our efforts to drive economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve 
business outcomes in developing countries. In addition to a strong and essential focus on 
development impact, G DAs have several other core characteristics, including:  
a. Based on complementary interests and objectives;  
b. Market -based approaches and solutions;  
c. Extensive co -creation and shared responsibility; and  
d. Private sector contributions for increased impact.  
Country Projects  
US Technology for Energy Access and Minigrid Development – Benin  
In FY 2021, USTDA funded technical assistance to provide a proof of concept for a US -made 
digitalized system for solar minigrid management in Benin. The project is anticipat ed to support 
economic development and greater social and economic inclusion by generating new renewable IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 19 - 
 
  energy and providing energy access to thousands of people living in rural communities in Benin. The 
activity was obligated in FY 2021 and is estimated to be completed by April 2022.  
Regional Sub -Saharan Africa: Affordable Internet Expansion in Southern Africa - 
Democratic Republic of Congo; Mozambique  
USTDA approved funding for a feasibility study that will assess the economic and technical 
viability of expanding connectivity infrastructure in South Africa, Eswatini, Botswana, Mozambique, 
and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The study will support the expansion of affordable 
internet connections to rural areas in the target countries utilizing wirele ss technologies to lower the 
cost of international data transit. US firm Connectivity Capital (San Francisco, CA) will carry out the 
study. This activity was reserved in FY 2021.  
East Africa Enterprise Solutions – Uganda  
USTDA funded a feasibility study t o help SEACOM Limited (a regional submarine 
communications cable operator) expand and improve access to telecommunications services in 
Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania. USTDA 's study will help determine where to expand ICT 
infrastructure in East Africa,  assess the market for fibre telecommunications services, and 
recommend potential investments in areas including fibre optic cabling and network equipment. The 
feasibility study is underway and is approximately halfway completed.  
Private Sector Praises UST DA 
SEACOM 's Chief Development Officer Suveer Ramdhani said, "USTDA has been a valued partner 
to SEACOM since its early beginnings and has been fundamental to the launch and growth of the 
Internet in Africa. " 
Sukaabe Janngo – Senegal  
USDA -Foreign Agricultu re Service funded the McGovern -Dole project that was implemented by 
Counterpart International. The objectives of the programme  are to: increase the number of students 
and attendance rates by providing nutritious daily school meals for preschool and primary  school 
students; improve health and dietary practices by providing access to deworming medications and 
increasing knowledge of safe food preparation and storage practices; improve school infrastructure 
and increase access to clean water and sanitation by rehabilitating latrines and water station 
systems; and improve the literacy of school -age children through the provision of improved quality 
of literacy instructional materials. The project also seeks to increase the capacity of government 
personnel to gui de, implement, and maintain school feeding programme s; and to increase 
engagement of local organizations and community groups to build capacity and establish 
Sustainability Action Plans (SAPs).  In response to the COVID -19 pandemic, USDA authorized 
distribu tion of 420 metric tons of food as emergency take -home rations to 47,767 McGovern -Dole 
students.  USDA also donated deworming and vitamin A medication to the Regional Health Services 
for 55,000 vulnerable children under the age of five, including 5,740 McGo vern-Dole preschool 
children. Through the provision of nutritious daily school meals and deworming medications for 
preschool and primary school students, improved quality of literacy instructional materials, and 
increased knowledge of safe food preparation  and storage practices, Sukaabe Janngo has improved 
student literacy and increased student use of appropriate health, nutrition, and dietary practices.  
ASTER – Burkina Faso  
USAID provides assistance to the Government of Burkina Faso to improve and secure a ccess to 
land for vulnerable people in the nation 's Center North, Sahel, and the East regions. Since 2019, 
USAID has supported the establishment, staffing, and effective operation of rural land tenure service 
offices and village land tenure councils throug h ASTER, the USAID land tenure security activity. 
Implemented by the National Land Observatory (ONF -BF), a local organization mandated by the 
government to improve the land tenure situation in Burkina Faso, ASTER works to facilitate delivery 
of land proper ty rights certificates through the use of the Mobile Application to Secure Tenure (MAST 
technology) and to improve the arbitration and mitigation of conflicts arising over land. USAID 
developed the Mobile Application to Secure Tenure (MAST), a smartphone a pplication that improves 
efficiencies and reduces time and costs associated with land titling and mapping in rural areas. With 
the MAST technology, the land tenure agents in the Boudry pilot commune were able to record 2,638 IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 20 - 
 
  plots in 25 days compared to th e 100 plots that was the maximum record made within a month by 
the same agents. This contributes to an enabling environment for long -term investment in land to 
improve agricultural productivity and enhance sustainable livelihoods. The National Land 
Observa tory estimated that the number of Land Property Rights Certificates (APFRs) processed and 
issued using MAST in the pilot commune surpassed the total number of APFRs issued in the past 
four years across all other communes in Burkina Faso. Based on these suc cessful results achieved, 
USAID extended the use of MAST in 27 additional communes of the Resilience zone through ASTER. 
USAID would like to see the Government of Burkina Faso adopt the MAST technology and expand 
its implementation in other parts of Burkin a Faso.  
PROGRAM MES AND INCENTIVES RELATED TO AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND 
FOOD SAFETY AND SECURITY  
Agricultural Technology Transfer Programming from the USDA  
To facilitate technology transfer, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) uses contractual 
instru ments such as Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs), invention 
licenses, and material transfer agreements, and supports public dissemination of research results. 
USDA pursues patent protection and licensing only when a private sector par tner is needed for 
effective technology transfer. Generally, this occurs when the complementary assets needed to 
manufacture, market, and distribute a new technology are provided by a commercial partner that 
must protect its investment. The USDA annual rep ort on technology transfer provides details about 
the mechanisms used for technology transfer and types of technologies transferred (see 
https://www.ars.usda.gov/ott/technology -transfer -annual -report/ ). 
Agricultural Technology Transfer Programming from the ARS  
By sharing knowledge and technology through close collaboration with national and 
international research institutions to increase research capacity and speed technology development, 
USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) transfers technology and enhances  international trade 
and diplomacy (see https://www.ars.usda.gov/ott/technology -transfer -annual -report/ ). 
Feed the Future Initiative (FTF)  
FTF is the primary US global hunger a nd food security initiative. It supports country -driven 
approaches to address the root causes of hunger and poverty in target countries: Bangladesh, 
Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Mali, Nepal, Nigeria, Senegal, and Uganda. Through 
this initia tive, the United States helps countries transform their agricultural sectors to grow enough 
food sustainably to feed their people and build resilience to shocks like drought or extreme weather. 
As a result, food aid can be used for unforeseen catastrophes rather than for chronic food insecurity 
or predictable cycles of drought or flooding. Technical experts in nutrition have been brought 
together from agencies including ARS and USAID, and from the private sector, to guide and 
coordinate efforts around food security (see https://www.usaid.gov/what -we-do/agriculture -and-
food-security/increasing -food-security -through -feed-future ). FTF cata lyzes technology transfer 
through agricultural -led economic growth and development by bridging the gap between innovative 
agricultural productivity solutions and sustainable market demand; improving the enabling 
environment for market led growth; and linki ng large commercial institutions with smallholder 
partners.  
Digital Development for FTF (D2FTF)  
D2FTF is a collaboration between the USAID Global Development Lab and Bureau for Food 
Security to demonstrate how leveraging digital technology holistically an d according to best practices 
can improve the cost effectiveness and development results of the US government 's FTF Initiative. 
D2FTF is focused on four categories of digital tools, based on evidence of their impact:  
a. precision agriculture (including sensor technology);  
b. digital financial services;  
c. data-driven agriculture; and  IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 21 - 
 
  d. ICT-enabled extension.  
D2FTF is scaling the use of these tools in LDCs through various methods of engagement 
including: technical assistance to FTF programme s, capaci ty-building  for FTF teams, and 
strengthening the knowledge base on best practices. The programme  is focused primarily on FTF 
target countries.   
FTF - Mboga na Matunda – Tanzania  
The purpose of Mboga na Matunda is to increase the competitiveness and inclus iveness of the 
horticulture sector, while improving the nutritional status of Tanzanians through:  
a. scaling improved technologies and practices that lead to increased productivity of 
smallholders, including large numbers of women and youth, in targeted comm odities;  
b. scaling market system models able to reach large numbers of direct and indirect 
beneficiaries, including vulnerable populations, while increasing trade for targeted 
commodities; and  
c. strengthening the overall capacity of the industry.  
 Interventi ons encourage the adoption of innovations at the farm level, and efficient business 
models at the market level will create a more broad -based distribution of benefits all along the chain, 
including the smallholder, particularly women. The activity seeks to  increase the productivity and 
profitability of horticultural value chains for 447,000 targeted beneficiaries, comprising 50 % women 
and 30 % youth. The activity is using a market systems approach to deliver technical support and 
encourage the adoption of fa rm-level innovations like improved technologies, farming practices, and 
efficient business models. To foster the sustainable competitiveness of the horticulture sector, the 
activity has worked with local partners including private sector entities and publi c extension officers. 
Mboga na Matunda will run from January 2017 to June 2022.  
Government Official and Farmer Praise FTFT -MnM 
Joyce Basibasi, GEO [government extension officer] at Maendeleo said, "FTFT-MnM is very 
helpful to GEOs. It helps us connect wit h more farmers so we can provide them with necessary 
farming services that help them prevail in their businesses " (see 
https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00WP5B.pdf ;  https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00XCC8.pdf ). 
The owner of a farm market stall, Christom Kachima, says the stall he used in the past contributed 
greatly to the deterioration of his produce, and reduced his profits because the p roducts were placed 
on top of each other in a pile that increased pressure points, caused damage, and reduced air 
circulation. "The new stall is a game changer in local markets in terms of both consumption and 
business growth. My business is constantly sur rounded by customers, helping to improve my income. 
Currently, I earn USD 180 a day, an increase of USD 50 per day compared to what I was making 
previously, " said Kachima. The market stall initiative is one of among many other market facilitation 
support e fforts by the USAID FTFT -MnM activity to promote the consumption of nutrient -rich crops 
in local communities.   
FTF Bangladesh Livestock Production for Improved Nutrition – Bangladesh  
The goal of the Feed the Future Bangladesh Livestock Production for Impr oved Nutrition 
activity is to improve the utilization of livestock products by rural households through increased 
livestock productivity. The USAID activity provides technical assistance in the cultivation of 
high-yielding species of pasture crops and in l ivestock management practices and technologies for 
improving livestock productivity. Thus, with increased productivity, rural households get access to 
hygienic, diverse, and quality food resulting in improved household nutrition.  
The programme  ended on 14 June 2021. Over the past six years, the programme  supported 
nearly 180,000 farm families providing improved access to livestock services, technologies, finance, 
and market linkages which resulted in significantly higher income and improved nutrition for rural 
Bangladeshis. Among participating households,  milk and meat production increased by 233 % and 
188% respectively, thereby dramatically increasing the availability of nutrient -rich foods among rural 
families. The percentage of households consuming meat and milk on a regular basis went up by 
40%. At the same time, the contribution of livestock to total household income increased by 141 %. IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 22 - 
 
  Over 2000 livestock service providers have been trained to continue supporting livestock farmers, 
complementing government extension agents. To achieve these phenomenal r esults, USAID 
collaborated closely with the private sector and financial institutions, leveraging over USD 1.3 million 
in investment, making available over 3,000 metric tons of improved cattle feed to smallholder 
farmers, and accessing over USD 3.1 million  in credit to farmers and small and medium enterprises.  
FTF Harvest II – Cambodia  
The programme  works with the private sector to catalyse  partnerships between agricultural 
producers, buyers, and distributors, with the goal of accelerating the growth of th e commercial 
horticulture sector. The objectives of the programme  are to:  
a. increase the capacity of farmer organizations and private sector to better engage in the 
market to increase both profitability of farming and investment into the sector;  
b. facilitate coordination of efforts, investment, and private sector engagement (including the 
provision of technical assistance) along the vegetable value chain;  
c. remove obstacles to market access for commercial horticulture crops in order to create job 
opportunities and increase rural on - and off -farm incomes; and  
d. strengthen Cambodia 's commercial horticulture value chain so that farmers and other 
entrepreneurs are better equipped, not only to increase production, but to effectively 
compete in the local and regional m arkets.  
Over the past four years, Harvest II has worked with 7,200 market actors in the horticulture 
sector, of which 54 % were women and 27 % were youth. Harvest II helped build the business skills 
of a number of local small and medium enterprises and producer organizations and promoted export 
growth in regional and international markets. As a result, Harvest II assisted market actors in 
generat ing USD 51.5 million in sales, leveraged USD 14.2 million in private capital investment, and 
created 1,870 new jobs. The programme  is scheduled to complete in July 2021.  
Government Official Lauds FTF  
Kean Sophea, Director of the Department of Horticulture and Subsidiary Crops at the Ministry 
of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said, "Previously, there was no national policy for the 
horticulture sector, so there is no concrete road map, which has made the implementation of policy 
in this sector challengi ng." He added that it is also difficult to attract the investors needed for sector 
growth as Cambodia does not have policy support in place. Sophea also noted that incentives to 
encourage investment in irrigation systems and infrastructure are also include d in the policy as a 
means of hastening growth. "This policy will support, offer guidance and identify a roadmap that 
adds clarity to the path ahead for the Kingdom 's horticulture sector. It is in the draft stage and, once 
completed, will be submitted to t he Minister of Agriculture and other relevant ministries for additional 
input."  
FTF DRC Strengthening Value Chains (SVC) Program me – 
Democratic  Republic  of Congo  
With a budget of USD 23 million, the purpose of the programme  is to increase household 
income s and access to nutrient rich crops by linking small -holder farmers to strengthened and 
inclusive value chains and supportive market services. SVC applies a nutrition -sensitive value chain 
and market systems development approach to strengthen nutritional c rops (beans and soybean) 
and specialty coffee value chain development in South Kivu. SVC works with the Government of DRC 
(Ministry of Agriculture, civil society organizations, and the private sector) to build the capacity of 
vertical and horizontal actors  working within targeted value chains. The programme  is scheduled to 
run for five years and complete in FY 2022.  
FTF "Hinga Weze " – Rwanda  
Through the "Hinga Weze " project, USAID promoted irrigation technologies using solar pumps 
and digital tools in agric ultural inputs management.  The project made post -harvest technologies 
easily accessible to farmers and reached its targets through:  IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 23 - 
 
