SOUTHERN AFRICA
PHOTO CAPTION GOES HERE
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
COOPERATION STRATEGY
(RDCS)
OCTOBER 2020 – OCTOBER 2025
Approved for Public Release
by USAID
│
Southern Africa
Unclassified
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ACRONYMS
AfrEA
African Evaluation Association
AFR
Africa Bureau
AOR
Agreement Officer Representatives
AIDS
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
AM
Activity Manager
ANC
Antenatal Care
ARISA
Advancing Rights in Southern Africa
ART
Antiretroviral Therapy
ASP
Alternative Service Provider
AU
African Union
BAU
Business as Usual
BHA
Office the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance
C-TIP
Counter-Trafficking in Persons
CCMDD
Central Chronic Medication Dispensing and Distribution
CCNPSC
Cooperating Country National
CDC
Centre for Disease Control
CGPU
Child and Gender Protection Unit
CLA
Collaborating, Learning and Adapting
CLEAR
Centers for Learning on Evaluation and Results
COMESA
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
COP
Country Operational Plan
COR
Contracting Officer Representatives
COVID-19
Corona Virus Disease 2019
CSI
Corporate Social Investment
CSR
Corporate Social Responsibility
CWC
Combating Wildlife Crime
DBE
Department of Basic Education
DBSA
Development Bank of Southern Africa
DCHA
Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance
DDI
Bureau for Development, Democracy, and Innovation
DFID
Department for International Development
DHS+
Democratic Health Survey Plus
DIB
Development Impact Bond
DMD
Deputy Mission Director
RDO
Regional Development Objective
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DOJ
Department of Justice
DREAMS
Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe
DRG
Democracy and Governance
DSD
Department of Social Development
ECD
Early childhood development
EU
European Union
FSR
Financing Self-Reliance
G2G
Government to Government
GBV
Gender-based Violence
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
GHG
Greenhouse Gases
GH-PSM
Global Health Procurement Supply and Management
GHSC-PSM
Global Health Supply Chain for Procurement and Supply Management
GIS
Geographic Information System
GIZ
German Society for International Cooperation
GoA
GoB
GoE
GoL
Government of Angola
Government of Botswana
Government of Eswatini
Government of Lesotho
GoN
Government of Namibia
GoSA
Government of South Africa
HFA
Health for All
HIV
Human Immunodeficiency Virus
IAA
Interagency Agreement
ICASS
International Cooperative Administrative Support Services
ICS
Integrated Country Strategy
ICT
Information and Telecommunications Technology
IDIQ
Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity
IIAG
Ibrahim Index of African Governance
ILO
International Labor Organization
ILOSTAT
International Labor Organization Department of Statistics
IP
Implementing Partner
IPPs
Independent Power Producers
IR
Intermediate Result
ITCZ
Intertropical Convergence Zone
J2SR
Journey to Self-Reliance
KAZA
Kavango-Zambezi
LPC
Limited Presence Country
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M&E
Monitoring and Evaluation
M2M
Mothers2Mothers
M-DIVE
Malaria Data Integration and Visualization
MELs
Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plans
MEO
Mission Environmental Officer
MJHR
Ministry of Justice and Human Rights (Angola)
MOH
Ministry of Health
NAPA
National Adaptation Plan of Action
NCCAS
National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy
NCCRP
National Climate Change Response Policy
NDCS
National Determined Contributions
NDOH
National Department of Health
NDP
National Development Plan
NHI
National Health Insurance
NICTIP
National Intersectoral Committee on Trafficking in Persons
NMCP
National Malaria Control Program
NPA
National Prosecuting Authority
NPC
Non-Presence Country
NPI
New Partnership Initiative
NSP
O2P
National Strategic Plan
Operational Optimization Platform
NUP
New and Underutilized Partners
OAA
Office of Acquisition and Assistance
ODA
Official Development Assistance
OE
Operational Expense
OOF
Other Official Flows
OU
Operating Unit
PACOTIP
Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons
PAD
Project Appraisal Document
PEPFAR
President’s Emergency Plans for AIDS Relief
PFM
Public Finance Management
PLHIV
People living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus
PMI
President’s Malaria Initiative
PMTCT
Prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission
PPR
Performance Plan and Report
PSE
Private Sector Engagement
PSC
Personal Services Contractor
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PTA
Parent Teacher Associations
RDCS
Regional Development Cooperation Strategy
RDO
Regional Development Objective
REED
Regional Environment, Education and Democracy
REGO
Regional Office
REXO
Regional Executive Office
RF
Results Framework
RFMO
Regional Financial Management Office
RHAP
Regional HIV/AIDS Program
RHO
Regional Health Office
RIDMP
Regional Infrastructural Development Masterplan
RIG
Regional Inspector General
RISDP
Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan
RISE ll
Reducing Infections through Support and Education
RLO
Resident Legal Officer
ROAA
Regional Office of Acquisition and Assistance
ROL
Rule of Law
RPPDO
Regional Program and Project Development Office
RDR
Refining the Relationship
SACU
Southern African Customs Union
SADC
Southern African Development Community
SAMEA
South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association
SAPS
South African Police Service
SBCC
Social Behavior Change and Communication
SBU
Separate but Unclassified
SDG
Sustainable Development Goal
SIB
Social Impact Bond
SIPO
Strategic Indicative Plan of the Organ
S/GAC
State Department’s Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator
SODVA
Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Act
SRLA
Self-Reliance Learning Agenda
STI
Sexually Transmitted Infections
TB
Tuberculosis
TCN
Third Country National
TIP
Trafficking in People
TTL
Technical Team Lead
TVET
Technical and Vocational Education and Training
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UN
United Nations
UNFCCC
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
URTC
Ubunye Regional Training Center
U.S.
United States
USAID
United States Agency for International Development
USAID/SA
United States Agency for International Development/Southern Africa
USDH
United Stated Direct Hire
WASH
Water Sanitation and Hygiene
WHO
World Health Organization
YOLO
You Only Live Once
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acronyms i
Table of Contents 6
Executive Summary 1
USAID/SA Results Framework 4
Regional Context 4
Strategic Approach 7
Results Framework Narrative 10
RDO 1: Inclusive Economic Growth Catalyzed 11
RDO 2: Governance Strengthened 19
RDO 3: Resilience of People and Systems Strengthened 23
Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning 31
Annex A: Regional Operations Map 33
Annex B: PEPFAR 35
1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
United States Agency for International Development/Southern Africa’s (USAID/SA) strategic goal over
the next five years (October 2020- September 2025) is to advance the region toward becoming more
integrated, prosperous, and ultimately self-reliant. This goal can only be achieved when the needs of
both women and men in the region are addressed. The Regional Development Cooperation Strategy
(RDCS) is unlike previous USAID/SA strategies and integrates what was traditionally South Africa’s
Country Development Cooperation Strategy. The strategy also exclusively focuses on driving self-
reliance through strategically allocating its resources and partnering with three main stakeholders: the
private sector, governments, and citizens to catalyze inclusive economic growth, strengthen governance,
and advance the resilience of people and systems. Through this regional and partnership-based
approach in programming, USAID/SA will contribute to the Journey to Self-Reliance (J2SR) of the
individual countries that make up the region.
Southern African Countries
The USAID/SA strategy covers eleven countries in the
Southern African region of Angola, Botswana,
Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique,
Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The
regional landscape is complex with countries often
belonging to more than one economic community or
organization. All the countries in the region are
members of the Southern African Development
Community (SADC). Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho,
Namibia and South Africa are also members of the
Southern African Customs Union (SACU), while
Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe are also members of
the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
(COMESA). This adds to the complexity of fostering
inclusive economic growth and addressing the
remaining development challenges in Southern Africa.
