United States

The United States has been the world’s largest humanitarian aid donor every year since 1990. In 2008 and 2009 expenditure peaked at US$4.4 billion. However, while it is the largest donor in terms of volume, it is not the most generous and its humanitarian aid as a proportion of gross national income (GNI) is low at 0.03%, ranking it 13th in 2009.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), created by executive order in 1961, is the principal agency dealing with the country’s aid programme. It is an independent federal government agency that receives overall foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State. In December 2010, USAID and the State Department issued the first Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) to assess the capabilities and mandate of USAID. The document set out a joined-up diplomacy and development agenda that will harness the resources of the country’s civilian agencies to “prevent and resolve conflicts; help countries lift themselves out of poverty into prosperous, stable, and democratic states; and build global coalitions to address global problems”.

The US Policy Framework 2011–2015 is the first of its kind (and will be set every four years) and outlines USAID’s development priorities, while its Strategic Plan, 2007–2012 highlights its seven strategic goals:

1. Increase food security
2. Promote global health and health systems
3. Reduce climate change impacts and promote low-emissions growth
4. Promote sustainable, broad-based economic growth
5. Expand and sustain the ranks of stable, prosperous and democratic states
6. Provide humanitarian assistance
7. Support disaster mitigation and prevent and respond to crises, conflict and instability.

In 2012 it is expected that there will be significant cuts to the United States aid programme.

Key references

QDDR Executive Summary

QDDR Factsheet

OECD DAC Peer Review, 2011