  a. Small scale irrigation technology using solar pumps supported irrigation of 200 ha of land. 
Targeted crops included high -iron beans and maize, along with watermelons, chilis, onions, 
cabbages, and French beans. The use of solar energy for the pumps was a major step forward 
for sustainability of irrigation, since with no diesel costs for farmers there was more 
acceptance of the system over the long -term.  
b. A supply chain management system that allowed for end -to-end digitization of an agro -input 
subsidy programme . Currently, over 1,400,000 farmers are registered on the platform, 
500,000 of whom are farmers located in 10 Hinga Weze districts.  
c. Via the Kumwe Harvest "Cob Model, " farmers sold maize cobs immediately after harvest for 
eventual sale to a processor. Since the project started in early 2019, it has served 42,000 
farmers across Rwanda, 15,125 of whom are from Hinga Weze districts. Using the granted 
equipment, Kumwe Harvest eliminated post -harvest losses for these farmers, reduced grains 
rejections due to aflatoxin contamination from 90 % to below 1 %, and processed over 16,000 
MT of high -quality local maize in 16 months, ul timately providing farmers with reliable access 
to high -value markets.  
FTF – Burkina Faso  
USAID supported the Feed the Future innovation labs on various agriculture research through 
the local organization Inera and multiple US universities. Through the Inn ovation Lab for Legume 
Systems Research Projects with Michigan State University, USAID worked on research towards 
minimizing insect pests that can severely impact cowpea cropping systems. USAID also developed 
and deployed climate -resilient, environmentally  friendly, and economically profitable integrated pest 
management approaches and tools. The aid organization also increased the understanding of the 
unanticipated consequences of fertilizer subsidies on the cowpea value chain in Burkina Faso.  
NASA/USAID SE RVIR Program me 
A joint development initiative of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 
and USAID, SERVIR ( https://servirglobal.net/ ) worked in partnership with leading regional 
organizations worl dwide to help developing countries use information provided by Earth observing 
satellites and geospatial technologies. SERVIR 's tools, products, and services empowered decision 
makers to better address critical development issues including food security. S ERVIR 's food security 
thematic service area included agriculture, rangeland management and pastoralism, and fisheries 
and aquaculture, particularly through the lens of adaptation to increasing environmental extremes. 
Key topics included linking agricultura l productivity assessments, crop yield models, and use of 
climate scenarios for assessing impacts.  
SERVIR connected space to village by helping developing countries use satellite data to 
address not only critical challenges in food security, but also in w ater resources, weather and climate, 
land use, and natural disasters. SERVIR developed innovative solutions to improve livelihoods and 
foster self -reliance in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. USAID brought the users; USAID 's development 
expertise and field presence in 100 countries provided the connections and local partnerships with 
local, national and regional stakeholders. NASA brought the science; with 19 research collaborator 
teams located in 14 states across the United States, and more than 20 satellit es with free and open 
data, NASA focused on ways to leverage US science to replicate successes and innovate around the 
world. NASA also worked hand in hand with developing country organizations and scientists to leave 
behind increased technical capacity an d societal benefit. Today, SERVIR is improving awareness, 
increasing access to information, and supporting analysis to help people in West Africa, Eastern and 
Southern Africa, Hindu Kush Himalaya, the Lower Mekong, South America, and Mesoamerica manage 
challenges in the areas of food security, water resources, land use change, and natural disasters. 
With activities in more than 45 countries and counting, SERVIR has already developed over 70 
custom tools, collaborated with over 250 institutions, and trained more than 3,000 individuals, 
improving the capacity to develop local solutions (see https://www.servirglobal.net/ ).  
SERVIR Mekong – Cambodia  
This programme  supported the ongoing development and implementation of the SERVIR 
Mekong geospatial platform, managed by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center. This platform 
helped NGOs and government institutions improve environmental management and resilience to IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 24 - 
 
  climate change in the Lower Mekong region through the increased application of geospatial analysis 
to critical, urgent, or common policy and planning needs.  
SERVIR -Mekong worked hand in hand with the USAID Greening Prey Lang activity to enhance 
the developmen t and implementation of the Cambodia Environmental Information Monitoring 
System (CEMIS). The programme  also supported capacity development and training for the Ministry 
of Environment, academia, and NGOs on how to use tools and apply remote sensing techno logies to 
monitor forest cover and landscape management.  
According to Matthew Edwardsen, Chief of Party for USAID Greening Prey Lang, "Discussions 
around deforestation in Cambodia tend to focus on the illegal timber trade, which, while an extremely 
serious  problem, it is not the greatest cause of forest loss. What we are seeing is widespread illegal 
forest clearance for agriculture that is driven by land speculation. Early identification of these 
clearings and permanent expulsion of illegal farmers from the m must occur if we want to see a 
decrease in the deforestation trends in the protected areas where we are working. " To address some 
of these problems SERVIR Mekong developed the Cambodia Protected Area Alerts System. This 
system monitors near real -time for est changes and external threats such as forest fires within the 
Prey Lang Extended Landscape. The Cambodia Protected Area Alerts System is a key component of 
the Protected Area Monitoring Platform, launched recently by Cambodia 's Ministry of Environment, 
which integrates ground -based and remotely sensed data to improve the efficiency and effectiveness 
of law enforcement and conservation activities.  
Linking Infrastructure, Finance, and Farms to Cashew (LIFFT) – Senegal, The 
Gambia, Guinea -Bissau (SeGaBi)  
USDA-FAS's Food for Progress (FFPr) project implemented by Shelter for Life (SFL) and 
Connexus Corporation aims to improve the marketing of raw cashew nuts and other cashew products 
in local and international markets through value chain improvement. During F Y 2017 -2023, the 
programme 's objectives are:  
a. Increase quality of raw cashew nuts (RCN) by organizing and building the capacity of farmers 
to improve on -farm and post -harvest practices, and increase bargaining power;  
b. Increase processing of RCN within SeGaBi region by increasing access to financial services, 
capacity -building , and upgrading value chain linkages;  
c. Promote the collective sale of RCN by developing and upgrading value chain linkages 
necessary to support an i ntegrated regional trade network, which includes creating durable 
market infrastructure and improved access to markets for value chain actors;  
d. Improve or maintain raw cashew nut quality at 52 -54 lbs.  
The programme  has already reached three of its targets by strengthening 
associations/cooperatives, increasing collective sales of raw cashew nuts to 100,000 tons, and 
increasing raw nut processing capacity by an additional 30,000 tons per year in target countries.  
Country Projects  
Strengthening Household Abil ities for Responding to Development Opportunities 
III (SHOUHARDO III), SHOUHARDO (meaning "friendship ") – Bangladesh  
USAID, in partnership with Regional Integrated Multi -Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES), 
has planned for the improvement of flood forecast  lead time and generation of upazila (subdistrict 
or administrative region) specific weather forecasts, forecast based advisories for Agriculture, 
Livestock and Disaster Management sectors. The activity has been working for operationalizing 
location specif ic weather forecasts for upazila level and this forecast data has used a visually intuitive 
format through iconography. As a result of these initiatives and technology transfer, the communities 
will have better preparedness and location specific informatio n to reduce loss of life and assets from 
flood and other related disasters. Started in FY 2015, the activity has already operationalized both 
the system and facilitating the FFWC and BMD to implement the system in the current activity 
operation area and th en scale up throughout the country by FY 2022.  IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 25 - 
 
  
SEMEAR – Mozambique  
SEMEAR is a five -year seed replication project that builds upon years of USAID support to 
applied agricultural research, technology transfer, and related capacity -building . The activity use s 
win-win public -private partnership approaches to disseminate improved legume seeds (more than 
27 varieties of common bean, cowpea, groundnut, pigeon pea and soybean) and complementary 
crop management practices. Most of the new varieties are drought toler ant, resistant to endemic 
pests and diseases, have end -user preferred traits, and show significant increases in yields on 
farmers ' fields. Under the project approximately 10,000 tons of seed will be replicated and 
distributed. The project team reached over  100,000 beneficiaries and facilitated adoption of 
improved technologies on over 193 thousand hectares of land. Female farmers were specifically 
targeted and encouraged to invest in seed production, host field demonstrations, and participate in 
training ac tivities. The project was extended to September 2021.  
RAMA -BC – Mozambique  
USAID 's Resilient Agriculture and Markets Activity (RAMA -BC) programme 's overarching goal 
is to equitably increase agricultural productivity and climate resilience by increasing ado ption of 
resilient agricultural technologies and practices. Over the life of the project, RAMA -BC will implement 
activities under four component areas to increase the adoption of resilient agricultural technologies 
in the Beira corridor. Components 1 and 2  will increase demand by raising awareness and 
demonstrating effectiveness of key technologies and practices, including improved seed conservation 
agriculture (CA) practices and water management and irrigation solutions. Components 3 and 4 will 
support sup ply-side improvements, leading to increased availability, accessibility, and affordability 
of inputs and other technologies, and improved private sector led advisory services.  
The RAMA -BC project has assisted smallholder farmers to apply new and improved 
technologies to 13,037 ha of land for 15,684 farmers. This has led to increased sales by smallholder 
farmer that amount to USD 4.6 million. The project has also managed to establish 1,394 awareness 
events for several stakeholders, including smallholder farm ers, private sector partners, partner 
government entities, and the local universities and agricultural colleges.  
Farmer Praises RAMA -BC 
Commenting on the RAMA -BC project, one local farmer from Mozambique said, "The yield from 
my field has motivated me to w ork harder and teach other farmers to adopt conservation agriculture 
techniques and improve their yield, without using fertilizer or ploughing. It 's clear that we need to 
be patient, because yield improvement occurs from the second season onwards, as can b e seen in 
the first season I reaped 840kg, in the second 1,240kg, and this last season I got 1,505kg from just 
2,500m2 (1/4 ha), what was not possible before from 1 ha and next season I hope to produce even 
more! " 
Water Resources Integration Development In itiative (WARIDI) – Tanzania  
WARIDI promoted integrated water resources management and delivery of services across 
multiple sectors. The goal was to improve water resources management; access to water -supply, 
sanitation, and hygiene services; and climate change adaptation in the Rufiji and Wami -Ruvu water 
basins. WARIDI worked to: 1) increase utilization of sustainable multiple -use water, sanitation, and 
hygiene services; 2) strengthen governance for sustainable and resilient management of water 
resources and services under a changing climate; and 3) increase livelihoods through private sector 
investment opportunities for sustainable water services, agriculture, and natural resources 
management. The programme  ran during January 2016 – March 2021.  
Programme  Officials Praise WARIDI  
Speaking about their project, WARIDI programme  officials reported that they trained Basin 
water officers on how to interpret policies and information on sustainable management of water. 
They also provided modern equipment and software to aid in monitoring the flow of water in various 
rivers and streams which supply major rivers. Program me officers trained staff on how to measure 
and report data, especially in the area of data gathering which has been a major challenge for a  long 
time. One local Basin water official stated, "Our instruments faced difficulties especially in big rivers 
because many of our rivers have ferocious animals such as crocodiles and hippos. As a result of the IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 26 - 
 
  help from WARIDI we have been able to get go od boats that have enabled us to get into the water 
but also instruments that measure faster using modern methods. This has reduced the amount of 
time we use to measure the water flow in the river, but it also reduced the danger of being attacked 
by animal s" (see https://www.globalwaters.org/resources/assets/usaid -water -resources -
management -tanzania ). 
Center of Excellence on Sustainable Agricultural Inten sification and Nutrition (CE 
SAIN) – Cambodia  
Through this programme , USAID established a center of excellence at the Royal University of 
Agriculture (RUA) to ensure research on agriculture innovations is disseminated to farmers, NGOs, 
and the private sect or. The research is meant to meet market and farmer demand for information 
and technology to reduce production costs and increase efficiencies for farmers and agribusinesses, 
and ultimately to reduce poverty. The programme : 
a. established Technology Parks in different agro -hydro -ecological zones and demonstrated 
promising technologies;  
b. strengthened RUA 's capacity to deliver vocational and non -degree training to extension 
professionals, government staff, NGO employees, and farmers;  
c. improved RUA faculty education, research and extension capacity through long and short -
term training;  
d. provided technical exp ertise and research opportunities in the areas of sustainable 
agricultural intensification and nutrition;  
e. empowered farmers, both in the public and private sectors, to shift from conventional 
production systems to profitable soil and ecosystems, enhancing  conservation agriculture 
production system; and  
f. engaged private sector to scale up agriculture services in conservation agriculture practices.  
CE SAIN partnered with 16 US land grant universities to conduct off -farm trials to develop new 
innovative agric ulture technologies in Cambodia over the past five years. The programme  showcased 
approximately 28 innovative agricultural technologies and prepared those technologies for transfer 
to farmers and private businesses. Over 5,000 farmers and private businesse s visited the showcases 
of these new technologies at five CE SAIN technology parks, and over 1,000 ha of farmland were 
cultivated with use of these improved practices. Eight PhD and nine masters degree candidates 
completed post graduate study in Cambodia t hrough support from the CE SAIN scholarship 
programme , and over 1,250 farmers and other stakeholders attended CE SAIN short -term training 
programme s on innovative agriculture technologies.  
Cambodian Minister of Agriculture Lauds CE SAIN  
Cambodia 's Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries remarked that "The Center of 
Excellence on Sustainable Agriculture Intensification and Nutrition (CE SAIN) project is very 
comprehensive, and it will be the model of USAID 's agricultural programming in Cam bodia. " 
USDA Millet Value Chain Project – Senegal  
Protecting Malian Farmers: Testing a Response to the Threat of Fall Armyworm 
Program me – Mali  
USAID/Mali partnered with myAgro to protect Malian farmers and their harvests from the Fall 
Armyworm (FAW). Due  to the COVID -19 pandemic, myAgro changed their in -person farmer group 
agricultural training, and pivoted to focus on video, radio, and telephone training formats to continue 
delivering content to farmers and local planting interns despite the restrictions  imposed by the 
pandemic. In the run -up to Village Farmer Experts (VFE) training and equipping outreach events, 
myAgro updated farmer and VFE training materials, including the development of training videos 
detailing proper insecticide treatment and storag e. As part of their training offerings, myAgro 
produced five videos on peanut, maize, sorghum, and okra cultivation, as well as a video on FAW 
and IPM practices. They posted these videos to their YouTube channel, and shared them with field 
team members, VF Es, and planting interns via WhatsApp. With the videos on their phone, VFEs could IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 27 - 
 
