Tag: #CelebratingUSAIDVoices

Five weeks of reflection have shown that USAID’s impact was never just about aid — it was about agency. We learned that development is most powerful when it is locally led, data-driven, and anchored in trust. We saw how USAID’s approaches inspired a generation of leaders, institutions, and ideas across Africa and beyond.

The IGAD Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability Initiative (IDDRSI), supported by USAID, was born from the 2011 Nairobi Summit’s bold declaration: to end drought emergencies once and for all. Its purpose — to transform the region’s response from crisis-driven relief to proactive, market-based resilience that strengthens both communities and systems.

Behind many visible milestones of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) is an often-hidden engine: backbone support. Through USAID/Policy LINK, the African Union’s Department of Agriculture (AUC-DREA) gained a neutral convener, coordinator, and integrator—keeping partners aligned, platforms purposeful, and evidence moving from Biennial Review (BR) dashboards to real decisions in National Agriculture Investment Plans (NAIPs) and across Regional Economic Communities (RECs).

The drylands of Ethiopia—spanning Afar, Somali, Oromia, and South Omo—cover more than half the nation’s land and sustain a quarter of its livestock economy. Yet these vast lowlands remain some of the most climate-vulnerable regions on the continent. To change that, USAID’s Partnership for Lowlands Resilience Activity (PLRA) supported the Ministry of Irrigation and Lowlands (MILLs) and regional governments to move from isolated projects to collective resilience systems — where coordination, collaboration, and communication (the “3Cs”) are the norm, not the exception.

Through USAID/Somalia’s Economic Growth Office (EGO) and its flagship programs - AGES, BAB, BRCiS, Durable Solutions, IRiS, Nabadoon, RECOVER, STEP, and TIS3 - a quiet transformation is taking shape. What began as a humanitarian response is now evolving into a resilience economy, linking rural producers, urban markets, and displaced communities into shared opportunity networks.

Behind many visible milestones of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) is an often-hidden engine: backbone support. Through USAID/Policy LINK, the African Union’s Department of Agriculture (AUC-DREA) gained a neutral convener, coordinator, and integrator—keeping partners aligned, platforms purposeful, and evidence moving from Biennial Review (BR) dashboards to real decisions in National Agriculture Investment Plans (NAIPs) and across Regional Economic Communities (RECs).

One of the lesser-known but truly transformative milestones in Kenya’s agricultural governance was the development of the National Phytosanitary Policy — a process championed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, State Department for Agriculture, through the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service - KEPHIS, with technical and financial support from the USAID Kenya Crops and Dairy Market Systems (KCDMS) Activity/RTI International.

Amid the wave of capacity building that followed devolution at its onset in 2013, one crucial group was largely overlooked: Members of County Assemblies (MCAs). Despite their central role in legislation, oversight, and representation, MCAs had no structured institution or program dedicated to their professional development. At best, they received ad hoc sensitization on specific bills or budgets. The irony is striking—devolution empowered MCAs to shape county policy and budgets, yet the system provided them little formal preparation for this responsibility.

When Kenya ushered in devolution in 2013, it was not just a political milestone but a massive institutional transition. Forty-seven newly created county governments suddenly became responsible for critical functions in health, agriculture, water, and local development. The challenge was formidable: counties needed structures, policies, laws, and trained personnel almost overnight.

At its heart, Collective Impact recognizes that no single actor—government, NGO, or donor—can solve complex challenges alone. Progress requires multiple players working toward a common agenda, using shared measurements, engaging in mutually reinforcing activities, maintaining continuous communication, and supported by a dedicated backbone function. These five elements shaped partnerships that delivered results greater than the sum of their parts.