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56-832: IESC's stated mission is to improve living standards by strengthening private enterprise . Since its founding, IESC claims to have helped businesses create or save over 1.5 million jobs, with projects serviced by a combination of staff, consultants and volunteers. IESC's first board meeting took place on June 15, 1964, in Washington D.C. and included American business leaders including David Rockefeller ; president of Chase Manhattan Bank ; Ray R. Eppert : president of Burroughs Corporation ; C. D. Jackson , senior vice president of Time, Inc. ; John H. Johnson , president of Johnson Publishing ; Dan A. Kimball , chairman of Aerojet ; Sol M. Linowitz, chairman of Xerox Corporation ; and William S. Paley , chairman of CBS . C.D. Jackson died in

112-432: A 'standard' may be contrasted with the quality of life , which takes into account not only the material standard of living but also other more intangible aspects that make up human life, such as leisure, safety, cultural resources, social life, physical health , environmental quality issues. United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development ( USAID )

168-400: A healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants, everywhere in the world. The standard of living varies between individuals depending on different aspects of life. The standard of living consists of the individuals having the basics such as food, shelter, social safety and interaction, which all contribute to their wellbeing and what is considered to be a decent living standard. Commentators use

224-569: A member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality." Furthermore, it has been written down in article 11 of the United Nations' International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights . The predecessor of this right,

280-670: A number of characteristics including as the quality and availability of employment , real income , disposable income , class disparity, poverty rate , quality and housing affordability, hours of work required to purchase necessities , gross domestic product , inflation rate , amount of leisure time, access to and quality of healthcare, quality and availability of education , literacy rates, life expectancy, occurrence of diseases, cost of goods and services, infrastructure, access to, quality and affordability of public transportation, national economic growth , economic and political stability, freedom, environmental quality, climate and safety. For

336-514: A number of countries that had achieved a substantial level of prosperity, including South Korea, Turkey, and Costa Rica . USAID also closes missions when requested by host countries for political reasons. In September 2012, the U.S. closed USAID/Russia at that country's request. Its mission in Moscow had been in operation for two decades. On May 1, 2013, the president of Bolivia , Evo Morales , asked USAID to close its mission, which had worked in

392-637: A number of different measures and approaches to establish the decent living standard (DLS). The decent living standard revolves around the idea and principle that a majority of the population demand the basics that will allow them to have shelter, food and water; however it is not always able to be maintained for a long period of time. Standard of living is generally measured by standards such as inflation -adjusted income per person and poverty rate. Other measures such as access and quality of health care , income growth inequality , and educational standards are also used. Examples are access to certain goods (such as

448-521: A project to train 126 South Sudanese diplomatic officials and fully integrate South Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs into the world of global diplomacy. In 2012, IESC won a $ 105 million award to support certain key sectors of the economy in Afghanistan, the organization's largest-ever award. The project is a collaboration between IESC and the Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance (VEGA) and

504-486: A reception in May 2014. Living standard Standard of living is the level of income , comforts and services available to an individual, community or society . A contributing factor to an individual's quality of life , standard of living is generally concerned with objective metrics outside an individual's personal control, such as economic , societal, political, and environmental matters. Individuals or groups use

560-485: A specialized "Agriculture" office), development of microfinance industries, streamlining of Customs administrations (to accelerate the growth of exporting industries), and modernization of government regulatory frameworks for the industry in various sectors (telecommunications, agriculture, and so forth). In USAID's early years and some larger programs, Economic Growth offices have financed economic infrastructure like roads and electrical power plants. Economic Growth assistance

616-435: A standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of him/herself and of his/her family, including food , clothing , housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his/her control. "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights." "Everyone, as

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672-474: A sustainable basis for USAID's socioeconomic development objective in the long term. USAID (United States Agency for International Development) has recently initiated the HEARTH (Health, Ecosystems and Agriculture for Resilient, Thriving Societies) program, which operates in 10 countries with 15 activities aimed at promoting conservation of threatened landscapes and enhancing community well-being by partnering with

728-764: A total value of over $ 27m across 12,00 micro loans. As a result, the program has supported nearly 19,000 jobs and created nearly 3,000 positions, of which around 45% have been filled by women. In Ethiopia, IESC has implemented six USAID programs since 2004 designed to increase exports, strengthen institutions, and promote access to finance. In Tunisia, IESC administers a project that helps local entrepreneurs tap international trade opportunities through an online platform. The IESC has traveled to Tunisia previously in November 1995, to help local brokers improve their balance sheets and their share evaluations. In Mali, volunteers from IESC's Geekcorps built or refurbished radio stations on