  show or transfer the videos to farmers during their interactions throughout the payment, delivery, 
and planting periods.  
Malian farmers participating in myAgro 's FAW programm e grew 88 % more food than farmers 
in the control group and earned USD 135 of additional income per farmer. MyAgro maize farmers in 
Mali also had an average yield of 2.93 tons per hectare, which was 31 % higher than the average 
yield of the farmers in the co ntrol group.  
Mali Agricultural Integrated Survey (AGRIS) – Cambodia  
During January 2019 and July 2021, this USAID programme  aimed to provide support in 
designing and implementing a customized Cambodia Inter -Censal Agriculture Survey (CIAS) to help 
inform agriculture investment, innovation, and policy to drive changes toward increasing 
sustainability in the agriculture sector. The survey data will ultimately benefit private sector 
agribusiness companies and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheri es. The CIAS collected 
information on crop cultivation, livestock and poultry raising, aquaculture, and capture fishing. The 
survey used statistical methods to select a representative sample of Enumeration Areas (EA) 
throughout Cambodia, from the 2013 Agri culture Census Sampling Frame. Over 400 staff from the 
Provincial Departments of Planning and Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries conducted initial data 
collection between July and November 2019. They completed over 16,000 interviews with household 
and ju ridical (non -household) agricultural holdings.  Authorities continued to use that initial data 
collected in 2019 to help them make better agriculture sector policy decisions in 2021.  
Government Officials Laud AGRISurvey  
The CIAS 2019 was part of the "AGRISu rvey," a multi -year programme  aimed at providing 
quality information to planners and policymakers and building national capacity on best survey 
practices. It was funded by the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC), the United States Agency for 
International D evelopment (USAID), the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United 
Nations), and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Her Excellency Hang Lina, Delegate of Royal 
Government of Cambodia in -charge of Director General of the National Institute of Statistics praised 
the quality of the partnership when she stated: "I wish to thank FAO for giving NIS (National Institute 
of Statistics, Cambodian Ministry of Planning) access to new technologies, which resulted in the first 
national tablet -based data col lection. I also wish to express my gratitude to USAID for their 
significant financial support, which was fundamental in successfully completing the CIAS 2019. " 
Mr. Alexandre Huynh, FAO Representative in Cambodia emphasized that, "The CIAS 2019 helps to 
close the agricultural data gap and will contribute to effective planning, financing, and implementing 
of agricultural development strategies. Timely and quality data will support the RGC to ensure food 
security and mitigate the econ omic impacts of the COVID -19 pandemic in Cambodia. " 
Capacity -building  in Agriculture - Tanzania  
Implemented in collaboration with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Capacity -
building  in Agriculture programme  supports during 2015 -2023 the governme nt of Tanzania to 
improve data collection and information dissemination and to connect key actors in the agricultural 
sector to develop income -generating activities for smallholder farmers. Over 30,000 individuals in 
the agriculture sector have received sh ort-term productivity or food security training. Over 12,000 
farmers have applied improved agriculture technologies or management practices such as improved 
seeds, planting techniques, and pest management. Approximately 7,000 hectares of land are under 
improved technologies or management practices. Over 2,500 people are using climate information 
or implementing risk reducing actions to  improve resilient agriculture.  
Burundi Coffee Alliance - Kahawatu Foundation  
USAID programming supports Kahawatu, which wor ks with two private sector partners, 
GreenCo and Sucafina, to improve the health and care of coffee trees, planting, harvesting, and 
marketing techniques, to increase the quality of Burundian coffee and the value chain for farmers.  
Future funding is uncert ain, given the parastatal 's involvement, which includes banning collection 
from 200 coffee washing stations (which will hinder timely harvesting) and raising coffee cherry 
prices by 30 %, affecting the business models of private sector investors. The World Bank, the US 
Embassy in Burundi, and private sector partners continue to engage the government on this issue. IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 28 - 
 
  The target is small -scale coffee farmers, encouraging them to join associations and increasing value 
chains.  
PROGRAM MING AND INCENTIVES RELATED TO  ENERGY DEVELOPMENT  
Private Financing Advisory Network (PFAN) – Global  
PFAN is a multilateral public private partnership initiated by the Climate Technology Initiative 
and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and is currently hosted 
by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). It identifies and nurtures 
promising, innovative clean development and renewable energy projects by bridging the gap 
between investors, clean energy entrepreneurs, and project developers. PFAN mobilizes private 
sector expertise in financing climate -friendl y projects and technologies to screen business plans and 
select and assist projects that are economically viable, as well as environmentally and socially 
beneficial. PFAN 's partners and donors include: Australia 's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 
(DFAT); the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Swedish International Development 
Cooperation Agency (SIDA); and the U S Agency for International Development (USAID).  
Since 2008, PFAN  has raised USD 2 billion for 155 completed projects, representing 1.2 
gigawatts of clean and renewable electric power generation capacity. The initiative mobilized 
USD 650 million investment in clean energy over the past five years, with over 70 % from the  private 
sector. PFAN has supported stakeholders in over 50 countries, and 28 % of the current projects are 
solar energy (both on and off grid).  
Regional and Country Energy Initiatives  
US regional energy development programming focuses on sub -Saharan Afric a and South Asia. 
US agencies work closely with multilateral development banks, other US government agencies, the 
private sector, and local banks or financial institutions to engage on regional energy collaboration 
programme s. 
Power Africa – Madagascar  
Power Africa is a US Government -led partnership that seeks to add 30,000 MW and 60 million 
electricity connections in sub -Saharan Africa by 2030. Off -grid electrification solutions, such as 
minigrids, can play a vital role in electrifying Madagascar 's rural a reas. However, private developers 
and operators capable of installing and operating minigrid systems often struggle to enter and 
expand the minigrid market because they lack access to project financing. Power Africa awarded 
USD 1.2 million in grants for th e development of minigrids in Madagascar to bring electricity to more 
than 5,200 households and businesses in rural Madagascar.  
Power Africa – Burundi  
US Embassy 's Deal Team, the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and Power Africa 
are supporting a US energy company project to build two hydroelectric power stations in Burundi. 
The stations will provide much -needed electricity in rural areas of Burundi. In April 2021, after six 
years of negotiations, Songa Energy and Virunga Power signed a power pur chase agreement (PPA) 
and public -private partnership (PPP) with the Ministry of Energy. Construction on the first station, a 
1.65 MW project, is planned to begin later in 2021, while the second, a 9 MW project, should begin 
in 2022.  
USTDA Award to eleQtra  – Mozambique  
The USTDA awarded in winter of 2018 a grant to power developer eleQtra for a feasibility 
study to assess the viability of a 120 -megawatt wind power plant, developed in two phases of 60 
MW each, located in southern Mozambique. This will be th e first wind power project in Mozambique, 
creating the benchmark for this industry in this country. The value of the grant was USD 1.1 million. 
The feasibility study is currently underway.  IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 29 - 
 
  
USTDA Award to Globeleq Calanga Wind - Mozambique  
USTDA awarded in autumn of 2020 a grant to Globeleq Calanga Wind, S.A. for a feasibility 
study to assess the technical, financial, and economic viability of a 130 megawatt wind power plant 
to be developed in two phases of 65 MW each, along with energy storage of 10 -20 MW ( 20-40 MW 
hours), as well as associated transmission and interconnection infrastructure in the Manhiça district 
in Maputo Province, Mozambique. The feasibility study is currently underway.  
USTDA East Africa Enterprise Solutions Feasibility Study - Rwanda  
USTDA awarded in 2019 a contract to Decision Analysis LLC to perform a feasibility study to 
determine how to improve telecommunications access in East Africa. The study is encountering 
delays due to the COVID -19 pandemic, but is ongoing.  
WindGen Village and  C&I Minigrids – Sierra Leone  
In FY 2019, USTDA awarded a grant to the Ministry of Energy in Sierra Leone for a feasibility 
study to provide the technical and financial analysis to implement approximately 45 minigrids in the 
country. USTDA 's study will spe cifically support a private -sector -led standard for off -grid 
development and serve as a model for other West African countries to replicate. The project is 
envisioned to increase energy access for more than 8,000 rural households and several hundred 
busine sses in Sierra Leone. The feasibility study is underway and is expected to be completed in 
2023.  
Sierra Leone Minister of Energy Lauds WindGen  
Sierra Leone Minister of Energy Alhaji Kanja Sesay said, "On behalf of the Government of 
Sierra Leone, the Minist ry of Energy stands ready to work closely with USTDA and WindGen to 
prepare a world -class Feasibility Study for 45 minigrids in Sierra Leone. On the basis of the technical 
design and detailed planning work, we expect these minigrids will be readily finance d and developed 
– in order to provide affordable, solar -powered energy for over 8,000 Sierra Leonean households 
and businesses. This new Study and the expected Project will be coordinated with our ongoing 
minigrid activities and initiatives, in particular the flagship Rural and Renewable Energy Project, to 
help achieve the overall energy sector vision of the Ministry of Energy and the Government of 
Sierra  Leone. " 
US Technology for Energy Access and Minigrid Development – Benin  
In FY 2021, USTDA funded techn ical assistance to provide a proof of concept for a US -made 
digitalized system for solar minigrid management in Benin. The project is anticipated to support 
economic development and greater social and economic inclusion by generating new renewable 
energy a nd providing energy access to thousands of people living in rural communities in Benin. 
USTDA obligated funds for the technical assistance project in FY 2021 and the projected completion 
date is April 2022.  
Solar and Battery Project Minigrid Project: Feasi bility Study and Pilot Project – 
Madagascar  
USTDA funded in 2017 a feasibility study in Madagascar for the development of solar 
photovoltaic minigrids  with battery storage for off -grid remote areas. The study was carried out by 
US firm Fluidic Energy Inc. (now NantEnergy), which partners with Henri Fraise Fils & Cie. The project 
also includes participation from additional US companies, including Caterpi llar (Peoria, IL) and First 
Solar (Perrysburg, OH).  
The pilot project was installed in Belobaka (210km from Antananarivo), and local staff have 
managed the network and equipment well due to initial capacity -building  training. Other villages 
have not yet ha d minigrids installed under the programme . The study is projected to be completed 
in 2021.  IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 30 - 
 
  Private Sector Lauds USTDA  
"We appreciate USTDA 's support for our partnership with Fluidic, Inc., " said Nicolas Verbert , 
Vice President of Henri Fraise. "The funds will help develop our business model and broader 
deployment of minigrid solutions across Madagascar. " 
Regional Sub -Saharan Africa: West Africa Power Pool 225kV Cote d 'Ivoire -Liberia 
Transmission Interconnection Project – Liberia  
In FY 2021, USTDA approved funding for a feasibility study that will provide the West Africa 
Power Pool with a technical, economic, and environmental assessment for a 225 kV transmission 
line and related substation and distribution equip ment from Côte d 'Ivoire to Liberia. The project is 
anticipated to provide energy access to surrounding communities, as well as create greater resiliency 
and enable deployment of renewable energy generation for the West Africa Power Pool.  
Namaacha Wind Pow er Plant – Mozambique  
In FY 2018, USTDA awarded a feasibility study grant to power developer eleQtra to assess the 
viability of a 120 -megawatt wind power plant, developed in two phases of 60 MW each, located in 
southern Mozambique. This will be the first wind power project in Mozambique, creating a benchmark 
for the industry in this country. The feasibility study is underway and projected to be completed in 
2022.  
Regional Manager Praises eleQtra 's Initiative  
"We are extremely proud that eleQtra 's initiativ e to develop a wind farm in Namaacha will 
receive this critical early -stage funding from USTDA, " said Lauren Thomas, eleQtra 's Regional 
Manager.  "We hope that this support will lead to the strengthening of the Mozambican power supply 
with the first wind IP P in the country and bring new opportunities to the communities of Namaacha. 
We look forward to working with Worley Parsons and Mozambique 's Energy Fund (FUNAE) to 
complete this essential feasibility study. " 
South Asia Regional Initiative for Energy Integr ation (SARI/EI) – Bangladesh, 
Bhutan, India, and Nepal  
USAID 's SARI/EI focuses on supporting greater regional energy integration by promoting 
cross-border power trade in South Asia through harmonization of policy, legal, and regulatory 
mechanism; advanceme nt of transmission system interconnections; and the establishment of a 
South Asia Regional Electricity Market. These are catalysed through three inter -governmental task 
forces (TFs) established under the programme  with representation from national governme nts, 
power transmission utilities, regulators, and other relevant representatives from participating South 
Asian countries. Currently the programme  focuses on moving the region from bilateral trade to 
multi-lateral/tri -lateral power trade and facilitating participation of neighbouring countries in Indian 
power exchange.  The programme  also seeks to establish a platform and an investment forum for 
South Asia energy market players.  
Many of the programme 's workshops, trainings and consensus building events had  to be 
postponed due to the COVID -19 pandemic situation in each of the participating countries. However, 
some of the key activities undertaken in 2021 included:  
a. An analysis of the role of regional energy cooperation in combating the COVID -19 pandemic 
economic impacts through two reports.  One report examined   India's "9 P.M. 9 Minutes " 
event, which looked at how India 's system operators, in conjunction with Bhutan 's hydro -
resources, worked to address power load -fluctuation challenges.   The second report 
highlighted how regional energy collaboration helped countries secure economic power 
resources to meet their demand. Programme  implementers also hosted a webinar for South 
Asian Distribution utility company leaders in which they discusse d the challenges and 
innovative solutions they adopted to better manage their operations during the COVID -19 
pandemic;  
b. Continued support to regional bodies such as the South Asia Forum of Infrastructure 
Regulators (SAFIR) and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi -Sectoral Technical and 
Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). Project leadership assisted SAFIR in organizing a working IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 31 - 
 