It also provides an opportunity to align USAID/SA’s
projects and activities to the development priorities of the host country governments and the regional
economic communities and/or organizations to which the different countries belong.
Countries in the region share high levels of unemployment, poverty, and inequality. There are also
extraordinary differences in terms of economic size, population, resource potential, economic
infrastructure, human capital, political environment, and official languages. The main regional
challenges to sustainable regional economic integration and dynamic growth include fiscal challenges,
high levels of government debt, poverty, unemployment, gender and income inequality, poor education
quality, over-dependence on commodities, and a lack of private sector participation and investment.
There is also a lack of economic diversification as most countries rely on commodities (copper, oil,
diamonds, gold) for industrial production, exposing them to commodity price shocks.
Significant development challenges remain to address the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty,
and income inequality in the region. These challenges have a gendered dimension that cannot be
ignored. An analysis of the socio-cultural and economic situation of the region shows that gender
inequalities persist in every sector. Generally, women and girls face challenges in accessing legal rights,
education, health and economic resources, amongst others. Despite efforts that have been made by
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countries in the region to improve their situation, there are several specific technical, socio-cultural and
economic constraints that account for this situation. These include, but are not limited to: increased
incidences of gender-based violence (GBV) at all levels; disparities in educational attainments and in
formal wage employment between women and men; and disparities in access, benefit, opportunities
and control over resources such as land, housing, water, credit, technology, extension services and other
productive sectors such as mining.
Youth share a disproportionately large percentage of unemployment in the region, and if not addressed
could lead to an increase in protests, civil unrest and political instability. The large percentage of youth
in Southern Africa could also be a dividend, if catalyzed to productively contribute to economic growth.
Table1: Regional unemployment, poverty and income inequality.
Country
Unemployment Rate
1
Poverty Rate
2
Income Inequality
Coefficient
3
Angola
6.9%
47.6%
51.3
Botswana
18.2%
16.1%
53.3
Eswatini
22.1%
42%
54.6
Lesotho
23.4%
61.3%
44.9
Madagascar
1.8%
77.6%
42.6
Malawi
5.7%
71.7%
44.7
Mozambique
3.2%
62.9%
54
Namibia
20.3%
13.4%
59.1
South Africa
28.2%
18.9%
63 (highest in the world)
Zambia
11.4%
57.5%
57.1
Zimbabwe
5%
21.4%
44.3
1
International Labour Organization (ILO), ILOSTAT database. Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (modelled ILO estimate) - Sub-
Saharan Africa.
2
World Bank, Development Research Group. Poverty headcount ratio at $1.90 a day (2011 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)) (% of population).
3
World Bank, Development Research Group. Gini index (World Bank estimate) - Sub-Saharan Africa.
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The regional landscape analysis which is based on an aggregation of the individual J2SR Country
Roadmaps in the region, further underlines some of the specific challenges that compound regional
unemployment, poverty and inequality.
It is clear from the regional landscape analysis that there is a need to strengthen civil society across the
region to drive transparency and government accountability, combined with building capacity to
coherently implement policies. Education quality across the region is very poor and needs to be
addressed as a long-term driver of economic growth and innovation. Government and tax system
effectiveness remains a challenge to growth and development, as well as the capacity of the regional
economies to grow inclusively and at the rates required for development.
South Africa is the nexus for most of the region's trade, manufacturing, finance, and education. There is
a high degree of market concentration in South Africa and regional economies are deeply and critically
linked to South Africa. As an upper middle-income country, South Africa still faces significant challenges,
but is also the most developed country in the region. Leveraging South Africa’s advanced level of
development as a catalyst for regional growth and development remains fundamental.
While countries in the region typically have a strong respect for religious freedoms, USAID/SA will
coordinate with the relevant U.S. Embassies on the Executive Order on Advancing International
Religious Freedom. USAID/SA already has a diverse partner landscape including many faith-based
organizations and consistent with the New Partnership Initiative will continue to pursue avenues for
engaging more local organizations.
Regional challenges need to be addressed through a regional approach and programming that drive
inclusive economic growth. In order to achieve the goal of an integrated, prosperous, and ultimately
self-reliant region the strategy focuses on catalyzing inclusive economic growth, strengthening
governance and advancing the resilience of people and systems in the region, and to leverage South
Africa’s strategic advantage to compound development gains. The RDCS allows USAID/SA to address
last-mile challenges in South Africa as a transition country, whilst simultaneously tackling regional issues
that strengthen inclusive growth.
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USAID/SA Results Framework
REGIONAL CONTEXT
While substantial progress has been made regarding certain aspects of the J2SR, the Southern Africa
region continues to experience serious challenges. Taken together, South Africa (66 percent) and
Angola (14 percent) represent 80 percent of the region’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which
highlights the dramatic differences between countries. In purely economic terms, low private sector
growth is made worse by the lack of diversified economies, labor market challenges, and high
unemployment resulting in sluggish regional economic growth. The economic impacts from the 2020
Coronavirus disease–2019 (COVID-19) pandemic will reduce growth in Southern Africa by an estimated -
6.2 GDP reduction in 2020 with an estimated 2.9 percent growth recovery in 2021. The COVID-19
related economic impacts will likely erase the economic and income gains of the past ten years.
Experience from previous epidemics suggest that COVID-19 will impact groups who are most vulnerable
and amplify any existing inequalities across countries, communities, households and individuals.
Economic growth has been slow and is a combination of low commodity prices from drops in demand
from the retail and industrial sectors, poor business enabling environments, depressed retail,
devastated tourism and associated natural resource conservation efforts, fractured global supply chains,
low or ineffective public spending for investment or education, high levels of corruption, and poor
regional integration. As governments face significant drops in revenue and large increases in spending
on health care and social assistance, debt sustainability and sovereign debt crises loom within the next
five years. All challenges will limit the region’s ability to finance its own self-reliance.
The social development sector similarly faces challenges as the region continues to be the epicenter of
the global Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) epidemic
with an estimated 14.9 million people who are HIV positive. High levels of cross-border migration also
require a region wide approach to health in Southern Africa, particularly when combatting transmittable
diseases such as HIV and TB. Gender inequality is still a strong driver of the HIV/AIDS epidemic: 59
5
percent of new infections in Southern Africa are women, but 53 percent of AIDS related deaths are men.
Young women 15 to 24 years old are only 10 percent of the total population, but 26 percent of new HIV
infections. The PEPFAR programs in the region have increasingly focused on adolescents girls as the rate
of infection is generally three times higher than that of adolescent boys. Without a healthy workforce,
long-lasting economic growth can not be sustained. Reproductive health and access to family planning
also reveal wide gaps in the region. The SADC Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)
Strategy highlights that 24 percent of all pregnancies in Southern Africa end in abortion. Unsafe
abortions contribute an estimated 10 to 13 percent of maternal mortality. There are only two SADC
countries in which abortion is available on demand in the first trimester (South Africa and Mozambique).
Abortion is available under certain circumstances in all SADC countries, with varying degrees of
restriction. Maternal mortality across most of SADC is unacceptably high and declining too slowly to
meet the SDG target.
At least one in three women in the region have experienced GBV in their lifetime. Emotional abuse, the
most prevalent form of GBV, is the type of GBV least likely to be reported to the police. Sexual and
physical abuse are grossly under-reported. Over the past decade considerable progress has been made
in passing progressive laws to address GBV. Of the 15 SADC countries, 13 have sexual assault legislation
and 12 on domestic violence. All SADC countries now have National Action Plans to End GBV.