784-643: Is an independent agency of the United States government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance . With a budget of over $ 50 billion, USAID is one of the largest official aid agencies in the world and accounts for more than half of all U.S. foreign assistance—the highest in the world in absolute dollar terms. Congress passed the Foreign Assistance Act on September 4, 1961, which reorganized U.S. foreign assistance programs and mandated

840-899: Is called the Assistance in Building Afghanistan by Developing Enterprises (ABADE) Program. ABADE aims to enable Afghan entrepreneurs to grow successful businesses by providing technical assistance, business consulting, and facilitating public-private partnerships. In Lebanon, IESC administers the USAID-funded Lebanon Investment in Microfinance Program (LIM) program to help small business owners apply for micro-loans to expand their businesses. Established in May 2009, IESC's LIM program had awarded grants of over $ 8m to Lebanese microfinance institutions by October 2014, which in turn had disbursed

896-549: Is contracted or procured by USAID and provided in-kind to recipients. For technical advisory services, USAID draws on experts from the private sector, mainly from the assisted country's own pool of expertise, as well as from specialized U.S. government agencies. Many host-government leaders have drawn on USAID's technical assistance for the development of IT systems and computer hardware procurement to strengthen their institutions. To build indigenous expertise and leadership, USAID finances scholarships to U.S. universities and assists in

952-889: Is drawn on to manage U.S. government programs in low-income countries for a range of purposes. Some of the U.S. government's earliest foreign aid programs provided relief in crises created by war. In 1915, U.S. government assistance through the Commission for Relief in Belgium headed by Herbert Hoover prevented starvation in Belgium after the German invasion. After 1945, the European Recovery Program championed by Secretary of State George Marshall (the " Marshall Plan ") helped rebuild war-torn Western Europe. USAID manages relief efforts after wars and natural disasters through its Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, which

1008-719: Is headed by an administrator . The current administrator, Samantha Power, was sworn in on May 3, 2021. Under the Biden administration, the administrator became a regular attendee of the National Security Council. USAID/Washington helps define overall federal civilian foreign assistance policy and budgets, working with the State Department, Congress, and other U.S. government agencies. It is organized into "Bureaus" covering geographical areas, development subject areas, and administrative functions. Each bureau

1064-447: Is headed by an assistant administrator appointed by the president. (Some tasks similar to those of USAID's Bureaus are performed by what are termed "Independent Offices".) Independent oversight of USAID activities is provided by its Office of Inspector General, U.S. Agency for International Development , which conducts criminal and civil investigations, financial and performance audits, reviews, and inspections of USAID activities around

1120-438: Is instructed: "To the maximum extent feasible, [to] provide [ESF] assistance ... consistent with the policy directions, purposes, and programs of [development assistance]." Also, when U.S. troops are in the field, USAID can supplement the " Civil Affairs " programs that the U.S. military conducts to win the friendship of local populations. In these circumstances, USAID may be directed by specially appointed diplomatic officials of

1176-744: Is now provided in the form of non-reimbursable grants. In recent years, the United States has increased its emphasis on financial rather than technical assistance. In 2004, the Bush Administration created the Millennium Challenge Corporation as a new foreign aid agency that is mainly restricted to providing financial assistance. In 2009, the Obama administration initiated a major realignment of USAID's own programs to emphasize financial assistance, referring to it as "government-to-government" or "G2G" assistance. USAID

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1232-407: Is organized around country development programs managed by resident USAID offices in developing countries ("USAID missions"), supported by USAID's global headquarters in Washington, DC. USAID plans its work in each country around an individual country development program managed by a resident office called a "mission". The USAID mission and its U.S. staff are guests in the country, with a status that

1288-504: Is required. ) In 2008, USAID launched the "Development Leadership Initiative" to reverse the decline in USAID's Foreign service officer staffing, which had fallen to a total of about 1,200 worldwide. Although USAID's goal was to double the number of Foreign service officers to about 2,400 in 2012, actual recruitment net of attrition reached only 820 by the end of 2012. USAID's 2016 total of 1,850 Foreign service officers compared with 13,000 in