  group to identify regulatory interventions for grid discipline as well as develop a regulatory 
roadmap for electricity trade and exch ange in South Asia. To enhance knowledge and 
promote cross -learning, SARI/EI organized two regulatory conferences with SAFIR on energy 
cooperation in South Asia and sustainable infrastructure;  
c. Collaboration with BIMSTEC to organize a workshop for its memb er countries focused on 
developing a roadmap for regional energy cooperation in the BIMSTEC region, including the 
development of a background paper;  
d. A draft common minimum power grid code for South Asia which is under stakeholder 
consultations;  
e. Initial g roundwork to establish two independent regional power forums, the South Asia 
Forum for Transmission Utilities (SAFTU) and the South Asia Forum for System Operators 
(SAFSO);   
f. A completed analytical study on the potential of gas as a power source in South As ia; and  
g. Virtual training programme s on power trading, power exchanges, and power sector market 
products.  
PROGRAM MING AND INCENTIVES RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION  
The United States has engaged in a wide range of activities with developing countries , with 
the goal of promoting the development and deployment of climate -friendly technologies and 
practices, and responsible management of the environment and environmental resources.  
The climate crisis represents an existential threat to the security and prosperity of communities 
in the United States and around the world. At the same time, responding to the climate crisis offers 
one of the greatest opportunities in history for innovation, sustainable economic growth, and the 
creation of high -quality jobs. This is why the Biden -Harris Administration has made tackling the 
climate crisis in the United States and abroad a top priority.  
President Biden called for the preparation of a Climate Finance Plan (herein "Plan"). This Plan —
the first of its kind in the US government —focuses specifically on international climate finance. For 
the purposes of this Plan, "climate finance " refers in par t to the provision or mobilization of financial 
resources to assist developing countries to reduce and/or avoid greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 
and build resilience and adapt to the impacts of climate change. The Plan also addresses the need 
to better align  public and private financial flows consistent with what is needed to achieve the Paris 
Agreement 's temperature and resilient -development goals.  
Meeting  the collective goal of mobilizing USD 100 billion per year for developing countries from 
a wide variety  of public and private sources, in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and 
transparency on implementation, is a priority for the United States (see 
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp -content/uploads/2021/04/U.S. -International -Climate -Finance -
Plan-4.22.21 -Updated -Spacing.pdf?source=email ). 
US Program me on SilvaCarbon  
SilvaCarbon  is a technical cooperation programme  under the Global Climate Change Initiative 
and a US contribution to the Global Forest Observation Initiative. SilvaCarbon works with more than 
25 tropical forested countries to build capacity in measuring, monitoring, and reporting changes in 
forest and terrestrial carbon, and collaborates globally to identify, test, and disseminate good 
practices and cost -effective technologies. SilvaCarbon draws on the strengths of cooperating 
US government agencies including the Depa rtment of State, the Environmental Protection Agency, 
NASA, USAID, USDA Forest Service (USFS), and the US Geographical Survey (USGS) of the 
Department of Interior as well as variety of non -governmental, academic, and industry partners (see 
www.silvacarbon.org/ ).  
SilvaCarbon advances low -emission development and increases transparency through 
technical assistance and training on the use of free and open -source tools and methods for accurately 
tracking land use cha nge. For example, working with Google Earth Engine, Boston University, Oregon 
State University, USFS and USGS, SilvaCarbon delivered customized training to selected tropical 
forested countries to support the uptick of state -of-the-art forest monitoring tec hnologies tailored IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 32 - 
 
  to country needs. SilvaCarbon has worked with counterparts from LDCs in Africa 
(Democratic  Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Zambia) and Asia (Nepal, Cambodia, Lao PDR) to 
generate and use improved forest data to meet the needs of multipl e users and stakeholders. In 
Asia, the programme  is currently working to implement the latest deep machine learning methods 
for solving challenging tasks such as mapping agricultural crops under shifting cultivation and forest 
degradation due to selective logging. SilvaCarbon has also contributed to the development and 
dissemination of key global tools including the Collect Earth Online (CEO) forest monitoring platform, 
the Radar for Detecting Deforestation (RADD) deforestation early alert system, and the A griculture 
and Land Use National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Software tool.  
Government Officials Praise SilvaCarbon  
Mr. Soukanh Bounthabandit, Deputy Director of Forestry Inventory and Planning Division 
(FIPD) in Lao PDR said on  7 June 2021, "Using Collect E arth Online (CEO) provides the team with 
an inexpensive approach to collecting sample inventory to estimate the area of degradation and 
assess uncertainty. It also allows the team to identify when key degradation activities like logging 
are occurring. CEO is easy to use and provides reference information to conduct the interpretation 
with high accuracy. As the FIPD Deputy Director, I encourage my team to use this tool. " 
Mr. Vang Seng, Director, Department of Agricultural Land Resources Management in Cambodi a 
said in October 2020 at the training opening remarks: "Our current cropping mapping takes a long 
time to complete and stretches our human and financial resources. The possibility to use remote 
sensing to increase the frequency and quality of the mapping is very important for the Ministry of 
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries for international reporting and for food policy planning. "  
International Forestry Management Programming  
US Forest Service (USFS) promotes capacity -building  for sustainable forest management and 
biodiversity conservation internationally by linking the skills of the field -based staff with partners 
overseas. These activities cover a wide range of topics, many of which are co -funded with the 
Department of State and USAID ( http://www.fs.fed.us/about -agency/international -
programs/program -topics ). This work involves a variety of partners, including intergovernmental 
organizations , international research and conservation organizations, and other environmental 
NGOs. USFS scientists and other agency technical experts contribute specialized technical assistance 
to existing projects, conduct training, facilitate research, and publish t echnical guides to promote 
sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation. These activities encompass many of 
the most pressing forestry issues, including fire management, climate change adaptation and 
mitigation, forest monitoring and remote sensing, forest health and invasive species, migratory 
species and habitat management, watershed management, protected areas and ecotourism, and 
sustainable forestry practices.  
USFS - International Union of Forest Research Organizations Partnership   
USFS and the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) signed a multiyear 
partnership agreement in 2014 to enhance the contribution of forest science to international 
forest -related policy processes and implementation of sustainable forest re source management, 
particularly in economically disadvantaged countries. The agreement achieves technology transfer 
through strengthening national forest research systems in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, 
particularly through capacity development, assist ance to scientists, and institution -building. Further, 
the initiative supports IUFRO 's global initiatives on mobilizing and disseminating forest -related 
information through Internet and ICT -based channels (see 
http://www.fs.fed.us/research/partnerships ). IUFRO has a long history of providing support to the 
forest science community in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. IUFRO implements capacity -building  
activities through its Special Program me for Deve lopment of Capacities (IUFRO -SPDC). These 
activities strengthen research programme s and enhance the development and implementation of 
sound forest management policies and practices through the generation and dissemination of 
quality -research results on for ests and trees. IUFRO -SPDC 's capacity -building activities concentrate 
on assisting forest research institutions in partner developing countries to effectively contribute to 
shaping national and local forest policies and sustainable forest management system s (see 
http://www.iufro.org/science/special/spdc/ ).  IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 33 - 
 
  
Supporting Information Services and Knowledge Dissemination  
The United States supports the provision of information services to scientists and p olicymakers 
in developing countries through the Global Forest Information Service (GFIS). GFIS provides a 
framework for sharing forest -related data and information through a single gateway and promotes 
the dissemination and sharing of forest information an d knowledge by developing a common 
information exchange platform, building capacity, and enhancing partnerships among forestry 
information providers and users (see http://www.gfis.net/ ). 
Country and Regional Program mes  
Africa and Middle East Region  
In the Africa and Middle East Region (AME), the US Forest Service (USFS) works in over 30 
countries to address natural resource challenges in the least and most forested countries in the 
world. USFS partners with a suite o f organizations including US Government entities (USAID, State 
Department), host country governments, academic institutions, and non -governmental 
organizations to promote technology transfer and the exchange of best practices to enhance natural 
resource ma nagement, economic development, and improve community resilience. Specifically, 
across the AME region, USFS provides targeted, long -term technical support and technology transfer 
to our partners on monitoring, reporting, and verification for greenhouse gas  emissions accounting 
for agriculture, forests, and other land uses including systems development, land cover mapping, 
and land use change analyses. USFS also supports broader US government efforts at mitigating 
environmental crime in the region by providi ng training on law enforcement and investigations, and 
wood identification techniques and technologies for countering illegal logging.  
The Agency draws on its deep domestic expertise to assist countries in the AME region with 
landscape restoration – from seed sourcing and management, to cutting edge science/technology 
for nursery/plant production, to best practices for planning and implementing restoration projects 
at different scales.  
Across Africa and the Middle East, USFS helps host country governments  provide adequate 
support to local populations during and after fire and all -hazard disasters by supporting institutional 
strengthening and capability for national and on -site incident management, emergency operations 
and coordination, firefighting, post -incident response, and pre -preparedness, using USFS systems 
and technologies adapted for host -country contexts. Lastly, the Agency assists partners with 
watershed management at different scales, sharing tools and technologies from the United States 
that can  be adapted to help partner countries include landscape -level water conservation as part of 
water security strategies. As of the beginning of FY 2021, the programme s described here are active 
in Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Gambia, Guinea,  Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, 
Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.  
Climate Fellows (CF) Program me – Republic of the Congo  
The US Department of State Climate Fellows (CF) programme  continues to provide technical 
assistance to the Gover nment of the Republic of the Congo for sustainable management of forest 
resources and national efforts to reduce emissions and enhance removals of greenhouse gases 
(GHG) in the forestry and other land use sectors. Through the CF technical expert embedded w ithin 
the Ministry of Forest Economy, the capacity of national staff involved in national forest monitoring 
and GHG accounting is being strengthened.  
From FY 2018 -2021, a CF (technical expert) has been embedded within the Ministry of Forest 
Economy and pro vides training and capacity -building  to technical staff of the National Centre for the 
Inventory and Management of Forest and Wildlife Resources (CNIAF) and the Directorate General of 
Sustainable Development in the Ministry of Tourism and Environment. Spec ific areas for capacity -
building  and training include: remote sensing, interpretation of satellite images, forest inventory and 
management, Geographic Information System (GIS), GHG accounting and other relevant technical 
and policy processes/issues related  to the sustainable management of forests, avoiding deforestation 
and forest degradation, and conservation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (afforestation 
and reforestation).  IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 34 - 
 
  
CF Regional Initiative  
The CF programme  has also launched a regional initi ative to strengthen the capacity and 
involvement of women in measuring and reporting GHG emissions and removals to the United 
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in four countries in the Central African 
sub-region. These countries are C ameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Gabon.  
END Wildlife Trafficking - Keeping Operations Counter Poaching Program me - 
Tanzania  
As part of Embassy Tanzania 's END Wildlife Trafficking Strategy, this Department of 
State -Peacekeeping Operations (PKO) funded programme  is focused on assisting the Government 
of Tanzania in its efforts to prevent, deter, and respond to poaching activities by increasing mobility, 
improving infrastructure, strengthening command and control, and strengthening  technical skills of 
rangers. Starting in 2018, the US Government funded telecommunications training and equipment 
to all Tanzanian Wildlife Authority (TAWA) headquarters and game reserve units, and for the first 
time TAWA rangers can communicate with each  other across game reserves and to TAWA 
headquarters. The next steps are to expand the telecommunications system and to operationalize 
the use of an information system and management tool. Wildlife rangers from different game 
reserves can talk to each othe r and to TAWA headquarters via wireless radio communications 
infrastructure. Communications are ground -to-ground and air -to-ground to facilitate anti -poaching 
patrols. Installation of radio outposts has continued throughout the COVID -19 pandemic. Equipment  
warranty support, maintenance and training mentoring and assistance continues until 2022.  
Government Official Praises the Programme  
Tanzania Deputy Conservation Commissioner Prosper Kyssima said, "The US Government -
supported radio project, including both  equipment and training, has been key to improving the 
communication, coordination, and effectiveness of anti -poaching patrols. We are very appreciative 
of this support and partnership. "  
Nobo Jatra – Bangladesh  
During FY 2015 -2021, USAID 's Nobo Jatra Programme s uses Reverse Osmosis (RO), a water 
purification process that uses a semipermeable membrane to remove ions, molecules, 
microorganism, and larger particles from water. Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) technology has 
been introduced and beneficiaries collect the water through the ATM card. Department of Public 
Health Engineering is providing technical support to Water Management Committee (WMC). The 
programme  is providing safe water supply to selected targeted communities in Dacope and Koyra of 
Khulna district and Shyamnagar and Kaliganj in Satkhira district through 10 RO plants where safe 
water scarcity is acute. On an average, each RO plant is covering 400 HHS (2000 individuals) and 
WMC is selling water through water vendors at BDT.0.40 per liter to m arkets, institutions, and offices 
to earn revenue to manage operational costs.  
Government Official Appreciates the Programme  
Bangladesh Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief Additional Secretary 
Moyazzem  Hossain visited the RO plant and highly appreci ated the impacts created by water supply 
through Ros, especially during the ongoing COVID -19 pandemic and cyclone Amphan that hit 
Bangladesh in 2020.  
Modern Cooking for Healthy Forests in Malawi (MCHF)  
USAID 's MCHF reduces unsustainable wood fuel demand by  increasing adoption of alternative 
cooking energies and fuel -efficient cooking technologies, increasing sustainable wood fuel supply, 
and strengthening Malawi 's business and regulatory enabling environment. This includes support for 
the establishment of t he National Forest and Landscape Monitoring Unit within the Department of 
Forestry to lead the collection, collation, and management and analysis of data on the forestry and 
restoration sectors, to inform policy - and decision -making.  In support of Malawi 's strategic and 
enabling framework, the National Forest and Landscape Monitoring Unit seeks to:    
a. Conduct the National Forest Inventory on an annual basis;   IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 35 - 
 
  b. Conduct the deforestation assessments annually; and    
c. Monitor restoration on "cropland. " 
PROGRAMMING  AND INCENTIVES RELATED TO HEALTH  
Health research through biomedical and behavioural  funding activities of US agencies, 
including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), USAID, and Centers  for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC), have contributed to technology transfer and research capacity strengthening in 
many LDCs. For new technologies developed by US scientists, NIH licenses biological materials 
and/or patent rights to institutions tha t can bring products to the market in or for LDCs.  
Innovative Mobile Health (mHealth)  
The NIH encourages exploratory/developmental research applications that propose to study 
the development or adaptation of mHealth technology specifically suited for low - and middle -income 
countries (LMICs) and the health -related outcomes associated with implementation of the 
technology. The most sought after are well -designed multidisciplinary  projects that focus on tools or 
interventions for chronic diseases or technology  for disease agnostic/cross -cutting applications.  
Innovative, well -designed, multidisciplinary projects are of highest interest and aim to generate 
general knowledge for the field.  
NIH Harnessing Data Science for Health Discovery and Innovation in Africa ( DSI-A) 
– All LDCs in Africa  
Data science is driving scientific discovery this decade, and data sets are the currency of the 
future, with essential applications to bridge disparities in global health. Through Harnessing Data 
Science for Health Discovery and  Innovation in Africa (DS -I Africa), NIH will support African 
institutions that partner with governments and businesses to leverage data science technologies and 
develop solutions to the continent 's most pressing health problems. Important potential topics  
include artificial intelligence tools to advance decision support for mobile and other point of care 
technologies, establishment and use of shared platforms to leverage large health datasets to reveal 
disease patterns and risks, and computational approach es and data sharing to accelerate discovery 
of new diagnostics, treatments and vaccines. The goal of the programme  is to increase research and 
capacity for data science in Africa.  
Applications are under review for awards in FY 2021 for a trans -African netw ork of research 
hubs, training centres, a coordinating centre, and associated researchers in ethical, legal, and social 
implications of data science in Africa. The period for this initiative is FY 2021 -2026.  
NIH Mobile Health: Technology and Outcomes in Low - and Middle -Income Countries 
– All LDCs  
The focus of the NIH Mobile Health programme  is to explore the potential for development, 
validation, implementation, scale up, and commercialization of mobile health  technologies. The first 
two years of the programme  will focus on development. If the milestones are met, NIH will dedicate 
three more years of support for the implementation phase. Private sector partner collaboration is 
strongly encouraged. To date, NIH completed the first two competitions for the exploratory awards 
and made FY 2020 awards. FY 2021 awards are pending.  
MaMoni Maternal and Newborn Care Strengthening Project (MaMoni -MNCSP) - 
Bangladesh  
The USAID MaMoni Maternal and Newborn Care Strengthening  Project (MNCSP) activity will 
reduce maternal and neonatal mortality and increase contraceptive prevalence by strengthening the 
capacity of health systems and facilities through the provision of quality maternal and new-born 
health care, postpartum family  planning, and nutrition services. The activity will further strengthen 
new-born care at all levels, including essential new-born care through special care new-born units 
(SCANU), helping babies breathe, chlorhexidine use for cord care, and Kangaroo Mother  Care. The 
activity will use the following systems:  IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 36 - 
 
