AUGUST 15, 2007 EARTHQUAKE IN PERU
The U.S. Agency for International Development is highly
committed to helping Peruvians during this difficult time.
Below we provide links to some useful websites, where you may
find information about the August 15 earthquake.
Summary of USAID/US Government Earthquake Assistance
USAID's
Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA)
Peru's National Civil
Defense Institute (INDECI)
Peruvian
Agency for International Cooperation (APCI)
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General Program Overview
Among the most dynamic in Latin America, Peru's economy
continued to steam ahead in 2006 with an estimated GDP growth
rate of 8.0%. Notwithstanding this impressive macroeconomic
performance, major challenges remain with 49.5% of Peruvians
still living in poverty and 18% in extreme poverty. To assist
in poverty reduction, USAID's activities emphasize trade-led
economic growth and increased market access for micro, small
and medium enterprises. Limited government presence in the
highlands and jungle allows illegal coca cultivation, drug
trafficking, illegal logging, remnants of terrorism, and
HIV/AIDS transmission to flourish. USAID's programs offer
alternatives to illicit coca and strengthen government
effectiveness to provide services in health, education, and
environmental management in areas most affected by illegal
drug cultivation. In the governance sector, perceptions that
government is not responsive to citizens' demands and
government's own capacity limitations to deliver services
effectively and transparently result in a continuing low level
of confidence in democratic institutions and can lead to
conflict when groups choose to express their views outside of
normal channels for political participation. USAID works to
improve the accountability and effectiveness of selected
regional and local governments and to encourage constructive
dialogue with citizen groups.
Programs
DEMOCRACY: USAID's decentralization
program focuses nationally on policy reform and locally in the
Mission's priority coca-growing regions to help create
stronger local governments better able to act as a deterrent
to drug trafficking, illegal logging, terrorism, and other
criminal practices, as well as to respond effectively to
citizen needs. USAID also promotes political party
strengthening and anti-corruption activities, including
transparency, accountability, and greater citizen
participation across all program areas.
ECONOMIC GROWTH: In an effort to alleviate
the severe poverty conditions in Peru, current USAID
activities are laying the foundation for sustained trade-led
economic growth and increased market access for micro, small
and medium enterprises. Activities are focused on poverty
reduction by expanding opportunities for low-income Peruvians
to participate in the international economy. USAID works with
the national, regional and local governments in areas such as
customs reform, business registration reform, regional export
plans, and infrastructure concessions. Work with the private
sector includes an extensive business development services
program and support for an open dialogue on free trade,
including the recently negotiated Peru Trade Promotion
Agreement (PTPA) between the US and Peru. After
52 years
of humanitarian assistance for food security, the Mission's
P.L. 480 Title II Program will phase out in 2007.
ENVIRONMENT: USAID's efforts are designed
to improve the Government of Peru's environmental policy and
build the capacity of environmental institutions to promote
sustainable forest management, protect biodiversity, and
comply with the Environmental Chapter and Cooperation
Agreement of the PTPA.
PERU/ECUADOR BORDER PROGRAM: This program
focuses on the economic integration of the once contentious
border region through increased global trade and investment.
USAID is helping to improve key government services,
strengthen economic infrastructure, and increase the
productivity of private enterprises. Activities help expand
market access opportunities for border populations for
bilateral Ecuador-Peru trade as well as trade with other
countries, including the US.
HEALTH: USAID's multi-pronged health
program is improving the health of Peruvians and strengthening
the performance of key institutions and organizations in the
sector. USAID is working with the Ministry of Health to
support the decentralization of health services to regional
and local levels, improve public sector medicine distribution
systems and strengthen the Ministry's capacity for
surveillance and response to infectious diseases such as
malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. Community-level assistance
works directly with poor and indigenous people to improve
their health status by encouraging healthier behaviors and
practices.
EDUCATION: USAID programs are working at
the local level to enhance the quality of and access to rural
primary schools in two of the seven coca-growing regions in
which the Mission's programs are focused. Policy-related
activities
provide technical assistance to the national
and regional governments to facilitate the decentralization
process as well as to boost civil society participation in
oversight of education.
ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT: A key component
of the USG's comprehensive counternarcotics strategy, USAID's
Alternative Development Program supports communities to adopt
lifestyles free of illicit coca cultivation. This support
comes in the form of projects chosen by the communities
themselves, such as small-scale infrastructure, assistance
with new crops or business opportunities, and improved social
services. USAID also promotes national policy reform and works
to inform the national debate on coca policy. Additionally,
the program uses various communications media to raise
awareness of the benefits of licit lifestyles and the negative
impacts of illegal coca.
REGIONAL TRADE PROGRAM: USAID implements a
regional program for trade capacity building among the Andean
countries, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia, focusing on
compliance with international trade obligations in areas such
as, labor, technical barriers to trade, and intellectual
property rights.