Democracy and Development Office
A 2010 cultural festival, funded from the PDEV project, was organized in the desert oasis of Faya Largeau, capital of the northern Borkou region.
Ambassador Boulware exchanges copies of a property-transfer agreement with the head of Chad’s electoral commission for computers and generators funded from the PEACE project.
The U.S. Embassy in Chad established a Democracy and Development section in 1995 following closure of USAID’s bilateral cooperation mission so that it would have the capacity to monitor and administer foreign assistance programs, while identifying alternative sources of USG funding to meet development and humanitarian assistance needs. During the 1995 – 2010 period, it has overseen the implementation of USG-funded programs totaling $132.6 million, exclusive of the Darfur refugee crisis. By 2011, the D/D section was administering a portfolio of 10 projects and 20 project activities with a staff which included a U.S. personal services contractor reporting to the USAID regional office in Accra, Ghana and a host country assistant. The most significant projects in the D/D portfolio include:
Peace through Development (PDEV). As part of the Trans-Saharan Counter-Terrorism Partnership (TSCTP), PDEV aims to reduce the potential for terrorism and other extremism in the Sahel. PDEV, which is funded by USAID and implemented by a U.S. non-governmental organization, seeks to deter marginalized populations from contemplating destructive and hostile ideologies that advocate conflict resolution by violent means. The program seeks to: (1) improve local governance in target communi-ties (with emphasis on urban and peri-urban areas); (2) empower at-risk youth to become active participants in their communities and the broader economy; and (3) marginalize ideologies that promote violence.
The PDEV program in Chad focuses on community governance, youth development, and media outreach. PDEV has strengthened five national civil society organizations (CSO) in order to promote community governance in Chad. These CSOs now demonstrate significantly increased technical and institutional capacity, and have been instrumental in engaging communities in the Bahr El Ghazal, Kanem, and Batha regions in governance action planning to identify problems, seek solutions, and implement community-driven initiatives. Chadian youth are being empowered through PDEV-sponsored social, cultural and economic activities. More than 1,000 youth have been trained in vocational or income-generating activities, with a high percentage obtaining subsequent employment or starting a business. Through Community Youth Mapping, Chadian youth have become leaders in their communities, with enhanced voices in local decision-making and problem solving. PDEV’s media and outreach work engages radio stations in N’Djamena, Kanem, Bahr el Ghazal, Batha, and Borkou in broadcasting popular weekly programs that focus on youth and governance themes such as non-violence, tolerance, citizenship, community participation, the electoral process, peaceful conflict resolution, and inter- and intra-religious dialogue.
Promoting Elections, Accountability and Civic Engagement (PEACE). This two-year project funded by USAID promotes broader citizen participation in democratic processes through peaceful, free and fair elections (legislative, presidential and local – all planned for 2011). A U.S. non-governmental organization will support and strengthen the capacity of the independent electoral commission in various areas of elections process administration and communication. The PEACE project will also work with Chadian civil society organizations (CSO) on election and good governance activities. In addition, the project will support CSOs in helping Chad meet its commitments in joining the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) by monitoring performance and serving as a link with government, business and citizens.
Special Self-Help (SSH). This program funds small, community-based activities which can be quickly implemented and will have a significant impact on the economic and social well-being of beneficiary populations. As the name suggests, a major element of this program is the local contribution, or “self-help” component, made by the community to the project, whether it be in-kind or in local currency. In this manner, the Embassy demonstrates U.S. support for communities willing to make an effort to help themselves. Examples of projects funded from SSH include classroom construction, water well installation, skills training for women’s sewing cooperatives, food processing through the purchase and installation of diesel-powered grinding mills, animal husbandry, vegetable gardening and reforestation efforts. The project produces tangible results, improves beneficiary lives, while increasing self-confidence in a community’s ability to resolve its own issues. The SSH program is in much demand, with more than 300 proposals from local communities received by the Embassy each year. An annual budget allowance of $60-$80,000 limits the number of projects it can approve in any given year. In FY 2010, the Embassy was able to fund nine SSH activities.