  a. Electronic  Management Information System (eMIS): The project designed, piloted, and 
scaled up an electronic health information system in two districts, Habiganj and Tangail. The 
Directorate General of Fam ily Planning (DGFP) has decided to scale up the eMIS tools in all 
64 districts by June 2022.    
b. mHealth: The project successfully tested mHealth SMS reminder technology in Madhabpur 
upazila of Habiganj. mHealth sends out SMS notifications to the registered clients who are 
due for their pregnancy related services. In addition to text messages, voice messages have 
been developed that will be included in the system. DGFP included the mHealth expansion 
in their operational plan.  
c. OpenMRS: The project implemented  OpenMRS, an electronic patient record system in the 
district hospital and upazila hospital in Manikganj. Patients ' registration and antenatal and 
postnatal care (ANC/PNC) outpatient consultation use the OpenMRS system. As per the 
DGHS operational plan, in  two phases, 100 hospitals will start OpenMRS based hospital 
automation. The DGHS already awarded the contract to the third party for hospital 
automation services.   
d. Special Care Newborn Units (SCANU): MaMoni MNCSP has been supporting the MOHFW 
establishing  SCANUs at national and district level hospitals to improve management of small 
and sick new-borns . The project established Special Care Newborn Units (SCANU) at district 
hospitals to improve small and sick new-born management. More than 25,000 sick new-
borns received services from the SCANUs in the project districts in the last four years.  
e. KIOSK Based Client Feedback System: MaMoni developed a prototype digital client feedback 
system using Raspberry Pi technology for feedback on ANC, PNC, and delivery ser vices. The 
system allows real time knowledge for hospital managers and administrators on clients ' 
feedback. The system will be tested in the district hospital in Manikganj.  
Government Officials Laud Mamoni -MNCSP  
Nazmus  Sadat Salim, Joint Secretary, Director (MIS), DGFP said, "For years, our service 
providers in the field had to carry very heavy registers for data collection during their visits. Later 
they had to spend about three to four days to generate reports based o n these service data. With 
the introduction of electronic Management Information System (eMIS), our field workers can now 
concentrate more on the quality of services as this whole process has been digitized and simplified. 
This is a huge milestone for us i n terms of going completely digital in every sector, that has been 
made possible with the technical support from our USAID funded development partners. " 
Bangladesh Member of Parliament and State Minister of Post, Telecommunications and 
Information Technolo gy Junaid Ahmed Palak said, "In the first phase of automation, 50 healthcare 
centres  will be digitized as pilot projects at the divisional, district and upazila levels of the country. 
All the Upazila Health Complexes and all healthcare service providers wi ll be brought under digitized 
services in phases. Digitizing health services will lead to universal Electronic Health Records (EHR), 
which is directly linked with improved service quality on the clients ' end and raised accountability on 
the service provide rs' end." 
NIH Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) – All LDCs  
The US National Institute of Health (NIH) leads H3Africa ( https://h3africa.org/ ) that supports 
research and builds technical capacity in Africa fo r genomics, bioinformatics, and associated 
technologies to improve health in Africa. There are 51 projects led by African institutions and 500 
consortium members, including members in LDCs. The programme  is ongoing and open to all LDCs.  
Partnership for Res earch on Vaccines and Infectious Diseases (PREVAIL) – Liberia  
PREVAIL is a partnership including the US Government (NIH and CDC), the Government of 
Liberia (Ministry of Health, National Public Health Institute of Liberia, University of Liberia and JFK 
Memorial Medical Center (JFKMMC)) and the World Health Organization. The mission of PREVAIL is 
to conduct collaborative biomedical and public health research in accordance with best practices, 
and to advance science, strengthen health policy and practice, and  improve the health of Liberians 
and people worldwide. The goals are to conduct high quality research, establish and sustain the 
expertise required to conduct research, build sustainable research capacity, and optimize 
organizational effectiveness. PREVAIL 's specific technology transfer initiatives include: providing IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 37 - 
 
  training and expertise in all aspects of clinical research studies including clinical operations, 
laboratory, pharmacy, social mobilization, and regulatory facets. It has provided improved 
infrastructure at four clinical sites in Liberia in terms of lab and clinical space. It has helped establish 
the West African Consortium which involves clinical research experts from Sierra Leone, Guinea, 
Liberia, Mali, and the Ivory Coast. PREVAIL has provide d imaging capabilities at JFKMMC and is 
currently working with the team to build a microbiology lab in the same facility.  
The Research Sustainability Initiative in Liberia (RETAIN) was initiated by PREVAIL and its 
partners and has established infrastructu re at the University of Liberia to handle all facets of grant 
management. Currently, PREVAIL is helping Liberia respond to the COVID -19 pandemic by providing 
antigen and PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing. PREVAIL 's clinical research capacity has 
launched 11 clinical trials to date, involving diseases of Ebola, HIV, malaria, COVID -19, and is soon 
to launch a lassa fever Phase 1 vaccine study. The efforts have been published in the New England 
Journal of Medicine (NEJM), and efforts on Ebola research ha ve helped lead to a licensed treatment 
for Ebola. Results from these trials have been published in the NEJM and resulted in changes to 
treatment guidelines for Ebola.  
RETAIN is establishing the following Health Research Organizational Structure: Office of  Health 
Research to support the curriculum development, teaching, and research training; an Office of 
Sponsored Research Services to support the grant/contract management, and administrative 
policies; and an Office of Financial Services to support the rese arch infrastructure, finance, funds 
control, and audits.  
After two years of operation and support to the centre  from the Prevail/NIAID/NIH, the JFK 
imaging centre  was transferred to be fully managed by the medical centre  in May 2021. The 
Microbiology labo ratory development project is underway, with the renovations completed and plans 
to become operational in August/September of this year. Staff are proficient in not only the use but 
also troubleshooting, maintenance, and basic repairs for multiple transfer red technologies to allow 
for PCR using point of care or near point of care instruments, serologic assays, and routing clinical 
laboratory assessments. In addition, the teams are working to expand capacity to include advanced 
immune diagnostics for detecti on of cytokines and use of multiplex/bead -based assays, flow 
cytometry, and sequencing.  
From the PREVAIL 2020 -24 Strategic Plan: "The partnership was conceived during the largest 
and most complex Ebola outbreak since Ebola the virus was discovered in 1976.  Prior to the 
outbreak, Liberia 's healthcare infrastructure was weak and vulnerable, following years of civil war. 
The outbreak brought the health care system to a near halt. The programme  combined all available 
resources to establish a functional infrastr ucture at four clinical sites and the research lab at the 
Liberian Institute for Biomedical Research (LIBR).  It also built Liberian capacity to conduct clinical 
research. This success has led to the decision by the partners to protect and enhance this valu able 
resource by establishing PREVAIL as a sustainable enterprise that conducts ongoing research while 
retaining the ability to respond to future outbreaks. " 
Former Liberian Minister of Health Lauds RETAIN  
Bernice Dahn, former Minister of Health in the Republic of Liberia, said that with the RETAIN 
partnership and financial support from different sources, the following programme s have been 
established:  
a. University of Liberia IRB (Institutional Review Board);  
b. Faculty Development Programme  at the ULCHS (College of Health Sciences);  
c. A reformed seven -year AMD (A.M. Dogliotti  College  of Medicine) curriculum moving away 
from lecture -based didactic instruction to student - centred, team -based, inquiry -based, and 
active learning curriculum;  
d. CampXsel: A four -week vacation science education programme  designed for high school 
stude nts passionate for health sciences. The focus is on inquiry -based learning, data -driven 
critical thinking, rational and holistic concept understanding, and soft -skills building; and  
e. A clinical research training programme  (to enable students and faculty co nduct research and 
write scientific papers).  IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 38 - 
 
  
International Centers for Excellence in Research  (ICER) – Mali  
NIH, The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and the Division of 
Intramural Research (DIR) lead the Mali ICER programme . It builds on experience gained from 
NIAID 's long -standing malaria research collaboration with scientists in Mali and hosts multiple 
projects, including studies on mosquito vectors, malaria drug resistanc e, and candidate malaria 
vaccines; research on neglected tropical diseases such as filariasis and leishmaniasis; research on 
emerging infectious diseases such as Ebola and Marburg virus, Lassa Virus, Crimean -Congo 
Haemorrhagic Fever virus, and Rift Valley Fever virus, and immunologic and microbiologic studies 
of patients co -infected with HIV and tuberculosis.  
The Mali ICER consists of multiple laboratories, including a College of American Pathologists 
(CAP) -accredited clinical laboratory and a Biosafety Le vel 3 (BSL -3) laboratory at the Faculties of 
Medicine and Oral Surgery and of Pharmacy (which were separated when the University of Bamako —
previously named the University of Mali —was divided into four universities with these faculties falling 
under the Uni versity of Sciences, Techniques, and Technology of Bamako (USTTB)) and several 
clinical field sites within a 100 Km radius of Bamako, in addition to one on the Bandiagara plateau. 
The programme  is ongoing.  
International Centers for Excellence in Research  (ICER) – Uganda  
NIH, NIAID, and DIR lead the ICER site in Uganda. It includes a state -of-the-art field laboratory 
in the Rakai District and facilities at Makerere University in Kampala and the Uganda Viru s Research 
Institute in Entebbe. Basic and clinical research on HIV and sexually transmitted infections, including 
studies on viral pathogenesis, transmission kinetics, treatment and prevention, is conducted. A 
major focus is the impact of antiretroviral d rugs on community -level incidence in the Rakai 
community cohort, which consists of over 17,000 individuals. The programme  is ongoing.  
Disease Detection – Lao PDR, Cambodia, Thailand  
The US Department of Defense, Defense Threat Reduction Agency 's Biological  Threat 
Reduction Program (BTRP) is working with the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit 
(MORU) to provide training and education at the local level in field diagnosis, sample collection, and 
shipment. These activities are closely coordinated be tween BTRP, WHO, US CDC, and MORU. More 
than 80 veterinarian officers have been trained on and practiced biosafety and biosecurity, and the 
samples shipped from the field to the national laboratory correctly and safely. The programme  
started in 2016 and is  ongoing.  
Laboratory Diagnostics – Lao PDR, Cambodia, Thailand  
BTRP also supports MORU to assess and train relevant staff at the National Animal Health 
Laboratory (NAHL) in multiple areas, such as sampling, sample handling, and molecular diagnostics. 
These  activities are being closely coordinated between BTRP and IPL, LOMWRU, and MORU. NAHL 
has increased qualified staff for field activities such as animal diseases surveillance, outbreak 
investigation through enhanced animal disease diagnosis techniques, and  quality assurance. The 
programme  started June 2021 and is ongoing.  
Health Information Systems for HIV Epidemic Control and Health Security – 
Uganda  
As Uganda approaches HIV epidemic control and improves capacity to prevent, detect, and 
respond to outbreak s, the US Government continues to provide substantial resource and technical 
support for building health information system (HIS) capacity. Through the President 's Emergency 
Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) programme s, 
US government staff, local NGOs, and the government of Uganda officials have developed electronic 
medical records, laboratory information systems, and specimen and commodities tracking systems. 
These analytical tools and dashboards help health professiona ls from community to national levels 
provide quality patient care and monitor disease outbreaks and responses.   
Over 1300 health facilities are implementing electronic medical records in HIV clinics. Health 
Information Exchanges have enabled the automatic relay of data via the internet from remote health IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 39 - 
 
  facilities nationwide to a national repository dashboard to monitor priority tests, such as early infant 
diagnosis of HIV and tuberculosis (TB). These earlier investments in information systems are now 
being leveraged to support the COVID -19 response in 2021. PEPFAR and GHSA programme s also 
established internet -based communications platforms at Ministry of Health, Regional Referral 
hospitals, some district health offices, as well some health facilities for i ndustry standard tools like 
Zoom and ECHO to support remote implementation, training and mentoring (Project Echo), and 
monitoring of service providers to reduce costs and improve efficiencies.  
Uganda Health Officials Laud US Centers for Disease Control (CD C) 
Commenting on the programme , Uganda Ministry of Health National Health Laboratory and 
Diagnostics Services ICT Manager Proscovia Nambuya Mbabazi said, "With support from CDC, the 
Ministry of Health, Central Public Health Laboratories set up a Data Cente r at Butabika initially 
hosting the HIV Reference Testing Laboratory information Systems. With good internet, the facilities 
are able to access their test results immediately they have been uploaded by the reference 
laboratories. The Data Center hosting en vironment has engineered technological innovations to 
address public health issues. " 
Dorothy Ajambo, Principal Clinical Officer, Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital in Uganda said, 
"Thank you for this Build Uganda Health Informatics Capacity, ICT training f or health workers. I had 
never received any ICT training in my life. With this training, I can now operate a computer, use it 
to write a report, analyse , and visualize data using graphs. "  
Laboratory Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) - 
Tanzania  
Running during 2016 -2021, CDC 's Laboratory Project ECHO is a distance learning and 
mentorship model designed to build capacity for health care workers through satellite training. Using 
the hub and spoke approach, CDC provides tra ining and technical assistance to four facilities (hubs), 
and more than 260 facilities (spokes) in Tanzania. As of June 2021, the CDC -supported programme  
has trained more than 1,280 MDR tuberculosis management experts, and more than 14,000 
HIV rapid tester s. This support involved more than 500 mentoring and training sessions. Participants 
are evaluated after each distance learning session and continue to show measurable gain in 
knowledge.  The target for Lab Project ECHO is to train more than 15,000 HIV test ing personnel at 
testing points in health facilities. Plans are also underway to expand Project ECHO to multiple hubs 
with the inclusion of all district hospitals as spoke sites.  
Building Capacity for Lab Equipment Maintenance – Uganda  
With funding from t he President 's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the CDC, 
the Uganda Ministry of Health (MoH) established the National Equipment Calibration Center at the 
Department of National Health Laboratory and Diagnostic Services (NHLDS). Building in -country 
capacity for lab equipment maintenance has significantly reduced equipment breakdowns and 
downtime (from more than a month to less than a week), thereby minimizing testing interruptions. 
This also led to a cost saving of USD 981,038 during FY 2018 -2020, as opposed to outsourcing of 
the services, which reduced testing interruption for HIV and TB. The Ugandan biomedical engineers 
and technicians are now able to provide equipment calibration services to health facilities across the 
country, a service th at previously had to be outsourced. The National Equipment Calibration Center 
attained fulfilment of both national and international requirements, which meets the technical 
competence requirements necessary for it to consistently deliver technically valid test results and 
calibration. This programme  also supported the MoH to establish regional equipment maintenance 
workshops located in the different regional referral hospitals, which can maintain lab equipment 
within their catchment areas at a fraction of t he outsourcing cost. The capacity built serves the needs 
of the PEPFAR programme  and benefits Global Health Security, and other laboratory surveillance 
systems. The programme  is ongoing in FY 2021.  
Health Officials Praise the Programme  
During the commissio ning ceremony of the National Equipment Calibration Center, Uganda 
Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary, Dr. Diana Atwiine commented, "The in -country equipment 
maintenance and calibration capacity that has been built is a good strategy that will help to ensure 
uninterrupted laboratory services which is key to the HIV epidemic control. "  IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 40 - 
 
