|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
  |
 |
  |
EL SALVADOR
>> Regional Overview >> El Salvador Overview 
Introduction
U.S interests in El Salvador include facilitating regional cooperation in the fight against international crime, the expansion of economic opportunities for U.S. companies, regional integration and environmental protection. Recent history has demonstrated the impact that political and economic instability in El Salvador can have on its neighbors, including the United States. El Salvador alone has sent more illegal immigrants to the United States than all of Europe, Asia and Africa. USAID support for sustainable development is designed to give Salvadorans a stake in a peaceful and prosperous future.
USAID support for sustainable development and the alleviation of poverty is designed to prevent renewed instability by giving Salvadorans a stake in a peaceful and prosperous future. USAID is one of the principal U.S. Government agencies supporting the U.S. foreign policy objectives - as defined the U.S. Embassy's Mission Performance Plan (MPP) - in the areas of economic development, democracy, health, population and environment.
The Development Challenge
While El Salvador continues to progress toward the consolidation of democracy and alleviation of poverty, graduation from U.S. assistance is not imminent. Many facets of rural poverty still grip the nation. Nationally, 35 infants die for every 1,000 live births, a rate three times that of Costa Rica. The literacy rate is the fourth lowest in the hemisphere; fewer than 50% of Salvadorans graduate from sixth grade. The highest population density in the hemisphere (among countries with over 500,000 citizens) exacerbates already severe environmental degradation. Virtually all natural surface water is contaminated with sewage, agricultural runoff, industrial waste and sediment -- with consequent impacts on human health and environmental stability. A rural birth rate of 31.2 per 1,000 people (27.2 nationally) and lack of economic opportunity in rural areas are major forces behind the high rural-urban migration rate, and contribute to the high annual exodus to the United States of 20,000-25,000 legal and illegal immigrants. A 1997 study found that 26% of Salvadoran adolescents, the highest percentage in Latin America, had parents who lived in other countries.
In late 1998, flooding and landslides in El Salvador caused by Hurricane Mitch resulted in 239 persons dead or missing, and 55,864 displaced. Twelve of the country's fourteen departments suffered significant damage, but the hardest hit areas are located in low-lying coastal zones. The Government of El Salvador (GOES) estimates the total damage at $282 million. While El Salvador was spared the widespread destruction wrought upon Honduras and Nicaragua, the storm exposed the fragility of El Salvador's environment and highlighted the devastating impact of natural disasters on the rural poor.
In June 1999, Francisco Flores was sworn in as El Salvador's new democratically elected president. While President Flores represents the same political party as his two predecessors, his administration - composed largely of young, dynamic technocrats - espouses progressive policy positions that mirror USAID's objectives, particularly in rural poverty alleviation and government decentralization.
Nonetheless, while the March 1999 presidential election was free, fair and transparent -- and there is every indication that the forthcoming March 2000 municipal and legislative elections will be also -- low voter turnout indicates that other factors, including lack of political party credibility, still discourage greater voter participation. Moreover, the high rate of violent crime continues to be a major concern, reflecting weaknesses in the rule of law, and the new administration's first months have been plagued by strikes by teachers, health and judicial sector employees.
In FY 1999, USAID continued to implement its six-year rural poverty alleviation strategy by pursuing four inter-dependent strategic objectives in economic growth, democracy, health and water. In April 1999, the Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean approved a new, two-year special objective to respond to Hurricane Mitch reconstruction needs.
This new objective, with a projected funding level of $25.3 million, is targeted at reducing the vulnerability of the rural poor to natural disasters in 10 coastal municipalities that sustained the greatest damage due to flooding. This program will stimulate economic activity in the target area -- one of the poorest regions in the country -- through road rehabilitation, expansion of the electrical grid and introduction of high-value crops. Basic community services - including housing, schools, and water and sanitation services - are being restored or upgraded. Measures are also being taken to mitigate the impact of future flooding through improved watershed management and enhanced disaster preparedness among national and municipal institutions and rural communities.
The design and implementation of this objective reflects extensive and ongoing consultations with and participation by affected communities, elected leaders and local organizations. It also builds on the U.S. Government's response to the emergency and initial rehabilitation needs of the affected population, and provides a coordinating framework for reconstruction assistance from six other U.S. Government agencies.
Implementation of this new objective has moved ahead briskly. Construction and rehabilitation of houses, schools, wells and latrines, and introduction of high-value crops and disaster mitigation practices are well underway. Rehabilitation of rural roads and construction of electrical distribution lines will begin in early 2000.
Achievements in other parts of USAID's program have been equally impressive. Several of these, captured by the 1998 National Family Health Survey, show that infant and child mortality rates and malarial cases have dropped dramatically over the past 20 years -- largely a result of USAID's leadership as the largest donor in the health sector. Numerous other survey data illustrate the gains achieved. For example, between 1993 and 1998, 99,000 more people have potable water and 82,000 more have sanitary latrines; acute respiratory infections decreased from 59.4% to 33.4%; the total fertility rate dropped from 3.83 to 3.54 children per woman, and bouts of diarrhea nationwide decreased by more than four percent. USAID's emphasis on decentralizing the health sector is also showing results: the Ministry of Health hired, trained and fielded 240 additional rural health promoters with USAID assistance, and contracted five non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to provide basic health services to about 80,000 rural residents. These actions are expected to expand health service coverage of rural communities from 67% to 87% over the next three years.
Other efforts at decentralization and modernization of government operations are also producing positive results. In his first 30 days in office, President Flores swept aside an impasse over control of water services, turning over ownership and management of a large, USAID-financed water system to the six municipalities it serves. The GOES has expressed its intent to devolve ownership and management of other water systems to local authorities, and is exploring opportunities for decentralizing management of other government services. USAID is supporting the pension superintendent's efforts to include public sector day laborers - the poorest public sector workers - in the national labor database, facilitating their entry into the recently privatized pension system. Meanwhile, the privatized telecommunications industry is expanding and improving services in rural areas. Progress in reaching rural poor households with electric power will depend on new mechanisms for targeting subsidies for rural consumers.
El Salvador's external debt was one of the lowest in Central America, both in absolute terms ($2.756 billion) and as a percent of gross domestic product (22%). Multilateral creditors hold 68% of the debt. Debt to the U.S. Government was $322 million after the United States, in 1993, forgave $471 million under the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative and rescheduled another $155 million.
Other Donors
The United States continues to be the largest bilateral donor in El Salvador, followed by Japan, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Canada and Sweden. In 1997, bilateral official development assistance to El Salvador was $233.96 million, of which the United States disbursed $89.0 million. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) remains the largest multilateral donor, and is focused on social sector reforms, local development, the environment, promoting private investment and improving public sector efficiency. However, many of the IDB's loan programs have stalled having failed to win the approval of the Legislative Assembly. Other multilateral donors include the United Nations, the European Union and the World Bank. The U.S. Government is an active participant - along with all the major donors, civil society and the GOES -- in efforts to coordinate donor assistance pledged for post-hurricane reconstruction.
USAID is cultivating closer coordination and collaborative activities with the Japanese Government. This effort was spurred by a November 1999 meeting in El Salvador of U.S. ambassadors and the USAID/El Salvador mission director with their Japanese counterparts in which opportunities for collaboration were explored. It also builds upon USAID's positive past experience working with the Japanese Government in El Salvador on the Common Agenda.
Country Background Information Resources CIA Factbook
Library of CongressNational Geographic Country Maps
State Dept. Country Information
 |
|||
Last Updated on: December 12, 2000 |