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) is a crime of global magnitude and affects the Southern Africa region in a
multitude of ways. SADC citizens face a myriad of vulnerabilities that make them susceptible to
trafficking, such as endemic poverty, minimal access to health and education, gender inequality,
unemployment and a general lack of opportunities. South Africa is a primary destination for trafficked
persons in the Southern Africa region and within Africa at large. It is also an origin and transit country
for trafficking towards Europe and North America. It is important to note that there is a dearth of
information on the crime in the region which in turn hampers a regional response to the crime. Within
the SADC region, all substantive Member States are parties to the United Nations Convention against
Transnational Organised Crime (UNCTOC) and the TIP Protocol and while some countries have enacted
legislation addressing TIP, implementation is irregular and uncoordinated.
The region has also been particularly hard hit by recurrent climate-induced hazards that include
droughts, floods, and the spread of deadly communicable disease. The threat of these hazards is
exacerbated by poorly planned land use, misuse of essential natural resources including inefficient
water usage and contamination, prolific waste and energy mismanagement, and persistent wildlife
crime and trafficking. Women and girls constitute the majority of those impacted by the effects of
climate change and environmental degradation, yet they remain less likely to have access to
environmental resources. The region’s vast stock of natural resources represents an important revenue
generation stream. Protection of this stock is vital to ensuring that the region’s people are healthy and
safe from disease, and for the region’s most important export industries: agriculture and mining. These
resources are also essential to the success of the domestic tourism and services industries, which
together employ millions of people across the region.
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Across the region, middle-income countries all score well for commitment and capacity. However, the
low and middle-income countries score relatively poorly for education quality. Apart from Botswana, all
have relatively high poverty rates. Poverty is especially high in Malawi, Madagascar, and Mozambique.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the region struggled with high official unemployment rates ranging
from ten to 30 percent of the labor force and these rates are much higher for the youth. The business
environment affects commitment in Angola, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe, while the
4
USAID/Southern Africa Tropical Forestry and Biodiversity Assessment, August 2017.
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capacity of the economy (GDP per capita, Information and Telecommunications Technology (ICT), and
export sophistication) is limited in Angola, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, Madagascar, Malawi,
Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Several countries in the region rely on relatively narrow extractive export sectors. These include
petroleum and gas (Angola, Mozambique), copper and cobalt (Zambia, Namibia), gold, diamonds, and
platinum (Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa, Zimbabwe), textiles (Lesotho), and agricultural exports
(Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe). All countries in the region rank in the
bottom half of the world for export sophistication and complexity. For example, Angola ranks 131 of
133 countries for export complexity due to its strong reliance on oil exports. Furthermore, only Namibia
and Zambia have been able to increase their export complexity according to their J2SR roadmaps. If the
region remains reliant on a narrow band of industries, especially commodities, this may amplify
economic shocks on the domestic markets and impair economic resilience. The region primarily exports
commodities and raw goods to China, India, and Europe for processing, and then imports finished goods
back.
Based on Country Economic Reviews in Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia, common
binding constraints are weak competitiveness from poor business-enabling environments and high
barriers to entry.
Southern Africa remains a highly inequitable place economically, with large gaps both between
countries and within them in terms of income. These inequalities exacerbate gender disparities through
the imposition of resource constraints, reinforcement of gendered stereotypes and discrimination in
employment, and imposition of barriers to equitable labor force participation. Three issues which affect
women disproportionately in the region are barriers to informal cross-border trading, barriers for
female entrepreneurs, and constraints in the agriculture sector, both at the subsistence and commercial
level.
Outside of the formal labor market, many women engage in entrepreneurial activity, either as their
main source or a supplementary form of income. Female entrepreneurs face many additional barriers
due to gender norms, however; access to credit, financial literacy, and formal property ownership are
some of the most cited issues. In SADC, 77 percent of the population rely on the agriculture sector for
income and employment, most of them women. Land rights and ownership titles are guaranteed by
statutory law in most countries, but women are often barred from owning their land by customary laws
or inheritance practices. Without recognition of their land ownership, many female farmers cannot
secure credit or extension services such as improved seedstock or fertilizer.
Another widespread and often gendered issue for the Southern Africa region is youth unemployment.
Pre-COVID-19, the World Bank estimated that 50 percent of youth in sub-Saharan African will be
unemployed or economically inactive by 2025. South Africa's youth unemployment rate exceeds 55
percent and in Zimbabwe it is as high as 80-90 percent. Youth disengagement contributes to potential
political instability in the region. With conditions such as low economic growth, high poverty, low
government transparency and accountability, high inequality, and low economic diversification and
resilience, engaging youth needs to remain a high priority.
As a result of low growth and inconsistent government fiscal policies, several countries in the region face
fiscal distress, namely: Angola, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. Now, due to the
drop in commodity prices and the economic repercussions of the pandemic, the rest of the region is
facing fiscal crises including South Africa whose debt to GDP ratio is forecast to increase to 85 percent by
the end of 2020. With drops in foreign and domestic investment, reduced revenue collection, and rising
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unemployment, fiscal pressures may increase in the near term. As such, service delivery, including for
health care, education, and poverty alleviation, may face additional constraints.
Multilateral and bilateral development agencies and financial institutions have projects and offices
based in South Africa. Most donors work as strategic partners with the government of South Africa
(GoSA) to provide technical assistance and capacity building. The African Development Bank funds
technical assistance and capacity building activities in core skills required for effective implementation
of the Public Finance Management (PFM) legislation and procedures through the Development Bank of
Southern Africa (DBSA). The European Union (EU) supports peace, security and regional stability,
regional economic integration (including SADC and COMESA support), regional natural resource
management with a focus on the SADC Regional Agriculture Policy, institutional capacity building
(including public financial management). The German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) works
on environment and climate change, economic development and employment, and democracy and
governance (with some USAID support). The United Kingdom's Department for International
Development (DFID) ended bilateral assistance in 2015, but through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
maintains a regional office in South Africa and supports partnership programs which work with South
African institutions to strengthen their development role in Africa, in areas including tax capacity
building, tackling climate change, and service delivery monitoring. Regional development projects
including trade and environment leverage South Africa's predominant role in the region and regional
organizations such as SADC. These priorities align well with USAID's, and while there is some technical
cooperation, there are more opportunities to leverage.
SADC is arguably the most important regional organization in Southern Africa and is recognized by the
African Union (AU) as a regional economic community. The main objectives of SADC are to achieve
development, peace and security, and economic growth, to alleviate poverty, enhance the standard and
quality of life of the peoples of Southern Africa, and support the socially disadvantaged through regional
integration built on democratic principles and equitable and sustainable development. The aspirations
of Southern Africa are clearly spelled out in the Declaration and Treaty that established the shared
community of SADC. These aspirations are a united, prosperous, and integrated region.
SADC has a long history of collaborating with bilateral and multilateral donors to facilitate the
mobilization of resources for the attainment of SADC’s regional integration and poverty reduction
priorities. These partnerships assist SADC to deliver specifically on the implementation of the region’s
two key strategies: The Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) and the Strategic
Indicative Plan of the Organ (SIPO). SADC remains a key regional organization that aligns with the goals
and regional development objectives of the RDCS, and USAID/SA will continue to engage and work with
SADC on all regional projects where there is alignment between the goals and objectives of both
organizations.
STRATEGIC APPROACH
The purpose of foreign assistance is to end the need for it to exist, and USAID/SA’s innovative strategic
approach of a combined country and regional strategy with three integrated Regional Development
Objectives (RDOs) is structured to contribute to exactly this. The approach aligns and reinforces USAID’s
Policy Framework, the J2SR, the United States’ National Security Strategy, and the Department of State
and USAID’s Joint Strategic Plan by countering instability that threatens U.S. interests, and by laying the
foundation for, and accelerating, sustainable development, which opens new markets and supports U.S.
prosperity and security.