  
NIH Research Training Programme s for Low -and-Middle -Income -Countries  
NIH's Fogarty International Center  is dedicated to advancing the NIH by supporting and 
facilitating global health research  conducted by US and international investigators, building 
partnerships between health research institutions in the United States and abroad, and training the 
next gene ration of scientists to address global health needs. These long -term investments in science 
help to promote technology transfer to LMICs.  
NIH's Fogarty International Center  supports several research training programme s that include 
training for LMICs biome dical researchers and research institutions and contribute to technology 
transfer and capacity -building . Programme s include the Global Infectious Disease Programme , the 
Fogarty HIV Research Training Programme , and the Health Professional Education Partnership 
Initiative. The programme s involve researchers and health professionals from LMIC countries (see 
https://www.fic.nih.gov/Programs/Pag es/default.aspx ). 
CDC Health Capacity -building  Activities – Burkina Faso  
Through its International Reagent Resource (IRR) platform, the CDC provides Burkina Faso 's 
registered laboratories with reagents. This establishes the country 's capacity to facilitate  the 
detection, diagnosis, and reporting of pathogens and diseases of potential security concern such as 
Dengue/Zika/Chikungunya, meningitis, and severe acute respiratory diseases.  
The CDC provides support to Burkina Faso 's Ministry of Health (MOH) to trai n the antimicrobial 
resistance (AMR) surveillance designated sentinel laboratories at national and subnational levels on 
the WHONET software (information system developed to support the WHO 's goal of global 
surveillance of bacterial resistance to antimicro bial agents) for the reporting of AMR surveillance 
data. This contributes to the improvement of data quality and facilitates data analysis used to 
produce regular quarterly bulletins.  
CDC resources supported the development and the expansion of an electron ic based 
e-surveillance system (STELab -System for Tracking Epidemiological Data and Laboratory 
Specimen). This allows the MOH to link real time epidemiological and laboratory data for individual 
cases of reported priority diseases.  
US government resources  and CDC staff supported the MOH in the rehabilitation of the 
Operations Center for the Response to Health Emergencies (CORUS) building. CDC also provided 
equipment and training to MOH staff on leadership to help them better manage and respond to 
disease o utbreaks and other public health emergencies, including emergencies of international 
concern.  
District Health Information Software 2  (DHIS2)  
DHIS2 is a free and open -source health management data platform used by multiple 
organizations and governments worl dwide.  
Strengthening DHIS2 for the Management of Epidemics – Guinea  
The IT team of the CDC -funded partner AFENET assisted the Ministry of Health National Agency 
for Health Security (ANSS in French) in the adaptation and use of the DHIS2 COVID -19 and Ebol a 
module to collect and analyse  all epidemic data. The AFENET IT team incorporated the modules in 
the existing DHIS2 platform, adapted them to Guinea 's needs, and trained users. The module collects 
data on cases and their contacts including information abo ut their identification, testing, 
hospitalization, vaccination, and recovery. The system also automatically sends the results of tests 
to the cases/contacts. It is the first time that DHIS2 is used to document epidemics. The initiative 
played a significant  role in strengthening the existing DHIS2 system and solidifying its use by health 
organizations, epidemiologists, contact tracers, and laboratories. The project promoted a wide use 
of tablets for the collection of data in the field.  This is an ongoing pro ject. CDC will continue to 
support the ANSS in using DHIS2 for all epidemic -prone disease data. In 2020, CDC has spent over 
USD 1 million to support DHIS2 in Guinea. Similarly, in 2021, the CDC expects to spend again about 
USD 1 million on DHIS2 activities . Efforts are being made to transfer the competence to the 
ANSS/MOH so that in a few years, DHIS2 can be fully managed by the Government of Guinea.  IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 41 - 
 
  Guinea Health Official Lauds DHIS2  
Dr. Sakoba Keita from Guinea said, "The successful use of DHIS2 during the COVID -19 and 
Ebola epidemic made it possible for us to make evidence -based decisions during these epidemics. 
The use of DHIS2 during these epidemics also reinforced the DHIS2 in general. DHIS2 is the 
electronic platform the country has chosen to  capture all of its routine and surveillance health data. " 
Malaria SM&E (PMI Measure Malaria) – Madagascar  
PMI Measure Malaria aims to strengthen host country capacity and systems to produce 
high-quality information for making decisions at the local, nati onal, and global levels, with the 
ultimate goal of improving maternal and child health and reducing the burden of malaria and other 
emerging diseases. The activity helps the Ministry of Health to improve and expand Madagascar 's 
national electronic health i nformation system, known as DHIS2. DHIS2 is now fully functional across 
all health districts. It strengthens the national routine health information systems and strengthens 
malaria surveillance, monitoring, and evaluation.  
Madagascar Health Officials Prais e DHIS2  
The Ministry of Health uses DHIS2 to collect and analyse  field data from health care workers 
across Madagascar to identify health care trends, progress, and needs. PMI Measure Malaria also 
supports the development of tools to better visualize and analyse  the information in DHIS2. This is 
critical for a productive health care system because more reliable and accurate information allows 
for better decision making. Ministry of Health staff said about the project, "Smart public health 
decisions require access to good data. " "The work under the PMI Measure Malaria project will provide 
more accurate and precise data, so Madagascar 's health authorities can make data -driven decisions. " 
DHIS2 – Angola  
DHIS2  is an open source, web -based health management infor mation system (HMIS) 
platform. DHIS2 is the world 's largest HMIS platform, in use by 67 low and middle -income countries. 
USAID supports the use of DHIS2 in the Angolan health sector through technical assistance at the 
municipal, provincial, and national le vels and by jointly developing a quality assurance system with 
the government. These interventions help to strengthen health information systems nationwide. 
USAID has invested approximately USD 3.8 million towards implementation of the DHIS2 over the 
past four years including investment in equipment.   
The programme  targets District Health Care Centers and mostly maternal and new-born 
childcare. In addition, USAID supports an e -learning platform to strengthen  the knowledge of 
healthcare providers on malaria prevention and treatment as well as family planning services. The 
programme  seeks to increase the number of Ministry of Health staff trained on DHIS2 and increase 
digitization of health data collection. Due to USAID 's advocacy and technical support, the 
government designated DHIS2 as the national Health Management Information System (HMIS). The 
programme  spans between FY 2015 -22. 
Angola Health Officials Laud DHIS2  
Dr. Georgina Marques, coordinator of the Office of Research, Planning, and Statistics of the 
Ministry of Health in Angola said, "One of the greatest benefits that DHIS2 brought to the country 
was the preparation of health reports without having to go after technicians from the provinces and 
municipalities. In fact, the hospital movement report sent to the House of the President of the 
Republic is extracted directly from DHIS2, since no one reports on paper anymore (Note: The 
hospital movement report is  a document that reports on the number of hospitalizations and ailments 
of the patients. End Note.). The next challenge now is to improve data quality. " 
Dr. Rafael Dimbu, Deputy Coordinator at National Malaria Control Programme  (NMCP) in 
Angola said, "DHIS2 is a platform that brought benefits to Angola, and not only to [the] Malaria 
programme , but other health areas as well, such as HIV/AIDS and family planning, for example. 
Because of DHIS2 we stopped using manual M&E [monitoring and evaluation] reports, t hat were 
delayed by weeks to be consolidated; DHIS2 allowed us to have information available in real time, 
online. The country must not go back after the progress achieved so far. On the contrary, DHIS2 
should continue expansion to most of the health facil ities in our country. " IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 42 - 
 
  
Health Information System (HIS) for Haitian Ministry of Public Health (MSPP) – 
Haiti  
The project goal is to empower the Ministry of Health and build a comprehensive and 
sustainable health information system (HIS) through 1) strengthe ning the national health 
information system (System d 'Information Sanitaire Nationale Unique, or SISNU); 2) strengthening 
the HIS through stronger stewardship; and 3) creating an enabling environment. With funding of 
USD 21 million, the DHIS2 platform supp orting the SISNU database is updated regularly.  
Okoa Maisha Dhibiti Malaria (OMDM) - Save Lives, End Malaria – Tanzania  
The OMDM activity seeks to institutionalize malaria surveillance and monitoring at all levels of 
the Government of Tanzania (GOT), maxim izing the epidemiological impact of implemented malaria 
interventions by improving the targeting and implementation of interventions, refining approaches 
to manage transmission foci and respond to outbreaks, and providing key data to the GOT and 
stakeholde rs for policy development and programmatic decision -making.  
Activities build upon the programmatic context of Tanzania 's existing surveillance systems, 
including the health management information system (HMIS) / district health information system 
(DHIS2) platform, surveys, and studies, as well as programme -specific information systems to 
monitor and evaluate the country 's health status and health sector performance, including for 
malaria. To further progress on their respective paths to malaria elimination , OMDM provides 
technical assistance to the  National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) and Zanzibar Malaria 
Elimination Program (ZAMEP) to strengthen their capacity to analyse  and interpret data for use in 
evidence -based decision -making. To mitigate the threa t of antimalarial drug resistance to malaria 
control efforts, the NMCP, ZAMEP, and stakeholders must regularly evaluate — through use of 
therapeutic efficacy studies — antimalarial drug efficacy in a way that provides timely, relevant, 
reliable, and unders tandable information. OMDM provides grants to local stakeholders and technical 
support to the NMCP and ZAMEP to centralize TES data.  
Additional Country Programme s 
The Infectious Diseases Detection and Surveillance (IDDS) – Bangladesh  
The Infectious Disease s Detection and Surveillance (IDDS) activity will work closely with 
Bangladesh 's National Tuberculosis Program (NTP) to build their capacity to diagnose different forms 
of tuberculosis in facilities all over the country. This activity will provide technica l assistance to 
undertake diagnostic facility assessments and capacity -building  of Regional TB reference laboratories 
(RTRLs) and diagnostic networks. IDDS  support will also include optimization of GeneXpert use and 
the introduction of an external quality assessment system.  IDDS is also supporting the Shymoli TB 
Hospital and Rajshahi Regional TB Reference laboratory for the installation of Line Probe Assay ( LPA) 
and Mycobacterium Growth Indicator Tube (MGIT) to improve the efficiency of these laboratories for 
identifying drug resistance and testing the sensitivity of TB drugs.  
The Infectious Diseases Detection and Surveillance (IDDS) – Senegal  
USAID/Senegal h as assisted the Ministry of Health and Social Action (MSAS) in setting up 
mInfoSanté, a SMS -based platform for community -based surveillance, which is also used by the 
Health Emergency Operation Center (COUS) to manage epidemic detection, communication, 
coordination, and information in times of crisis, such as the ongoing COVID -19 pandemic. Currently, 
mInfosanté is being used in six districts by over 4,000 community health, animal welfare, and public 
health workers who have been trained on community -based su rveillance and mInfoSanté use. 
During the COVID -19 pandemic, the platform was adapted to integrate COVID -19 vocabulary and is 
being used by the community to send information and reporting on COVID -19 to public health 
officials. The target is to train 100 % health community workers from eight regions of the country.  
USAID - Community health programme  – Madagascar  
The programme  "Mahefa Miaraka " supports the Ministry of Public Health 's efforts to reduce 
maternal, new-born, and child morbidity and mortality by  strengthening community health service 
delivery and management for a population of 6.1 million people in seven regions of Madagascar. The IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 43 - 
 