1344-439: Is the lead federal coordinator for international disaster assistance. After 1945, many newly independent countries needed assistance to relieve the chronic deprivation afflicting their low-income populations. USAID and its predecessor agencies have continuously provided poverty relief in many forms, including assistance to public health and education services targeted at the poorest. USAID has also helped manage food aid provided by

1400-527: Is thus quite diverse in terms of the range of sectors where it may work. It corresponds to USAID's socioeconomic development objective and is the source of sustainable poverty reduction. Economic Growth offices also occasionally manage assistance to poverty relief projects, such as to government programs that provide "cash transfer" payments to low-income families. Some USAID missions have specialized technical offices for areas like counter-narcotics assistance or assistance in conflict zones. Disaster assistance on

1456-997: Is usually defined by a "framework bilateral agreement" between the government of the United States and the host government. Framework bilaterals give the mission and its U.S. staff privileges similar to (but not necessarily the same as) those accorded to the U.S. embassy and diplomats by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961. USAID missions work in over fifty countries, consulting with their governments and non-governmental organizations to identify programs that will receive USAID's assistance. As part of this process, USAID missions conduct socio-economic analysis, discuss projects with host-country leaders, design assistance to those projects, award contracts and grants, administer assistance (including evaluation and reporting), and manage flows of funds. As countries develop and need less assistance, USAID shrinks and ultimately closes its resident missions. USAID has closed missions in

1512-640: The Centers for Disease Control and the Environmental Protection Agency . USAID's special ability to administer programs in low-income countries supports these and other U.S. government agencies' international work on global concerns. Among these global interests, environmental issues attract high attention. USAID assists projects that conserve and protect threatened land, water, forests, and wildlife. USAID also assists projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to build resilience to

1568-738: The Foreign Assistance Act , which Congress supplements through directions in annual funding appropriation acts and other legislation. As an official component of U.S. foreign policy, USAID operates subject to the guidance of the president , secretary of state , and the National Security Council . USAID has missions in over 100 countries, primarily in Africa , Asia , Latin America , the Middle East , and Eastern Europe . USAID's decentralized network of resident field missions

1624-606: The Freedom from Want , is one of the Four Freedoms that American President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke out at his State of the Union of January 6, 1941. According to Roosevelt it is a right every human being everywhere in the world should have. Roosevelt described his third right as follows: The third is freedom from want which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation

1680-583: The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report found that literature demonstrates that improvements in sustainable development practices as well as changes in technological efficiency and energy production and use, allow for a Decent Living Standard for all people without fossil fuels and ~15.3 GJ per capita by the end of the 21st century. This allows for climate change mitigation by demand reduction as well as other sustainable development practices. Standard of living might be evaluated using

1736-475: The U.S. Department of Agriculture . Also, USAID provides funding to NGOs to supplement private donations in relieving chronic poverty. Technical cooperation between nations is essential for addressing a range of cross-border concerns like communicable diseases, environmental issues, trade and investment cooperation, safety standards for traded products, money laundering, and so forth. The United States has specialized federal agencies dealing with such areas, such as

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1792-829: The 4,935 local staff of USAID's field missions. Host-country staff normally work under one-year contracts that are renewed annually. Formerly, host-country staff could be recruited as "direct hires" in career positions and at present many host-country staff continue working with USAID missions for full careers on a series of one-year contracts. In USAID's management approach, local staff may fill highly responsible, professional roles in program design and management. U.S. citizens can apply to become USAID Foreign service officers by competing for specific job openings based on academic qualifications and experience in development programs. Within five years of recruitment, most Foreign service officers receive tenure for an additional 20+ years of employment before mandatory retirement. Some are promoted to

1848-620: The Senior Foreign Service with extended tenure, subject to the Foreign Service's mandatory retirement age of 65. (This recruitment system differs from the State Department's use of the "Foreign Service Officer Test" to identify potential U.S. diplomats. Individuals who pass the test become candidates for the State Department's selection process, which emphasizes personal qualities in thirteen dimensions such as "Composure" and "Resourcefulness". No specific education level

1904-657: The State Department, as has been done in Afghanistan and Pakistan during operations against al-Qaeda. U.S. commercial interests are served by U.S. law's requirement that most goods and services financed by USAID must be sourced from U.S. vendors. To help low-income nations achieve self-sustaining socioeconomic development, USAID assists them in improving the management of their own resources. USAID's assistance for socioeconomic development mainly provides technical advice, training, scholarships, commodities, and financial assistance. Through grants and contracts, USAID mobilizes