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Strategic Choices: Under the new strategy, USAID/SA is making several strategic choices. The first is to
have an integrated regional and country strategy, with integrated RDOs that are all necessary to drive
regional growth and integration as a catalyst for self-reliance. This decision will ensure that USAID/SA
can make strategic programming choices based on resources and the various countries' level of self-
reliance. The second is to focus on partnering with three main stakeholders, specifically the private
sector, governments, and citizens, to increase commitment and capacity in each of the partner countries
in the region. The third is to leverage South Africa’s strategic advantage across each of the sectors in
which USAID works, to help achieve a strategic transition within South Africa over the lifetime of the
strategy. As the Mission realigns its efforts over the course of the next five years, significant changes
must be made. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for strong local partners who can
mobilize to face emerging challenges and the need to consider the gendered impacts that have emerged
in this health emergency.
Chosen Priorities: The numerous development challenges still facing the region, as well as the realities
of the COVID-19 pandemic, have intensified the need to address existing vulnerabilities such as access to
quality health care, basic education, and employment, particularly for women and youth as highlighted
in the J2SR Landscape Analysis. The devastating effects of poverty, discrimination and lack of
opportunity affect women in multiple ways, not just their income levels. Women have fewer economic
rights, and lower access to economic opportunities and resources, including land and credit facilities.
They are vastly under-represented in many occupations, especially in professions such as science and
technology. Women, whether formally employed or not, also shoulder the burden of unpaid activities
such as caring for family members. Economically strengthening women, who account for more than half
of the population in the region, is not only a means to spur economic growth, but it is also a matter of
advancing human rights. Strengthening democratic governance and accountability is critical across the
region to solidify democratic gains and combat corruption. In many sectors, statutory laws are ignored
or not enforced, either due to prevailing social beliefs or a lack of resources and those most affected are
women and vulnerable populations. As the 2017 USAID/SA Tropical Forestry and Biodiversity
Assessment points out, factors such as climate change, weak governance, and resource overexploitation
have underscored the nexus of natural resource management, health, sustainable land use, and
economic development and the importance of integrated systems approaches to address the dynamic
relationships between these sectors and the need for resilient support networks.
Strategic Alignment: The USAID/SA RDCS aligns with Goals 2 and 3 of the State-USAID Joint Strategic
Plan (i.e. “Renew America’s Competitive Advantage for Sustained Economic Growth and Job Creation"
and “Promote American Leadership through Balanced Engagement”). It also aligns with Executive Order
13677 on Climate Resilient International Development which requires the integration of climate-resilient
considerations into all of USAID’s work.
Leveraging the Catalytic Role of South Africa: South Africa is the only country in the region designated
by USAID/Washington for strategic transition. With advanced levels of commitment and capacity to
plan, manage, and resource its own development, there are numerous opportunities for South Africa to
leverage its strategic advantage to assist countries in the region with achieving greater regional growth
and integration. USAID’s J2SR Policy Framework rightly requires that the relationship between the U.S.
and designated strategic transition countries must mature over time, from a donor-recipient dynamic to
one of enduring economic, diplomatic, and security partnership. South Africa’s importance in the region
can not be understated, it is a driver of regional economic growth and stability, the most significant
trading partner in Southern Africa, and the largest trading partner of the U.S. in Africa. Applying the
results framework to South Africa as a strategic transition country will enable USAID/SA to further
expand access to finance, mobilize South African private capital for local and regional development,
9
deepen regional and international trade relationships, and leverage South Africa’s technology and
human capital to drive innovation and growth. This approach will require a different model of
partnership with the GoSA, the private sector, and other stakeholders, as well as the use of innovative
and nimble implementing mechanisms and leveraging of USAID’s convening power. It is critically
important to acknowledge, however, that South Africa faces serious impediments itself to economic
growth and is faced with the triple challenge of high levels of unemployment, poverty, and inequality of
which women are disproportionately affected. Conditions of unemployment, poverty and inequality are
fertile breeding ground for violence, in particular violence against women. A multi-pronged approach is
arguably required to address violence against women such that South Africa remains on track as a
strategic transition country. The integrated RDOs and IRs provide for these issues to be addressed in an
integrated manner, involving economic, social, infrastructural, legal and attitudinal interventions, as
well as the mainstreaming of gender considerations in both public and private sector programs in order
to leverage development gains and decrease the risk of economic backsliding.
Use of Resources to Build Financial Self-Reliance: Financial Self-Reliance (FSR) is a cornerstone of the
J2SR. It is critical to adopt a holistic approach to assessing the range of interrelated and interconnected
elements that contribute to a country’s ability to transparently and inclusively resource its own
development. USAID/SA’s will work across sectors to move away from traditional Domestic Resource
Mobilization (DRM) approaches that have centered on public revenues, to one that targets and
advances the spectrum of public and private resources. USAID/SA will strategically build the capacity of
countries in the region, across development sectors, to mobilize, plan and invest resources that drive
sustainable development. Increasing trade and investment, will drive economic growth and increase
financial resources available for development.
Engaging the Private Sector: Private Sector Engagement (PSE) is a means to an end. USAID/SA will
engage and partner with the private sector in all areas to improve development results. PSE is not a
development objective or IR: it is the means through which we achieve those results. The private sector
is central to the successful execution of the RDCS, not only as the main driver of economic growth and
employment in the region, but also as a partner in development. USAID/SA will significantly increase its
engagement with the private sector across all sectors and ensure that there is strategic alignment
between USAID development objectives and the objectives of the private sector. This will lead to
development programs that are co-created by the private sector, and as a result are more scalable and
sustainable as resources are shared and leveraged.
Regional Partnerships: Southern African host country governments and intergovernmental
organizations have always been and will continue to be key development partners. USAID/SA engages
with host country governments, intergovernmental organizations and other development actors across
all development sectors and at various levels to ensure that there is strategic alignment and buy-in. This
enables USAID/SA to define and redefine the USG’s relationship within the region.
South Africa, as a strategic transition country, forms a core pillar and an enabler across the RDOs.
Leveraging South Africa’s private financial resources, advanced and sophisticated financial systems and
infrastructure, and vibrant private sector is critical to achieving regional development results. At the
same time, it allows USAID/SA to evolve its relationship with South Africa from a traditional donor-
recipient to one supporting long-term economic, diplomatic, and security partnership. This will require
USAID/SA to play a convening and connecting role within South Africa to mobilize U.S. Government
agencies, the private sector, and government to bolster trade and investment, and expand the private
sector. The impact of leveraging South Africa’s financial resources and expertise will be mutually
beneficial.
10
G2G funding is already happening in South Africa in the health sector, where USAID/SA has been very
active for a number of years. To expand on these successes and to begin “transitioning” USAID’s
relationship into other sectors, USAID/SA and the GoSA have signed two G2G agreements. These
agreements are with the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and the Department of Social
Development (DSD). The purpose of the activity with DBE is to provide support to the national DBE to
align and consolidate the Life Orientation Conditional Grant to better support the implementation
mandates of the National Policy on HIV, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and TB. The purpose of
the activity with DSD is to strengthen DSD’s capacity to scale-up the implementation of primary
prevention of sexual violence and HIV activities among 10 to18 year-olds, link them to the 95-95-95
5
clinical cascade and reduce incidence of HIV and AIDS through social behavior change and
communication programs (SBCC). Furthermore, USAID/SA will continue direct funding for G2G and to
local indigenous partners, which currently make up most of the health funding. By partnering directly
on G2G and with local institutions and building their capacity to implement locally-led solutions,
USAID/SA will maximize the potential impact of USAID resources by shifting accountability and
ownership to local stakeholders.
South Africa has several areas of strategic advantage as it relates to the areas of civil society and media
and child health. USAID/SA will continue to develop South Africa’s civil society organizations, including
in the media space, in order to serve as a potential resource on how to combat closing space, bring
attention to corruption, and strengthen the voice of people and communities whose livelihoods are
potentially threatened due to poor access to and quality of services provided.