  programme  trained more than 9,500 community health volunteers on how to treat common 
childhood diseases and provide r eproductive health and family planning services to mothers and 
youth in seven regions of Madagascar. USAID funded the programme  with USD 31 million over five 
years (FY 2016 -2021) to strengthen the planning, delivery, and management of community health 
service for the Malagasy people. The programme  put special emphasis on improving family planning, 
reducing the practice of open defecation, preventing child marriage, and delivering health and 
nutrition services for pregnant women, new mothers, and young child ren.  
The Medicines, Technologies, and Pharmaceutical Services (MTaPS) – 
Bangladesh  
The Medicines, Technologies, and Pharmaceutical Services (MTaPS) USAID programme  
provides technical assistance to the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) to strengthen its logi stics 
management and supply chain systems to ensure the availability of quality and effective medical 
products that are essential for family planning (FP); maternal, new-born, and child health (MCH); 
nutrition; and tuberculosis. This activity focuses on im proving logistics management by supporting 
the GOB to better forecast and distribute essential MCH, FP, TB, and nutrition related commodities 
at the national and sub -national levels. Additionally, the activity works closely with the Directorate 
General of Drug Administration (DGDA) to strengthen the pharmacovigilance of essential health 
products in Bangladesh. The following are the project 's targets:  
a. DGFP eLMIS  and SCM Portal: MTaPS project developed and handed over the supply chain 
management software (DGF P eLMIS) and portal to ensure the commodity security of family 
planning products countrywide. The project contributed by developing institutional capacity 
of DGFP on supply chain management and improved procurement efficiency. The portal also 
acts as a gat eway to access various other systems and dashboard under the ministry.  
b. eTB Manager App: The project developed an eTB manager app and positioned this app within 
488 upazilas covering about 850+ TB DOT (Directly Observed Treatment) centers to ensure 
electron ic reporting and TB surveillance.  
c. Asset Management System: The project developed an electronic Asset Management System 
(eAMS) as a part of procurement governance. It has been tested in six hospitals initially. 
Currently, the training for rolling it out to  secondary level hospitals has been completed, 
covering 62 health facilities. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Planning plans to 
scale up the project implementation to other levels of hospitals within the country.  
Young Logisticians Professionals Programme  (YLPP) – Benin  
USAID 's YLPP  supports 30 young professionals to work with decentralized civil and health 
authorities in 29 communes to improve data collection, supply chain reporting, and health 
commodities management. The YLPP aims to strengthen health commodities supply chain analy tics 
and decentralized health governance by improving data visibility and quality and promoting 
accountability among mayors and health professionals and managers. The programme  started with 
15 YLPPs and scaled up to 30 covering 18 health zones and 29 commu nes. To promote sustainability 
and self -reliance, USAID has engaged the Benin Ministry of Health, mayors, and the Private Sector 
Health Partnership to commit to expanding the programme . Another 77 YLPs are expected to be 
placed in 2021 with the support of the Sahel Women Empowerment Demographic Dividend 
(SWEDD), funded by the World Bank in Benin. This will ensure coverage for all communes.  
Global Health Supply Chain Technical Assistance – Tanzania  
USAID 's Global Health Supply Chain Technical assistance, ru nning between 2019 -2023, will 
improve the health commodities supply chain in Tanzania. The activity is expected to lead to better 
commodity availability and improved health outcomes for Tanzania. This activity has already 
improved the health commodities su pply chain by: 1) assisting the Tanzania Ministry of Health to 
implement relevant strategic plans; 2) establishing a governance platform to manage future system 
changes/updates to the electronic logistics management information system; 3) supporting key 
supply chain actors to use the Logistics Management Unit 's performance monitoring plans for greater 
accountability; 4) strengthening the governance of the supply chain system at the district level by 
tracking stock availability; 5) institutionalizing supply chain data quality and use; 6) supporting the 
rollout of results -based financing in the country; and 7) assisting the Ministry of Health IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 44 - 
 
  Pharmaceutical Services Unit and Policy Planning Unit to better budget for health commodities. 
USAID also provides this  technical assistance in Cambodia (2017 -2021) and Guinea (2017 -2022).  
Ujjban Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) – Bangladesh  
USAID 's SBCC  activity generates demand for and increases the use of high -quality services 
for maternal, neonatal, child, and adolescent health; family planning; nutrition; and tuberculosis. 
The activity improves the adoption of healthy behaviours  in selected districts  in the Sylhet and 
Chattrogram divisions. At the national level, Ujjiban strengthens the Ministry of Health and Family 
Welfare 's capacity and systems to effectively design, develop, coordinate, and implement SBCC 
interventions.  
SBCC uses two main methods, the HPN eToolkit and Online SBCC Materials Approval (OSMA):  
a. HPN eToolkit resource is a digital library of SBCC materials for interpersonal communication, 
and counselling. It is also used as a reference guide and job aid  by the field health workers 
when th ey need to provide integrated messaging on health, population, nutrition, and TB 
related issues. USAID 's Ujjiban activity supported the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare 
(MOHFW) in developing this eToolkit, which is currently hosted in the server of Di rector 
General of Health Services (DGHS) Management Information System (MIS) unit. It is 
managed and maintained by the Bureau of Health Education (BHE), Institute of Public Health 
Nutrition (IPHN), and Information, Education and Motivation (IEM) units of t he MOHFW with 
technical assistance from Ujjiban. All three units have included eTookit training in their 
Operation Plans and have been conducting training with Ujjiban 's technical support. To date, 
over 6,000 health and family planning frontline workers in  both Sylhet and Chattogram 
divisions have received the eToolkit training, with around 80 % workers using this tool 
regularly for interpersonal communication and counselling with clients.  
b. Online SBCC Materials Approval (OSMA): Ujjiban also supported the de velopment of the 
online SBCC Material Approval App (OSMA) for submission, processing, and approval of 
health, population, and nutrition related SBCC materials following standard criteria by the 
MOHFW 's Information, Education and Communication Technical Com mittee. OSMA is hosted 
in the DGHS -MIS server. Ujjiban provided training to members of the IEC Sub -committees 
on managing OSMA.  
Bangladesh Health Care Officials and Providers Praise SBCC  
Abinash  Chandra Das, a Community Health Care Provider from Bangladesh  made the following 
comment about the HPN eToolkit, "The benefit of using the e -toolkit is that there is less chance of 
having an information gap during counselling. For example, I was counselli ng a pregnant woman 
and I forgot some information. If I use this e -toolkit, there would not be any information gap. They 
can hear and see. I mean, I could fill the information gap. " Bangladesh Ministry of Health and Family 
Welfare Additional Secretary Most afa Kamal commented, "OSMA application has become a good 
example of capitalizing the advantage of ICT and a way forward with digital Bangladesh ideology. " 
Bangladesh DGHS Primary Health Care Director, Dr. Rawshan Anwar, also said, "OSMA application 
helps t o maintain standard quality for all HPN SBCC materials, facilitate avoiding duplication, and 
reduce timing for approval. " 
Health Policy Plus (HP+) – Madagascar  
During FY 2015 -2022, HP+ aims to support the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) and the 
Ministry in charge of water, hygiene, and sanitation, to improve the enabling environment in the 
areas of policy, advocacy, finance, and governance. HP+ provides support for the review, 
development, and dissemination of policies and strategies and health financing for health systems 
strengthening and universal health coverage. The targets for this programme  are as follows:  
a. Contribute to the dissemination of the Family Planning law (training of journalists);  
b. Initiate the evaluation of the existing Family Planning Cos ted Implementation Plan;  
c. Elaborate strategic documents for a community -based approach (Guide PAC workshop), the 
Strategic Plan for Reproductive Health/Family Planning 2021 -2025, and Demographic 
Dividend; and  IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 45 - 
 
  d. Support the Government of Madagascar to take str ategic decisions on Health System 
Strengthening and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) initiatives, including developing 
and implementing the National Health Insurance Fund as part of the Universal Health 
Coverage system.  
Madagascar Government Officials  Laud HP+  
Madagascar 's General Director at the Ministry of Population, Social Protection and Promotion 
of Women said of the project, "HP+ Madagascar is committed to the popularization of the Family 
Planning (FP) law so that the changes made by the legal pr ovisions on FP/Reproductive Health can 
be made available to users. " The Secretary General of the Ministry of Public Health commented, 
"HP+ contributes to the achievement of the Malagasy government priorities for the reduction of 
maternal, neonatal and infa nt mortality and morbidity and access to drinking water through the 
support to the health policy and funding. "  
Africa Laboratory Information System (A -LIS) – Uganda  
Starting in FY 2017, PEPFAR and the CDC provided support to the Uganda Ministry of Health  
(MoH) to simplify, standardize, and maintain good laboratory practices. This helped the MoH meet 
national and international standards for accurate and reliable testing needed for accreditation.  To 
accomplish this goal, the U.S. -funded PEPFAR and CDC progr amme s helped the MoH  customize its 
open source computing for good basic laboratory information system software, renaming it the Africa 
Laboratory Information System (A -LIS) and the Results Download System (RDS). The A -LIS 
captures real time laboratory testing data used for bo th clinical decision -making and health indicator 
reporting, while the RDS allows real -time access to the lab results for HIV, TB, disease surveillance, 
and outbreak investigation.  
Using automated laboratory equipment, the MoH enhanced ALIS ' capabilities, e nabling the 
automatic relay of data over the internet from remote health facilities across the country to a central 
national repository used to populate dashboards for monitoring diseases, such as HIV and TB. In 
2021, this important upgrade assisted MoH ef forts to manage the COVID -19 pandemic. The 
programme  is ongoing.  
Government Officials Laud HP+  
Speaking about the impact of the HP+ system, Uganda Covid -19 Incident Commander said, 
"The RDS is the reliable data source for COVID -19 testing; we therefore MUS T digitize all COVID -19 
pandemic response systems from notification to testing, case management, discharge, and mortality 
with the RDS as the pivot system.  "Paul Ngobi from Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital Laboratory 
said, "Oftentimes, before we star ted using A -LIS, we used to have issues with our Lab generated 
data management; especially in terms of specimen reception, result management, periodic reports 
compilation, analysis and reporting, result access and retrieval - all this used to be time consu ming 
and labour  intensive. With the introduction of A -LIS in 2019, we have seen tremendous improvement 
in our lab information management with ease of use of the system compared to paper -based systems 
previously in use. " 
COVID -19 Training – Democratic Repub lic of Congo (DRC)  
USAID donated 50 new state -of-the-art ventilators to the DRC. In addition to the ventilators, 
USAID is funding a tailored package of support that includes accompanying equipment, service 
plans, and technical assistance.  
DRC Government Of ficials Appreciate Ventilator Donation  
The Minister of Health, Dr. Jean Jacques Mbanda Mbungani, received the donation, welcoming 
the commitment of the US government through the CDC to support the Government of DRC during 
the pandemic. He challenged the C OVID -19 technical secretariat to make good use of the equipment  
to improve the GDRC 's response to the COVID -19 pandemic. Professor Jean Jacques Muyembe, Head 
of the COVID -19 technical secretariat and Director of INRB, hailed the timeliness of the equipment  
and the impact on laboratory personnel who often work with dangerous specimens, including 
COVID -19 and Ebola.  IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 46 - 
 
  
COVID -19 Preparation and Prevention - Burundi  
USAID has programming on COVID -19 pandemic preparation and prevention through a USAID 
grant for government health programme  service providers who receive training. USAID also donated 
COVID -19 pandemic prevention equipment to a health center in Burundi. The  project also includes 
rehabilitation of water reservoirs to meet critical water, sanitation, and hygiene gaps for health 
centres . The target population is rural Burundians, particularly those who cannot access health 
services that might be available in la rger cities.  
Burundi Health Workers Praise USAID 's Programme  
Health workers in the rural areas of Cankuzo and Ruyigi provinces said the programme  was 
critical to being able to provide health services to local populations who cannot afford the costs of 
traveling to cities where hospitals are located. One healthcare worker expressed gratitude for the 
programming, noting that "the (USAID) programme  allowed his clinic to build an incinerator to burn 
medical waste, build a cistern so that the clinic had a steady supply of clean water, and provided 
basic (PPE) equipment and training on corona (COVID -19 pandemic). " The health worker noted the 
PPE was espec ially critical, given that his province of Cankuzo is a border province and migrant 
workers and others transited the border informally, often arriving from Tanzania without testing, 
and would then seek treatment at his clinic.  
Promoting the Quality of Medi cines (PQM+) – Bangladesh  
The Promoting Quality of Medicines Plus (PQM+) programme  strengthens the institutional 
capacity of relevant Government of Bangladesh (GOB) institutions, including the GOB 's Directorate 
General of Drug Administration (DGDA), that a re responsible for regulatory processes, quality 
assurance, and quality control systems to ensure that international standards are met. During FY 
2020-2021, the programme  will provide assistance to the DGDA drug testing laboratories in Dhaka 
and Chittagong  to achieve WHO Prequalification accreditation. PQM+ also provides technical support 
to manufacturers of quality -assured priority medicines for TB, maternal and child health (MCH), and 
family planning/reproductive health (FP/RH).   
Field Epidemiology Traini ng Programme  – Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)  
During FY 2017 -2021, the CDC supports the DRC in strengthening the capacity of its workforce 
to investigate and respond to disease outbreaks through the establishment of a Field Epidemiology 
Training Progr am (FETP). FETP trains field epidemiologists — or disease detectives — to identify and 
contain outbreaks before they become epidemics. Participants focus on "learning by doing " to 
develop the skills for gathering critical data and turning it into evidence -based action.  The DRC FETP 
has trained 196 disease detectives who are crucial to accurately detecting and identifying outbreaks, 
including the recent Ebola outbreaks. The first cohort graduated in 2015 and helped support the 
responses to the 2014, 2017, an d 2018 Ebola outbreaks. A total of 148 graduates have rotated to 
support the Ebola response in the North Kivu province.  
SHOPS Plus (Sustaining Health Outcomes Through the Private Sector) – 
Madagascar  
The U.S. -funded Sustaining Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) Plus 
programme  sought to harness the full potential of the private sector and catalyse  public -private 
engagement to improve health outcomes in family planning, HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, 
and other health areas. The programm e manages two Development Credit authorities (Baobab Bank 
and ACCESS Banque) to provide needed financing for potential private sector participants in 
Madagascar. The programme  ran during FY 2016 -2021 and it is now completed.   
Madagascar Private Sector Praises SHOPS Plus Programme   
 