1960-431: The State Department. While USAID can have as little presence in a country as a single person assigned to the U.S. Embassy, a full USAID mission in a larger country may have twenty or more USAID Foreign service officers and a hundred or more professional and administrative employees from the country itself. The USAID mission's staff is divided into specialized offices in three groups: (1) assistance management offices; (2)

2016-771: The U.S., while assistance to the country's universities and professional education institutions may be provided by Economic Growth and Health offices. The Education office's emphasis on school access for the poor majority of the population corresponds to USAID's poverty relief objective, as well as to the socioeconomic development objective in the long term. Examples of projects assisted by environmental offices are projects for tropical forest conservation, protection of indigenous people's lands, regulation of marine fishing industries, pollution control, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and helping communities adapt to climate change. Environment assistance corresponds to USAID's objective of technical cooperation on global issues, as well as laying

2072-843: The areas of trade and competitiveness, financial services, tourism development, information and communications technology, capacity building, and health and business training services. Throughout its 50-year history, IESC has developed expertise in technical, managerial and professional assistance consulting; micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprise support; market development; institution strengthening; quality enhancement; grants management; health and human resources; public administration and policy; and conflict and post-conflict management. It often carries those activities out through training programs, workshops and seminars. In 2010, Ambassador Thomas J. Miller took over as CEO for IESC. Under Miller's leadership, IESC's budget has grown from an initial $ 5 million in 2010 to $ 30 million in 2013. In 2011, IESC began

2128-493: The basis for socio-economic development. USAID's Education offices mainly assist the national school system, emphasizing broadening the coverage of quality basic education to reach the entire population. Examples of projects often assisted by Education offices are projects for curriculum development, teacher training, and provision of improved textbooks and materials. Larger programs have included school construction. Education offices often manage scholarship programs for training in

2184-570: The construction, agriculture, general merchandise, and trade sectors. IBEX is helping to raise funds and conduct crisis mitigation training to help local businesses to cope with the disruptive effects of the Ebola virus. In 2013, IESC began a project with the AARP and the Chinese government to deploy senior business executive leaders as volunteer experts to China. IESC celebrated its 50th anniversary at

2240-448: The country for 49 years. The closure was completed on September 20, 2013. USAID missions are led by mission directors and are staffed both by USAID Foreign Service officers and by development professionals from the country itself, with the host-country professionals forming the majority of the staff. The length of a Foreign service officer's "tour" in most countries is four years, to provide enough time to develop in-depth knowledge about

2296-434: The country. (Shorter tours of one or two years are usual in countries of exceptional hardship or danger.) The mission director is a member of the U.S. Embassy's "Country Team" under the direction of the U.S. ambassador. As a USAID mission works in an unclassified environment with relative frequent public interaction, most missions were initially located in independent offices in the business districts of capital cities. Since

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2352-417: The creation of an agency to administer economic aid. USAID was subsequently established by the executive order of President John F. Kennedy , who sought to unite several existing foreign assistance organizations and programs under one agency. USAID became the first U.S. foreign assistance organization whose primary focus was long-term socioeconomic development. USAID's programs are authorized by Congress in

2408-743: The edges of the Saharan desert, helping to deliver internet access to remote parts of the country. In Morocco, IESC has implemented the Morocco Commercial Development Organization Support Program which seeks to assist commercial development organizations by facilitating access to capital and export markets. In Liberia, IESC implements the USAID 's Liberia Investing for Business Expansion (IBEX) Program by providing advice, mentoring and facilitating bank loans for small- and medium-sized enterprises in

2464-454: The eradication of communicable diseases, strengthening of public health systems focusing on maternal-child health including family planning services, HIV-AIDS monitoring, delivery of medical supplies including contraceptives and HIV vaccines, and coordination of Demographic and Health Surveys. This assistance is primarily targeted to the poor majority of the population and corresponds to USAID's poverty relief objective, as well as strengthening

2520-567: The judicial sector and civil society organizations that monitor government performance. Democracy assistance received its greatest impetus at the time of the creation of the successor states to the USSR starting in about 1990, corresponding both to USAID's objective of supporting U.S. bilateral interests and to USAID's socioeconomic development objective. Examples of projects often assisted by Economic Growth offices are projects for improvements in agricultural techniques and marketing (the mission may have