Other U.S. Government Actors: USAID/Southern Africa works in close coordination with its interagency
partners in the region to align its strategic approach with ongoing programming. In particular, the
Mission coordinates on a daily basis with the U.S. Department of State on the President’s Emergency
Plans for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) across the region, as well as with the U.S. Center for Disease Control
(CDC) on health programming (e.g. TB, malaria, HIV/AIDS, COVID-19, etc.). The Mission also liaises
regularly with the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Trade Representative’s
Office, U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Small Business
Administration, U.S. Trade Development Agency, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation,
and the Export Import Bank often through the Shared Prosperity Working Group chaired by the Political-
Economic Section of U.S. Embassy/Pretoria.
Donor Coordination: At the technical level, USAID coordinates with other donors through forums and
working groups in coordination with SADC. Throughout the region, USAID participates actively in
country-level donor working groups in environment, energy, health, democracy and governance, and
education, among others. To address climate risks affecting USAID programming, USAID/SA will
coordinate with donors to join resources to build resilience in the programs supported.
RESULTS FRAMEWORK NARRATIVE
RDCS Goal and Narrative: Under the new integrated strategy, USAID/SA’s five-year (2020-2025)
strategic goal is to help the region advance toward becoming more integrated, prosperous, and self-
reliant. USAID will achieve this by partnering with three main stakeholders: the private sector,
governments, and citizens to catalyze inclusive economic growth, strengthen governance, and advance
the resilience of people and systems.
5
95-95-95 for treatment is defined as 95% of people living with HIV know their HIV status; 95% of people who know their status on
treatment; and 95% of people on treatment with suppressed viral loads.
11
The purpose of foreign assistance is to end the need for it to exist, and USAID/SA’s innovative strategic
approach of a combined country and regional strategy with three integrated RDOs is structured to
achieve exactly this. The strategic approach necessitates partnering with the private sector, local
governments, and civil society and redefining relationships based on complex and varied regional
characteristics. The three RDOs work in an integrated fashion and will enable USAID/SA to harmonize
investments in sustainable growth, inclusion, and democracy which will ultimately enhance capacity and
increase commitment of the countries in the region.
Cross-sectoral integration is fundamental. The Policy Framework states: “Technical specialties and
program areas allow useful divisions of labor within USAID, but they do not reflect the real world. It is
impossible, for example, to separate children’s education from their health and nutrition, their parents’
livelihoods, norms around the equality of girls’ and boys’ schooling, or the government’s administrative
effectiveness.” For economic competitiveness and sustainable regional economic integration to grow,
the enabling environment and access to quality infrastructure must be improved, trade and investment
increased, and the private sector mobilized for inclusive development. In particular, the under-
utilization of the private sector to drive growth remains a huge opportunity; under the new strategy,
USAID/SA will reorient its approach to strategically engage and partner with the private sector.
RDO 1: Inclusive Economic Growth Catalyzed
Development Hypothesis: An increase in trade and investment, coupled with the expansion of the
private sector, will act as a catalyst for inclusive economic growth in the region. Inclusive economic
growth is a prerequisite for an integrated, prosperous, and self-reliant Southern Africa.
Southern African countries continue to be challenged by high levels of poverty, unemployment
(specifically youth unemployment), and inequality. Without strong and inclusive economic growth that
meaningfully addresses poverty, unemployment, and inequality, self-reliance will be all but impossible
to achieve. Inclusive growth is economic growth that is distributed fairly across society and creates
opportunities for all. Regional economic growth has been sluggish, falling from 4 percent in 2010 to
about 1.2 percent in 2018, with projected growth of around 2.2 percent in 2019 and 2.8 percent in 2020.
These figures can be adjusted downwards significantly as a result of the yet unknown economic impact
of COVID-19. Even if regional economic growth stays at the projected levels, it is not nearly high enough
to achieve sustainable and inclusive development results. The regional development hypothesis is
based on the premise that increasing inclusive economic growth is a prerequisite for the development
and self-reliance of countries in the region.
USAID/SA will catalyze inclusive economic growth through increasing trade, increasing investment, and
expanding the private sector to ensure equal participation by all in economic growth and production.
Trade, investment, and private sector expansion are inherently regional issues that need to be
addressed at a regional level and at a regional scale, through regional programming. Increased trade
and investment and an expanded private sector stand as three of the strongest direct levers to address
the systemic development challenges and inequality faced in Southern Africa and are crucial for self-
reliance. Globally, the private sector provides around 90 percent of employment (formal and informal)
in developing countries and this is similar in Southern Africa. Private sector businesses strengthen
national and regional tax revenues which enable the public sector to set up basic and necessary
infrastructure. In addition, the private sector also provides two thirds of total investment and three
quarters of total credit to African country economies. Increased private sector trade and investment
also grows the volume of foreign currency coming into markets which strengthens growth and solidifies
economies against unexpected shocks. Increased private sector engagement with U.S.-based businesses
also strengthen countries’ abilities to diversify their trade and development partners. In taking a gender-
empowering approach, USAID/SA is well-positioned to play a pivotal role in increasing women’s
12
decision-making power and representation in trade, investment, and private sector growth. Doing so
will ensure women are not just the recipients of programs and services, but agents of design, delivery,
and accountability in Southern Africa’s economic growth.
Increasing trade and investment and expanding the private sector are also high on the agenda of
regional organizations such as SADC and other bilateral and multilateral donors that align their official
development assistance to regional priorities. Through increasing regional trade, investment, and
expanding the private sector, USAID/SA will provide the region with alternative and sustainable models
of financing. Furthermore, as inclusive economic growth is catalyzed and the economies of countries in
the region start growing as a result, there will be a direct positive impact on the ability of these
countries to finance their own self-reliance.
Private Sector Engagement: PSE is a means to an end. USAID/SA will engage and partner with the
private sector in all areas to improve development results. PSE is not a development objective or IR: it is
the means through which we achieve those results and the private sector is at the very core of RDO1.
Moreover, as PSE expands to increase its role not just as a producer of economic growth, but as a
meaningful contributor to responding to development challenges in the region such as poverty
alleviation, income inequality, sustainable natural resource management, and human rights protections,
USAID/SA will continue to seek out opportunities to leverage ongoing efforts to transform PSE from just
focusing on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to include reforming entire business models, and
ensuring that businesses actually address development challenges across sectors. Examples include the
efforts of the Global Labor Program in Lesotho where major clothing brands like Levi’s and Children’s
Place have partnered with labor unions, women’s rights organizations, and Taiwanese-owned
manufacturing companies to force a change in culture with respect to GBV within the workplace. This
example extended beyond CSR and sought to sustain a permanent change by ensuring the safety and
long-term wellness of staff within the workplace, while fighting income inequality and gender
discrimination. This approach strengthens a country’s path to J2SR as the achievement of development
goals becomes a shared responsibility with the private sector. While core PEPFAR programming has a
focus on buttressing the public sector to deliver HIV services, engaging the private sector to deliver
innovative health services and serve hard-to-reach populations is of paramount importance to the South
Africa Mission. South Africa has been a leader in recognizing that one-size-fits all health services
become a barrier to best serving individual needs, pioneering Differentiated Service Delivery
6
models
that utilize the private sector to deliver client-centered services. One prominent example is the Central
Chronic Medication Dispensing and Distribution (CCMDD) model, which uses private sector logistics
companies to dispense chronic medicines (including HIV and TB medication) outside of public health
facilities at alternate pickup points. Over the course of the RDCS strategy, the emergence of South
Africa’s National Health Insurance (NHI) legal and implementation framework could reshape the health
sector. USAID is uniquely positioned to assist GoSA to strengthen NHI financing and management
mechanisms that tap underutilized capacity in the private health sector to significantly broaden access
to quality health services in the country.