 Mr. Patric, owner of a pharmaceutical supply point in Mahanoro, Madagascar, was the first 
recipient of a "Hasimbola Loan, " the new loan product created by Baobab Bank in partnership with 
the SHOPS P lus Programme . Mr. Patric used the loan funds to renovate his facility and expand his 
pharmaceutical inventory. Mr. Patric explained: "Thanks to the financing from Baobab, I was able to 
invest to guarantee the availability of medicine, so that patients don 't have to go home IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 47 - 
 
  empty -handed. My sales have increased, because clients are being referred to me by doctors who 
are sure that I 'll have the prescribed medicines in stock. " 
USAID Enhancing Quality of Healthcare Activity (EQHA) – Cambodia  
During 2018 -2023, the Enhancing Quality of Healthcare Activity (EQHA) programme  will work 
to improve the health of the Cambodian people by empowering national and provincial leaders, as 
well as public and private healthcare managers and providers.  The programme  aims to im prove the 
quality of health services by scaling up modern quality improvement (QI) methods, strengthening 
healthcare regulation and transforming preservice education by 2023. The project intends to reach 
these goals through these steps:  
a. improve policies, guidelines and standards for streamlined quality assurance;  
b. increase efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery;  
c. strengthen implementation and enforcement of the regulatory framework; and  
d. strengthen preservice public health training.  
The EQHA programme  continues to support the Ministry of Health Human Resource 
Development Department and Nursing Council to transform the health workforce by adopting 
competency -based clinical education, which includes: 1) updating the vision and aims of the 
curriculu m for the Associate Degree of Nursing, developing an educational glossary, and revising 
and updating the Nursing Core Competency Framework (CCF) to align with Association of Southeast 
Asian Nations (ASEAN) core competencies; 2) applying distance learning a t four Regional Training 
Centers (RTCs) and the University of Puthisastra to facilitate e -learning, especially in the COVID -19 
pandemic context; 3) providing simulation teaching equipment, including high -fidelity mannequins, 
to the Battambang and Kampong C ham RTCs to enable students to practice clinical skills and give 
them confidence to practice.  The EQHA programme  supports the establishment of the first National 
Health Accreditation System in Cambodia, including by developing the Cambodian Hospital 
Accred itation Standards, selecting 20 hospitals to field test the standards, and developing the 
Accreditation Surveyor Certification Course to contribute in building public trust and promoting a 
culture of quality within the healthcare system. EQHA has introduce d a mobile platform, namely 
SwipeRx, to support the continuous professional development modules for self -learning by 
pharmacists to strengthen their capacity and knowledge related to tuberculosis and family planning. 
The project team is also developing ini tial Continuing Professional Development (CPD) modules 
focused on improving education related to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This 
platform will be potentially used by private pharmacists to refer presumptive TB patients to diagnos is 
and treatment services.  
Cambodian Government Officials and Private Sector Laud EQHA  
Professor Thir Kruy, Cambodia Secretary of State of Ministry of Health and Chairman of the 
Steering Committee of Health Professional Councils, expressed his appreciatio n to USAID/EQHA for 
the provision of Simulation Training Equipment for the Nursing Programme  at the Kampong Cham 
and Battambang Regional Training Centers in September 2020: "As we all know, training in medical 
science is vitally important to ensure the qua lity and safety of health care services by health staff. 
Training requires students to learn theory and practice medical skills even if they are still in schools 
using simulation equipment before they can practice their learnt skills on patients at health facilities. 
This requires schools/training centres  to have sufficient equipment for training and coaching. Today, 
we are fortunate to receive this equipment from USAID to support two of the four regional training 
centres  in Cambodia. " Dr. Tek Chheng Eap, a  practicing paediatrician and lecturer, who has devoted 
his personal time to helping develop the Cambodia Hospital Accreditation Standard (CHAS) 
expressed his appreciation and the importance of USAID EQHA support, "CHAS, developed with the 
support from USAID/EQHA, is a roadmap and a strategic business tool designed to support the 
development and continual improvement of healthcare quality and patient safety in private and 
public hospitals. " Ms. Khov Gechchou, Pharmacist and Owner of a local Cambodian pha rmacy, 
expressed the importance of the mobile platform developed with the support from USAID/EQHA. "I 
see many good pieces of content posted through SwipeRx every day. As a pharmacist, I can say 
that this platform is very important and useful because it al lows pharmacists across the country to 
be able to upgrade their skills. I also noticed that all of the TB posters have their own meaning and IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 48 - 
 
  key message. For example, I can now understand TB symptoms and recognize when I should refer 
the patients to the ho spital for further advice. " 
Promoting Healthy Behaviors (PHB) Programme – Cambodia  
USAID 's PHB programme 's objective is to improve healthy behaviours  among Cambodians and 
ensure that Cambodians seek and receive quality health care with decreased financial hardship 
through more sustainable systems. There are two main objectives: 1) strengthen public sector 
systems for oversight and coordination of SBC a t national and provincial levels; 2) improve ability 
of individuals to adopt healthy behaviours . Women and men in the six provincial communities of 
Kampong Cham, Battambang, Pailin, Tbong Khmum, Kampong Chhnang, and Phnom Penh are 
receiving health informat ion/education about family planning, tuberculosis, hygiene and sanitation, 
maternal and child health, and nutrition and malaria.  Communities in the targeted provinces 
appreciate the opportunity to learn more information on family planning and TB, and they will 
participate in the programme  by referring those with suspected symptoms to health centres  for 
screening.   
Global Health Security Agenda Programme  -– Guinea  
The activities under the Global Health Security Agenda Program (GHS P) strengthen animal 
health laboratory capacity and networks and build surveillance systems in Guinea to quickly detect 
and respond to important livestock and zoonotic diseases, including antimicrobial resistance (AMR). 
GHS P is implemented by its USAID implementing partner, Food a nd Agricultural Organization of the 
United Nations (FAO) in Guinea. The capacity of the Central Veterinary Laboratory to detect AMR 
and residues in food is an important milestone moving Guinea toward its objective of food safety. 
The detection of AMR will greatly improve veterinary health care and food safety. The acquisition of 
materials, culture media, chemical and biochemical reagents, and consumables will allow the Central 
Veterinary Laboratory to participate in the monitoring of AMR microorganisms in G uinea, and 
possibly to detect resistant or multi -resistant bacterial strains so that appropriate measures can be 
taken to control them. Furthermore, the AMR laboratory will help fight against contaminated 
imported poultry products (e.g. meat and eggs) and medicated animal feed.  
The GHS P programme  upgraded Conakry 's Central Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory to detect 
Antimicrobial Resistant (AMR) microorganisms and drug residues in food and other commodities. 
Furthermore, this U.S. -funded programme  refurbish ed the AMR laboratory and restocked it with all 
necessary reagents, consumables, and equipment. GHS P trained all lab technicians who specialize 
in AMR testing. Today, the lab is conducting routine tests of antibiotic residues in food and related 
items. Si milarly, GHS P assisted in establishing the Laboratory Information Management System 
(LIMS) in the Central and Regional Veterinary Laboratories. The GHS P programme  trained the 
laboratory personnel to maintain accurate data, which is shared with the nation al laboratory network 
in real time. The application employed allows good data management for results sharing and 
subsequent decision making, as well as stocking of reagents, consumables, and maintenance of 
equipment. Finally, GHS P trained four veterinary laboratory technicians in the Laboratoire des 
Fièvres Hémorragiques Virales (LFHV) of Guinea. As a result of the training, the technicians acquired 
skills in molecular and sero -immunological diagnostics to support the country in the advent of 
overwhelming outbreaks of COVID -19, Ebola, and other emerging and re -emerging diseases.  
Health Service Delivery (HSD) – Guinea  
The USAID/Guinea Health Service Delivery (HSD) programme  runs during FY 2017 -2022 and 
provides technical support for the national level manag ement of the DHIS2 data platform. This 
includes ongoing support for the costs of the telephone network between healthcare providers and 
managers, including monitoring of use. HSD has been working closely with regional and provincial 
health directorates to integrate the costs of maintaining the network into budgets and plan for 
monitoring so that they can take over the functioning of the network. HSD also provides support for 
telephone follow -up to women for at least one year following fistula repair in orde r to identify risks 
for recurrence/failure of the repair and propose strategies and interventions for remediation. During 
FY 2020, despite the COVID -19 pandemic, HSD continued its technical assistance to Government of 
Guinea 's Ministry of Health and Minist ry of Heath 's Agency for Health Security. HSD supported the 
preparation and the implementation of the DHIS2/COVID -19 module and COVID -19 data IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 49 - 
 
  management. The HSD programme  also created WhatsApp groups to support continued delivery of 
quality reproductive, maternal, new-born, child and adolescent health services.  
Ventilators – Mozambique  
The US Government, through the US Agency for International Development, donated 50 
high-quality ventilators to Mozambique to assist with its fight against the COVID -19 pan demic. This 
donation is a key part of the US Government 's provision of critical supplies and technical expertise 
to support Mozambique 's urgent and ongoing response to the pandemic. The ventilators, produced 
in the United States by Zoll Medical Corporation , reflect leading -edge and in -demand technology. 
They can be used in the treatment of pediatric patients through adult patients. The ventilators have 
up to a 10 -hour battery life. They are compact, deployable, and provide Mozambique more flexibility 
in tre ating patients who are severely affected by the COVID -19 pandemic. For patients whose lungs 
are not working adequately despite receiving oxygen, this vital resource can save lives. The 
US Government is working closely with Mozambican Minister of Health Arm indo Tiago and other 
government counterparts to quickly distribute the ventilators to health facilities throughout 
Mozambique where COVID -19 is treated.  To ensure the units are effectively used by trained 
professionals, the U S Government is also supplying technical training for medical personnel.  
Presidential Malaria Initiative – Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)  
During 2018 -2023, USAID provides USD 5 million for technical assistance, leadership, and 
training to strengthen the monitoring and evaluation co mponent of the National Malaria Control 
Programme  and the National Health Management Information Systems in the DRC. PMI also 
implements the durability monitoring of insecticide -treated nets through the Kinshasa School of 
Public Health. The entomological s urveillance will help improve future decision -making regarding 
choice of vector control tools. The programme  is ongoing.  
CDC SARS -CoV-2 Genomic Sequencing - Malawi  
With increasing number of SARS -CoV-2 variants being identified, capacitating laboratories t o 
perform SARS -CoV-2 genomic sequencing is imperative to track these variants to inform public 
health interventions, including informing COVID -19 vaccine choice. During FY 2020 -2021, with 
collaboration from Johns Hopkins University, the KRISP Laboratory in  South Africa, WHO, and Africa 
CDC, American CDC investments led to the sequencing of approximately 200 specimens, with an 
additional 260 samples pending at KRISP Laboratory. This allowed detection of variants of concern. 
Soon, Malawi 's laboratories will b e fully functional and have the capability to sequence COVID -19 
specimens locally.  
Digital Business Solutions for Accredited Drug Dispensing Outlets (ADDOs) in 
Tanzania  
A January 2020 -September 2021 partnership with SHOPS Plus, a USAID project, and Maisha  
Meds, a US non -profit NGO, aims to increase the business viability of, and increase access to finance 
by, small private pharmacies. Digital platforms provide data essential for suppliers, banks, and 
government to ascertain their role in meeting national h ealth objectives.  Maisha Meds is targeting 
100 ADDOs in the Pwani and Mwanza regions of Tanzania. ADDOs purchase digital tablets that give 
access to a point -of-sale system that records expenses, sales, and inventory. A reordering platform 
with trusted supp liers is used to negotiate group discounts on medicines. Group sales records provide 
banks information to create lending packages tailored to ADDO credit needs. Customer purchasing 
history will be the basis to develop malaria, child health, and family plan ning data dashboards and 
increase government recognition of the vital role of the 12,000 ADDOs in meeting public health 
needs.  
Global Health Supply Chain Technical Assistance - Tanzania  
During 2016 -2023, this USAID programme  will improve the health commodi ties supply chain 
in Tanzania. The programme  is expected to lead to better commodity availability and improved 
health outcomes for Tanzania.  This programme  has improved the health commodities supply chain 
by:  IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 50 - 
 
  a. Assisting the Tanzania Ministry of Health to i mplement its strategic plans;  
b. Establishing a governance platform to manage future system changes/updates to the 
electronic logistics management information system;  
c. Supporting key supply chain actors to use the Logistics Management Unit 's performance 
monitoring plans for greater accountability;  
d. Strengthening the governance of the supply chain system at the district level by tracking 
stock availability;  
e. Institutionalizing supply chain data quality and use;  
f. Supporting the rollout of resu lts-based financing in the country; and  
g. Assisting the Ministry of Health Pharmaceutical Services Unit and Policy Planning Unit to 
better budget for health commodities.  
PROGRAMMING AND INCENTIVES RELATED TO BUILDING LABOR CAPACITY  
US agencies, including the US Department of Labor (DOL), Department of Justice, and 
Department of State, seek to ensure that workers around the world are treated fairly and are able 
to share in  the benefits of the global economy. DOL has developed international projects and joint 
efforts that aid other countries and international organizations to better understand the problems 
facing workers throughout the world and to strengthen international labour  standards and worker 
protections.  These programme s build capacity in global labour  markets and help to level the playing 
field among trading partners.  
Country Programme s  
AfrIdea Regional Hackathon – Togo  
From 18 June to 20 June 2021, the US embassy  in Togo (organized by Africa Regional Services 
and PACT) held Afridea, a three -day tech event with young innovators, entrepreneurs, and tech 
lovers from each country to innovate digital solutions to pandemic -related challenges. Togo 's 30 
participants cond ucted their activities in two Lome -based tech labs: Nunya Lab and Ghyada Lab (the 
latter created by a US Government exchange programme  alumnus). In Togo, judges selected the 
top ten projects to compete for additional funding. Projects from Togolese partici pants centred  on 
health, women entrepreneurship, e -trade, and education. Togo 's winning project, Scientific Kits, 
aims to enhance science and experiential learning in middle and high schools. 
Ambassador  Stromayer gave virtual closing remarks to participant s in each of the countries, and 
Togolese former Mandela Washington Fellow Claude Grunitzky was one of the key speakers.  
Nyenyo City – Togo  
The Embassy 's decentralization hackathon in June 2018 led to the creation of a promising 
online platform to help loc al governments deliver good services. The implementation of the model 
will occur during the "Nyenyo City " project. It will take place over eight months in the district called 
Zio, about 45 minutes from the capital city of Lome. A group of young civil socie ty activists and 
coders worked hand in hand with the local authorities of Zio to integrate the platform and put it into 
use. Since its launching, the platform has received wide support in the cities where it has been 
implemented and is still expanding. To build upon this successful model, the Embassy applied for 
funding in April 2020 to implement this project in other cities. The project is currently being 
implemented during FY 2021.  
Criminal Defense Training – Burkina Faso  
DOJ/OPDAT ( DOJ Office of Overseas  Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Training) has 
provided training to attorneys in criminal defense skills for terrorism cases.  Through the Burkina Bar 
Association, OPDAT offered ten Burkinabe lawyers training in 2020 -2021. Since there is no public 
defender 's office in Burkina Faso, all criminal defendants are represented by private attorneys. 
Instructors have included the Federal Public Defender 's Office for the District of Alaska, former 
federal and military defense counsel and prosecutors, and the  president of the Niger Bar Association.    IP/C/R/TTI/USA/2  
 
- 51 - 
 
  
PROGRAM ME AND INCENTIVES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION  
Bridges Project – Madagascar  
The Bridges Project is an agreement between the leading US based prefabricated metallic 
bridge company and the Government of Madagascar to provide and install hundreds of bridges in 
several regions of the country. This programme  is divided into multiple ph ases. The programme s 
aims to provide about 100 modular metallic bridges to the Government of Madagascar in phase 1 to 
replace existing bridges or install on new routes. The host countries ' engineers, technicians, and 
workers will receive comprehensive trai ning which will allow them to independently install bridges 
throughout the country. The programme  will run during FY 2021 -2023.  
Madagascar Government Official Supportive of the Bridges Programme  
The Minister of Public Works in Madagascar believes the flexi bility of the prefabricated model 
is better -suited to the Madagascar geography and conditions; he would like to see this programme  
replicated in the future if this first set of 100 bridges can be installed without issue and believes it 
will make a huge con tribution to the country 's development.  
 
__________