Democracy and Human Rights Fund (DHRF). Similar to the SSH program, DHRF allows the Embassy to fund several small, locally-generated projects each year from an annual budget allowance. However, as the name suggests, this program focuses on human rights promotion and the consolidation of democracy. Used extensively by the Embassy in the late 1990’s to assist the Chad government conduct its first multiparty elections, it has more recently been used to support activities of local human rights associations and share in the costs of creating community radio stations. The focus is almost always on producing tangible results in a short time period. Projects recently undertaken include conflict prevention led by Muslim clerics, support to moderate Koranic schools, promotion of gender equality and protection of women’s rights by training para-legal advisors.
Batha-Ouaddai Food Security Initiative (BOFSI). This is a five-year (2008-12) food aid sales project resulting in the annual importation by a U.S. non-governmental organization of 23,500 MT American wheat flour and bulgur wheat, most of which is sold to grain merchants in the capital, with sales proceeds going towards development activities in chronically food-insecure areas of central and eastern Chad. The focus is on introducing appropriate technology to make better use of scarce water resources for farming, improved postharvest storage and processing practices, with a nutritional component that promotes vitamin A supplementation, water purification and improved dietary habits.
The Global Fund to combat AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The Global Fund is a multilateral funding mechanism which allows the donor community to disburse significant levels of monetary assistance to countries combating AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. It is managed by a Global Fund office in Geneva, with the U.S. being a major contributor covering one-third of the overall budget. In Chad, projects have been approved for all three diseases. A Country Coordinating Mechanism meets periodically to review performance and future plans. The U.S. is one of two bilateral donors with representation on the CCM which is currently managing a portfolio of active projects totaling nearly $100 million.
Famine Early Warning Systems (FEWS Net). This is a centrally-funded project implemented by a USAID contractor to provide credible and timely information on the food situation, crop production and the possibility of famine so that decision-makers can take appropriate action and mobilize resources in time to save lives and lessen human suffering.
Ambassador’s Girls’ Scholarship Program (AGSP). This project, initiated in 2001, encourages parents to allow their daughters to attend school. There are sixty participating schools within a 150 km radius of N’Djamena where 6,000 girls and their villages are provided with school supplies and labor-saving machines to encourage parents to let their daughters attend school. The project is currently implemented by the Academy for Educational Development (AED).
West African Ambassadors’ Fund (WAAF). A grant from the regional USAID office in Accra was awarded in April 2011 to a local non-governmental organization, AMASOT, to conduct an HIV/AIDS prevention program in three regions of Chad characterized by transient population groups and fluidity of movement. This one-year grant of $100,000 represents the fourth such grant the Embassy has secured under this regional funding mechanism since 2003.
Civic Education. In 1998/99, the Embassy undertook an effort to support a group of Chadian educators attempting to develop a standard civics education program for Chadian schools. This resulted in a detailed course outline for grades 1-12. Three years later, Embassy funded a pilot project to test the program which, deemed conclusive, led to the development of civic education textbooks, in French and in Arabic, by the Education Ministry’s National Curriculum Center. The D/D section funded an initial printing of this effort from an ESF grant; a second printing of 45,000 copies was funded by the Embassy in 2009.
Humanitarian Assistance. Chad’s border with Sudan has for many years been the source of bilateral tension exacerbated by local ethnic and inter-community conflicts. Instability worsened in 2003 because of the Darfur crisis, whose negative effects soon spilled over causing the exodus of 270,000 Darfuri refugees into Chad, the displacement of 170,000 Chadians, and intensification of a proxy war with each side helping the other side’s rebels. A January 2010 Peace Accord between Chad and Sudan has been respected and stability is returning to the region. The Darfuri refugees, however, still number 250,000 and are spread out in twelve camps. In FY 2010 alone, the United States committed $122 million for the Darfuri refugees and the internally displaced populations, making it the largest contributor to this multi-donor relief effort. This humanitarian relief is managed from central and regional offices, with a refugee coordinator assigned to the Embassy. In addition to this significant level of funding in response to the Darfur crisis, the U.S. also responds to recurrent drought cycles by providing humanitarian assistance as was the case following 2009/10 food shortages by committing $29 million of food aid distributed through the United Nations World Food Program. Disaster assistance for national emergencies caused by drought, floods and epidemics is managed by the D/D section.