Financing Self Reliance: FSR is a cornerstone of the J2SR. It is critical to adopt a holistic approach to
assessing the range of interrelated and interconnected elements that contribute to a country’s ability to
transparently and inclusively resource its own development. A quick assessment of the J2SR Regional
Landscape Analysis illustrates that countries in the region perform relatively poorly in governmental
capacity, and specifically in government and tax system effectiveness. By increasing trade and
investment, and expanding the private sector, RDO1 contributes significantly towards FSR by moving
6
http://www.differentiatedcare.org/
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away from traditional Domestic Resource Mobilization (DRM) approaches that have centered on public
revenues, to one that targets and advances the spectrum of public and private resources. This enables
countries in the region to more effectively finance their own social and economic development through:
(1) contributing to systems that mobilize, allocate, and spend public resources effectively, efficiently,
equitably, and with accountability; (2) improving the enabling environment that allows the private
sector and domestic philanthropy to grow and thrive; and (3) developing liquid, diverse, and well-
regulated financial markets that support growth and development.
Redefining the Relationship (RDR): Southern African host country governments and intergovernmental
organizations are key stakeholders within the larger market system of trade, investment, and expanding
the private sector. As key stakeholders, USAID/SA will also look to the public sector to mobilize
resources efficiently to unlock capital for development and blend financial resources with development
resources.
RDO Regional Rationale: Regional integration remains an economic and political priority for Southern
African countries, as evidenced in their adoption and implementation of many regional integration
programs both at continental and regional levels. RDO1 seeks to catalyze inclusive economic growth
through trade, investment and expanding the private sector which forms the foundation of the regional
integration agenda and are inherently regional issues that need to be addressed at a regional level, at a
regional scale, and through regional programming.
Accelerating Commitment and Capacity: RDO1 accelerates and advances the levels of commitment and
capacity across the region at multiple levels. Activities focusing on increasing trade, investment and
expanding the private sector will not only build the capacity of local and intraregional organizations,
governments and the private sector to increase trade and investment across the region it will also
systematically address enabling environment within which trade and investment takes place leading to
long term sustainability of the system. Identifying and resolving these enabling environment
constraints, whether access to finance, limited infrastructure, high costs of trade, policy barriers, border
clearance challenges etc. will further will further enable scalable growth by ensuring that all businesses
and investments focusing on these opportunities can grow more quickly and more viably, not just those
with targeted investment support. Commitment and capacity will further be strengthened through
forming partnerships with local stakeholders such as business associations, private sector bodies,
investor bodies and business support networks to strengthen the overall private sector ecosystem. This
will ensure that local actors are able to own and drive trade and investment related activities.
Link to SA Bilateral Programming: Ongoing bilateral economic growth activities will continue to
contribute to RDO1. It is envisioned however that South Africa, as the most advanced economy in the
region, will contribute significantly towards increasing regional trade and investment and expanding the
private sector. The size and diversification of South Africa’s private sector positions it well as a lever for
extended regional trade and investment. Extending South Africa’s engagement in regional trade and
investment will also expand the resources to use for long-term growth, helping to achieve the objectives
of self-reliance of countries in the region as outlined in the J2SR. RDO1 will actively seek to partner with
South Africa, and seek out opportunities for truly mutually beneficial regional trade and investment. For
example, a stepwise approach (with e.g., gradual removal of protective measures as competitiveness
improves) will achieve trade that is not only bigger and more free (fewer monetary and non-monetary
barriers) but importantly, reciprocal and equitable, which will help the region as a whole to grow, rather
than just change/redistribute flows. Building stronger partnerships between partners in South Africa
and other Southern African geographies will be vital for this success to instill the trust and mutual
engagement needed for RDO1.
14
Donor Coordination: There are numerous trade, investment and private sector activities being
implemented by donors both at a regional level and a bilateral level within Southern Africa. Where
feasible USAID/SA will ensure that projects and activities that contribute to RDO1 does not duplicate
what other donors are already doing, and where donors have a comparative advantage USAID/SA will
explore innovative ways of partnering and supplementing with those donors. As mentioned earlier
donor coordination is important, especially considering USAID/SA’s limited resources. To this end,
USAID/SA will over the course of this strategy, form or join, sector specific donor coordination forums.
Regional Risks and Assumptions
Risks:
● Changes in U.S. Government policy;
● USAID has overestimated its convening capacity;
● External economic shocks, such as the current global COVID-19 pandemic, severely damages the
economies in the region and countries struggle with recovery for a prolonged time period.
Assumptions:
● Regional economies are resilient enough to swiftly recover from the impact of COVID-19 and
does not enter a long period of recession;
● Regional integration, trade and investment remains a top priority for SADC and countries in the
region;
● The current U.S. policies and emphasis on market-based development, private sector
engagement and mutually beneficial trade and investment does not change;
● The private sector has an appetite for engaging in development related issues beyond
traditional Corporate Social Investment (CSI) and CSR strategies.
Learning Agenda: RDO1 will seek to develop a knowledge base on what approaches to increasing trade,
investment and expanding the private sector work best in a regional setting. The learning agenda will
also seek to answer specific questions on the effectiveness of increasing trade, investment, and
expanding the private sector as a catalyst for inclusive growth. More broadly, the learning agenda will
contribute to the broader learning agenda of the Agency on PSE effectiveness and contribute to the
body of evidence and best practice for improved PSE programming among USAID and other
development actors. Illustrative learning questions include:
● What evidence supports that increasing trade contributes to inclusive economic growth?
● What is USAID’s role in mobilizing private capital? What approaches are most efficient?
● What is the correlation between increasing investment and improved development results?
● What is the correlation between structuring innovative and blended finance models and private
sector expansion?
IR 1.1: Trade Increased: Trade contributes to sustainable economic growth, job creation, productivity
gains, higher incomes, improved health outcomes, greater food security, women’s empowerment,
better governance, and many other development objectives. A large body of empirical evidence
demonstrates that increasing trade stimulates investment, increases productivity, and generates
significantly higher revenues and incomes for firms and workers connected to international or regional
value chains. Promoting regional economic growth through trade also has economic and strategic
benefits for the U.S., including increasing market access and opportunities for U.S. companies in
Southern Africa.
15
The informal cross-border trade sector provides unique opportunities to improve women’s equal
participation in economic growth, production, and trade in the region. Women make up 70 percent of
all informal traders taking part in informal cross-border trade in SADC. The economic activity of these
women accounted for over $17.6 billion
7
and enabled important regional linkages that promote
economic interdependence and regional food security. However, the disproportionately high role that
women play in informal trade means that they are disproportionately impacted by the challenges that
the sector faces overall. Informal traders can end up paying more in border fees to clear goods
compared to larger traders which reduces their profitability, potential for scale and economic growth.
In trade, women are also more susceptible to sexual or financial extortion from officials. This
compromises their safety and ease of doing business. These challenges arise from not only a largely
male dominated customs and border system but in the general lack of awareness from female traders of
the policies and rights that are guaranteed.
Along with increased trade are risks related to increased pollution, natural habitat fragmentation, and
carbon production.
8
To mitigate these risks and increase trade, USAID/SA will focus on implementing
responsible trade agreements, facilitating trade flows, and enhancing economic responsiveness of
businesses to take advantage of trade opportunities and protect the region’s natural resources.
USAID/SA will facilitate intra-regional trade and two-way trade between the U.S. and Southern Africa in
sectors where there are strong market opportunities with high levels of innovation, productivity,
competitiveness, collaboration (including industry concentration). Sector social inclusivity (such as
gender and youth), business practices that are built on environmental sustainability, and strong value-
chain linkages as well as the feasibility and sustainability of impact, will drive the identification of target
sectors.
