The Fundamental Role of Science and Technology in International Development An Imperative for the U.S. Agency for International Development (2006) / Chapter Skim
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2 Five Development Challenges
2 Five Development Challenges
Pages 39-62
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From page 39... ...
Promote microeconomic reforms to stimulate private sector growth and technological innovation; and 5. Prevent and respond to natural disasters.
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World leaders have agreed that one of the Millennium Development Goals, discussed in Chapter 1, should address this problem: "Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate." History of USAID Involvement USAID's child survival agenda has been particularly active since 1985, when Congress enacted the Child Survival Program. The initial program focused on growth monitoring, immunizations, and birth spacing.
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From page 41... ...
A more integrated approach to child health is necessary, rather than the disease-specific interventions now being used by many international health agencies, including USAID. In addition, more attention should be given to strengthening local health systems -- the healthcare delivery mechanisms and healthcare workers responsible for transferring the results of new scientific discoveries and technologies into improved health outcomes.
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4WHO/UNICEF. Meeting the MDG Drinking Water and Sanitation Target: A Mid-term Assessment of Progress.
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43 10 http:// 9 8 Asia 2002. Africa 7 Regions Asia 6 region, Organization.
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The agency also carried out and continues to carry out complementary projects on watershed management, coastal zone management, and industrial pollution control, all of which affect water availability and water quality. The effectiveness of these 6 Improved drinking water sources -- household connections, public standpipes, boreholes, protected dug wells, and protected spring and rainwater collection systems.
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From page 45... ...
Of this, three-quarters was spent on projects in Egypt, the West Bank, Gaza, and Jordan. Of the $80 million obligated for drinking water supply, only $1.4 million went to support projects in Africa,8 the region with the greatest need.
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From page 46... ...
An important element was its focus on disseminating results and in providing information, including assessments of alternative household water treatment technologies, to NGOs and other organizations concerned with environmental health. USAID continues to provide substantial funding for the provision of drinking water and sanitation facilities in response to natural disasters.
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From page 47... ...
on the ground is limited. In Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, USAID has drawn on the skills of EPA to upgrade water treatment plants.
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Despite these increases, however, food supplies in many parts of the developing world are inadequate. The Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that in 2002 over 850 million people worldwide had inadequate food supplies.12 Although this represents a slight decrease since 1996, it is far short of the goal set at the World Food Summit, where commitments were made to reduce the number of malnourished to 400 million by 2015.
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From page 49... ...
In 1975 new provisions were added to the Foreign Assistance Act to provide program support for long-term collaborative U.S. university research on food production and distribution, storage, marketing, and consumption and for creation of the Board on International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD)
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Challenges for the International Donor Community Continued investments in agricultural R&D are critical if world food supplies are to increase and prospects for reducing rural poverty are to improve. The global landscape for agricultural R&D has changed dramatically in the last two decades.
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Figures in 2004 US$ FIGURE 2-4 Estimated funding for agricultural research by USAID bureaus. SOURCE: Estimates provided by Gary Alex, USAID.
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All of these developments are of great interest to developing nations. The increased emphasis on short-term results has also made it difficult to provide some of the types of assistance most needed -- strengthening local and regional research centers, training local scientific and technical personnel to focus on local agricultural problems, and providing extension services to farmers and others who are involved in the production, processing, and marketing of agricultural products.
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From page 53... ...
Meanwhile, a long-term international effort is underway to examine the international agricultural research systems, and USAID is completing a desktop review of agriculture and natural resources management research priorities (see Appendix G) .19 The results of these reviews should be used to better focus USAID's agricultural S&T investments and to ensure that such investments meet the needs of client countries for providing adequate food supplies and promoting economic growth.
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From page 54... ...
Firms find it easier to innovate, whether by adopting widely available technologies, adapting existing technologies to local needs and supplies, or developing new technologies -- including new hardware and more efficient production and distribution processes. Studies suggest that more than 80 percent of the variation of gross domestic product per capita across countries is accounted for by different levels of development of microeconomic fundamentals and that improvements in the business environment can have a significant positive effect on growth.23 The World Bank's report "Doing Business in 2005: Removing Obstacles to Growth" estimates that 20World Bank.
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From page 55... ...
USAID is providing financial support for two benchmarking activities: the World Bank's Doing Business Project and the World Economic Forum's Global Competitive Index. The Doing Business Project reports on the costs of doing business in more than 130 countries.25 The indicators are useful for examining where reforms are needed and for identifying where and why reforms have worked.
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From page 56... ...
In addition, regulatory systems constantly need to be examined and adjusted in response to changing local and global conditions. Recent initiatives to link increases in foreign assistance through the U.S Millennium Challenge Account and the World Bank's Fast Track Initiative to quantifiable reform targets should provide incentives for change.
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More than 280,000 lives were lost; and millions more lost homes, family members, and their traditional sources of income. As in other cases of natural disasters, the international community responded, pledging billions of dollars for relief efforts and mounting reconstruction programs in every country affected by the disaster.
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See Box 2-1 for selected recommendations from the report The U.S. Government Foreign Disaster Assistance Program.
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The U.S. Government Foreign Disaster Assistance Program.
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Many rapidly growing urban areas in developing countries are similarly vulnerable to natural disasters as large proportions of the population live in unauthorized settlements in ecologically stressed areas. In many countries disaster prevention and preparedness programs tend to lose out to other seemingly more immediate political priorities.
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These tools are essential in adjusting to changing labor markets, adapting and using modern technologies, and being effective participants in civil society. Good basic science and basic mathematics programs at the elementary and secondary school level also stimulate students to pursue careers in a variety of scientific disciplines.
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