2576-603: The mission director's and the Program office; and (3) the contracting, financial management, and facilities offices. Called "technical" offices by USAID staff, these offices design and manage the technical and financial assistance that USAID provides to their local counterparts' projects. The technical offices that are frequently found in USAID missions include Health and Family Planning, Education, Environment, Democracy, and Economic Growth. Examples of projects assisted by missions' Health and Family Planning offices are projects for

2632-416: The number of refrigerators per 1000 people), or measurement of health such as life expectancy. It is the ease by which people living in a time or place are able to satisfy their needs and/or wants. There is also the biological standard of living, which pertains to how well the human biological organism fares in its socio-economic environment. It is often measured by the height of a population. The idea of

2688-538: The opening days of his chairmanship of IESC and was replaced by Frank Pace . By 1965, IESC was operating in Thailand, where Raytheon executive Ray Ellis was assigned as management advisor to T. S. Lin , President of Tatung Engineering Company . When IESC celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1984, the organization was working in 74 developing countries. Since then the total number of IESC project countries has doubled to more than 130 countries. IESC offers services in

2744-586: The passage of the Foreign Affairs Agencies Consolidation Act in 1998 and the bombings of U.S. Embassy chanceries in east Africa in the same year, missions have gradually been moved into U.S. Embassy chancery compounds. The country programs are supported by USAID's headquarters in Washington, D.C., "USAID/Washington", where about half of USAID's Foreign Service officers work on rotation from foreign assignments, alongside USAID's Civil Service staff and top leadership. USAID

2800-507: The private sector to align business goals with development objectives. Through HEARTH, USAID implements One Health principles to achieve sustainable benefits for both people and the environment through projects focused on livelihoods, well-being, conservation, biodiversity, and governance. Examples of projects assisted by Democracy offices are projects for the country's political institutions, including elections, political parties, legislatures, and human rights organizations. Counterparts include

2856-549: The purposes of economics, politics and policy, it is usually compared across time or between groups defined by social, economic or geographical parameters. The right to an adequate standard of living is a fundamental human right . It is part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that was accepted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 10, 1948. Everyone has the right to

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2912-413: The risks associated with global climate change . U.S. environmental regulation laws require that programs sponsored by USAID should be both economically and environmentally sustainable . To support U.S. geopolitical interests, Congress appropriates exceptional financial assistance to allies, largely in the form of "Economic Support Funds" (ESF). USAID is called on to administer the bulk (90%) of ESF and

2968-800: The standard of living to evaluate where to live in the world, or when assessing the success of society. In international law, an "adequate standard of living" was first described in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and further described in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights . To evaluate the impact of policy for sustainable development , different disciplines have defined Decent Living Standards in order to evaluate or compare relative living experience. During much of its use in economics, improvements to standard of living were thought to be directly connected to economic growth , as well as increase amount of energy consumption and other materials. However,

3024-672: The strengthening of developing countries' own universities. Local universities' programs in developmentally important sectors are assisted directly and through USAID support for forming partnerships with U.S. universities. The various forms of technical assistance are frequently coordinated as capacity-building packages for the development of local institutions. Financial assistance supplies cash to developing country organizations to supplement their budgets. USAID also provides financial assistance to local and international NGOs who in turn give technical assistance in developing countries. Although USAID formerly provided loans, all financial assistance

3080-682: The technical resources of the private sector, other U.S. government agencies, universities, and NGOs to participate in this assistance. Programs of the various types above frequently reinforce one another. For example, the Foreign Assistance Act requires USAID to use funds appropriated for geopolitical purposes ("Economic Support Funds") to support socioeconomic development to the maximum extent possible. USAID delivers both technical assistance and financial assistance. Technical assistance includes technical advice, training, scholarships, construction, and commodities. Technical assistance

3136-537: The world. USAID's staffing reported to Congress in June 2016 totaled 10,235, including both field missions "overseas" (7,176) and the Washington DC headquarters (3,059). Of this total, 1,850 were USAID Foreign service officers who spend their careers mostly residing overseas (1,586 overseas in June 2016) and partly on rotation in Washington DC (264). The Foreign service officers stationed overseas worked alongside

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