USAID/SA will prioritize the identification of the product-market combinations (macro-economic
opportunities) across Southern Africa with high potential for growth and impact. A systems approach
will be used to identify the binding constraints which limit their growth and/or hinder their development
impact, which can be opportunity-specific or related to the overall ecosystem. This approach will
surface more, and better, macro-economic opportunities for trade; will more clearly identify and
support the potential for development impact of these opportunities; and will also highlight the
additional work and investment needed to increase viability. Identifying and resolving the binding
constraints for high-potential macro-economic opportunities, whether access to finance, limiting
infrastructure, high costs of trade, policy barriers, border clearance challenges or others, will further
enable scalable growth by ensuring that all businesses and investments focusing on these opportunities
can grow more quickly and more viably, not just those with targeted investment support.
Achieving scalable and sustainable growth requires a supportive ecosystem that both creates and
actively implements supportive trade policies, laws, and regulations. USAID/SA will address the
challenges linked to specific trade policies, regulations, and behaviors by increasing alignment and
implementation particularly. USAID/SA will aim to drive new ecosystem innovations such as additional
financing platforms (e.g., Development Impact Bonds (DIB)s and Social Impact Bonds (SIBs)), particularly
for onward and second-stage financing, and de-risking models (e.g. credit guarantees and blended
finance options) which will increase the likelihood of successful trade and also generate new and
innovative growth in the wider private sector. Collectively, USAID/SA will leverage South Africa’s
7
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), “Borderline: Women in informal cross-border
trade in Malawi, the United Republic of Tanzania, and Zambia”, 2019
8
USAID Southern Africa Tropical Forestry and Biodiversity Assessment, November 2017
16
relative strength and economic stability as a catalyst for strengthening the enabling environment of
other Southern African countries.
Agriculture production remains central to poverty reduction, economic growth, and food and nutrition
security in Southern Africa, despite it being a water-scarce region. Agriculture provides a livelihood
including subsistence, employment, and income and wealth creation for over 60 percent of the region’s
250 million people, and contributes eight percent of the region’s GDP, or over 28 percent when all
middle-income countries are excluded. Most smallholder farmers in the region are women who
produce crops which have enormous potential for increased trade between African countries and within
global markets. Within SADC countries, women contribute more than 60 percent to total food
production and provide the largest labor force in the agriculture sector. As such, the agriculture sector
and women’s roles in agriculture will remain a priority and since it is predicted that by 2050 the region
will have 20 percent less rainfall to replenish its surface and subsurface stocks, increased attention and
support for water resource management is necessary. In addition, there is a growing interest by the
private sector in the region, to invest in agriculture. These emerging agricultural entrepreneurial
interests can be harnessed to advance regional harmonization and reform efforts to reduce poverty and
hunger in the region through accelerated agricultural value chain development. The agricultural sector
is one of the highest contributors of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) in the region. Therefore, programs
implemented under this IR must consider ways of reducing GHG emissions. Climate risks will affect the
agricultural sector and therefore may thwart efforts to increase trade of agricultural products. To
address climate risks, USAID will partner with private companies and donors to assist the sector to be
more climate resilient, partner with firms that practice sustainable agricultural methods, ensure that
trading partners have the capacity and systems in place to mitigate logistical challenges due to climate-
related crises, and encourage climate resiliency of firms that will be supported under this IR.
IR1.2: Investment Increased: The importance of investment for economic growth can not be overstated.
Investment leads to productivity improvements, which in turn leads to economic growth. Investment in
infrastructure (e.g. water and sanitation) enables the private sector to use technology to expand
productive activities. Investment in education and human capital produces a more skilled and
productive labor force. Investment in health enables a healthier labor force which leads to increased
productivity. Identifying gender-empowering growth sectors and opportunities (e.g., trade corridors)
should include a prioritization based on the direct and indirect empowerment for women. Directly,
opportunities for women should prioritize both increases and diversification of jobs, along with data and
evidence on what sectors may inherently further aggravate gender inequalities. This should start with a
clear identification and prioritization of female dominant sectors or value chains. This will allow
activities to direct resources and growth to existing opportunities where women currently capture the
greatest value. Investing in and growing these opportunities will increase women’s direct participation,
expertise, and agency in the given sector. Opportunity prioritization should also identify and support
sectors that stand to benefit women equally, if not greater. Some sectors inherently favor men over
women, and vice versa, which can lead to greater gender disparities as investment and growth occur. In
addition to this, some women don’t necessarily benefit from sector diversification. For instance,
investing in agricultural processing may greatly help regional economic growth, but could do so through
the disproportionate exclusion of women, who often do not take part in businesses or production at the
higher end of the agricultural value chains. Indirect benefits for women from sector growth—such as
increased access to nutrition, health, financial independence, and others, should also be examined and
supported.
Moreover, investment enables businesses to expand and grow, creating employment opportunities and
generating products and services, all of which have a multiplier effect in the value chain. In terms of
17
volume, foreign and local private investment has far outpaced traditional development assistance,
which is steadily decreasing. There is an estimated global financing gap of between $2.5 - $3 trillion a
year to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), while the gross world product is estimated at
$80 trillion, and global gross private sector financial assets are estimated at $200 trillion. For
development, it is crucial that the capital that is available is leveraged and channeled more effectively
towards inclusive growth and addressing various development challenges. To this end, USAID/SA will
focus on increasing investment between Southern African countries, and from sources external to the
region, especially the U.S., to drive regional growth and development. USAID/SA will leverage its
financial resources efficiently and effectively to attract additional investment across numerous sectors
including agriculture, education, water and sanitation, environment, and energy. To mitigate the
impacts of climate change, USAID/SA will encourage climate resiliency to be built into investment
portfolios supported through its programs.
USAID/SA will prioritize the identification of the product-market combinations (macro-economic
opportunities) across Southern Africa with high potential for growth and impact. A systems approach
will be used to identify the binding constraints which limit their growth and/or hinder their development
impact, which can be opportunity-specific or related to the overall ecosystem. This approach will
surface more, and better, macro-economic opportunities for investment, will more clearly identify and
support the potential for the development impact of these opportunities, and will also highlight the
additional work and investment needed to increase viability. Identifying and resolving the binding
constraints for high-potential macro-economic opportunities, whether access to finance, limiting
infrastructure, high costs of trade, policy barriers, border clearance challenges or others, will further
enable scalable growth by ensuring that all businesses and investments focusing on these opportunities
can grow more quickly and more viably, not just those with targeted investment support.
Achieving scalable and sustainable growth requires a supportive ecosystem that both creates and
actively implements supportive investment policies, laws, and regulations. USAID/SA will address the
challenges linked to specific trade policies, regulations, and behaviors particularly by increasing
alignment and implementation. USAID/SA will drive new ecosystem innovations such as additional
financing platforms (e.g., DIBs and SIBs), particularly for onward and second-stage financing, and de-
risking models (e.g., credit guarantees and blended finance options) which will increase the likelihood of
successful trade and also generate new and innovative growth in the wider private sector. Collectively,
USAID/SA will leverage South Africa’s relative strength and economic stability as a catalyst for
strengthening the enabling environment of other Southern African countries.
USAID/SA will also focus on converting identified opportunities within a pipeline into successfully
completed transactions. Successfully closing deals often requires transactional support. Transactional
support is particularly effective if opportunities fall into new or challenging environments for investors.
In these situations, investors are inclined to back out should the upfront transactional work be overly
complex or require a greater deal of effort than usual or anticipated. Providing additional support in the
form of transaction facilitation support, feasibility analyses, and due diligence investigations can often
be a “make or break” to help carry proposed trade and investment opportunities through to successful
closing. Activities that apply individual de-risking instruments developed in previous phases will further
increase the likelihood of successful transaction completion.
IR.1.3: Private Sector Expanded: It is generally acknowledged that a robust and vibrant private sector is
necessary for effective and sustained growth. A growing private sector is a major source of wealth, job
creation, dynamism, competitiveness, and knowledge diffusion, all of which lead to long-term growth.
The private sector is an essential partner in advancing the process of women’s economic empowerment.
Strengthened by greater trade and investment and gender-empowerment support, greater private
18
sector engagement can result in step-change for women by adopting business practices that include and
support women as workers, consumers, producers and suppliers. This is most notably true when the
private sector directs its many assets, such as in-house expertise and financial resources, into sectors
that disproportionately employ and empower women. USAID/SA will strategically consult, strategize,
collaborate, and implement with the private sector for greater scale, sustainability, and effectiveness of
development outcomes. Doing so will directly increase women’s employment opportunities and will
indirectly increase opportunities for women to strengthen and diversify their presence along critical
commodity value chains—particularly through female-owned SMEs. Building stronger and more patient
and long-term partnerships with governments, civil society, NGOs and international institutions will
further extend the scale and impact of gender-forward investment and will deepen levels of trust
between the private sector and women across Southern Africa.
This will enable USAID/SA to leverage private sector expertise, innovation, and resources across sectors
in Southern Africa to build country-level capacity for self-reliance. USAID/SA will partner with the
private sector to improve development outcomes including health, economic growth, education, water
and sanitation, environment, and democracy, human rights, and governance. Partnerships can and will
take various forms and do not necessarily have to be formalized. It is critical that USAID/SA provide
assistance to expand and grow the private sector, specifically innovative businesses which produce
public or social goods and services efficiently and are inclusive in nature. Emphasis on inclusion is
critical since at least seven countries in the region fall within the top 10 most unequal countries in the
world in 2019, according to the World Bank, with South Africa at number one. Expansion of the private
sector must take into consideration the needs and priorities of marginalized and under-represented
groups, the rights of workers, and mitigate opportunities for TIP and GBV in the workplace. Expansion
should be targeted; identifying those sectors with the greatest probability to contribute towards poverty
alleviation, which includes prioritizing women and youth.
USAID/SA will create partnerships that identify the greatest comparative advantages of each partner
and leverage these for success and development results. For instance, macro-economic opportunities
will require a mapping of the partners best aligned to supporting the resolution of binding constraints,
which will enable USAID/SA to direct the support of partner organizations to drive the growth of
products, markets, and pathways with the greatest economic and development potential. Stronger
partnerships will also build stronger ecosystems: activities will aim to build the relationships and trust
needed among countries, organizations, industry leaders, and others to ensure collaborative regional
growth. Partnerships can include connections between industry groups (e.g., investors in South Africa
and U.S.), community organizations and implementing partners, USAID bilateral Missions, and others.
This will develop USAID/SA’s strengths as a platform-based partner that supports the entrance and
expansion of needed private sector partners into Southern Africa. Partnerships should advance goals of
inclusivity, particularly through labor empowerment programs (e.g. through USAID’s Global Labor
Program and other development-specific alliances). Sector agnostic partnerships will lead to the
creation of more innovative businesses and the expansion of the business environment, all of which
support a stronger private sector. Supporting partnerships further advances the goals of “commitment”
as specified in the J2SR strategy which relies on trust and social capital as key tenets of success.
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RDO 2: Governance Strengthened
Development Hypothesis: If institutional performance and accountability is increased and the rule of
law and justice systems are strengthened, overall governance throughout the region will be improved.
Strong, well-functioning governance structures are a prerequisite for an integrated, prosperous, and
self-reliant Southern Africa.
It is essential that governments are accountable and responsive to their citizens, transparent in their
reporting on the use of public resources and in decision making, and willing to create opportunities for
participation in policy and service delivery. Good governance must include transparent processes,
decisions, and outcomes that sustain natural resources, alleviate poverty, and improve quality of life for
everyone. These processes, decisions, and outcomes have a huge impact on ways in which women and
men lead their lives, on the rules they are expected to abide by, and on the structures that determine
where and how they work and live. They also shape how public resources are allocated and whether
services take account of both women's and men's needs and interests. Yet women are often excluded
from decision-making, from the household to the highest levels of government and beyond to the global
level. Governance processes - emphasizing accountability, transparency, responsiveness and
inclusiveness - should be a means to social transformation.
GBV and other forms of intimate partner violence (IPV) are prevalent in Southern Africa. The Violence
Against Women (VAW) Baseline Studies
9
in the 6 SADC countries
10
indicated “Prevalence for Lifetime
Experience of GBV” a range of 50 percent to 86 percent for five out of the six participating countries.
“Prevalence for IPV Lifetime Experience” ranged from 49 percent to 69 percent for the same five out of
six participating member countries. Estimates for “Lifetime Experiencing of Rape by Non-Partners”
ranged from 4 percent to 29 percent for the 5 member countries. GBV causes are multiple with many
contributing factors that can be traced back to harmful cultural and traditional practices, gender
inequalities and discrimination in all aspects of life (social, economic, religious and political) and
entrenched institutional arrangements that are patriarchal. These are often manifested through
unequal power relations between women and men, low status of women in society; gender biased
socialization, beliefs and attitudes as well as gender norms that support male superiority and
entitlements. Furthermore, GBV is reinforced by laws, policies and administrative procedures that do
not adequately incorporate the specific needs; experiences and aspirations of women and men in a
gender equitable manner. Women’s economic dependence on men continues to heighten women’s
vulnerability to GBV.
Private Sector Engagement (PSE): In developing and developed countries alike, women face obstacles
to starting and managing a business, to accessing finance, to earning equal pay for equal work, and to
owning land or other assets. Many countries maintain laws and regulations that advantage men while
discriminating against women. Gender efforts should revolve around the importance of leveraging the
private sector to ensure that reform goes beyond policy statements and creates real economic benefits
for women and men. USAID/SA will develop an approach to gender equity that focuses on expanding
market opportunities, enabling private initiative, and developing dynamic economies.
Another example includes USAID/SA’s work partnering with private sector entities to address GBV not
only within corporate structures, but also leveraging USAID’s voice and convening power to advocate for
broader societal changes. Finally, USAID/SA will seek opportunities to leverage the private sector’s
9
SADC Gender Protocol Barometer, 2016
10
Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
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unique position as an influencer to amplify civil society’s call to reduce corruption, which will contribute
towards reducing the trust deficit between people, the government, and the private sector.
Financing Self Reliance (FSR): To deliver quality essential services, Southern African governments must
spend their resources in a transparent and accountable manner. To that end, efforts to FSR can not and
should not stop at merely generating revenue but must create platforms for greater transparency and
citizen engagement so that resources meet demand. With growing demands for fiscal transparency and
open governments, there has been significant progress in making information on budget decision-
making available and therefore promoting greater citizen-state accountability. However, there is still a
need for more inclusive and meaningful participation, particularly when it comes to how public
resources are allocated. Very often, government ministries are unable to monitor the adequacy of
public spending in relation to gender equality. Some of the reasons include the lack of 1) capacity to
conduct gender analysis, 2) monitoring systems and 3) adequate sex disaggregated data.
In addition, programs in the region should be developed through co-creation with government partners
in order to generate local buy-in at the onset and ensure that the impact is sustained to support the
J2SR.
Redefining the Relationship (RDR): USAID/SA’s relationships with governments throughout the region
have always been and will continue to be that of partners in addressing development challenges and
ensuring government systems remain transparent and accountable. However, as USAID/SA redefines its
relationship over the next five years, greater focus will be spent on facilitating networks and linkages
across the region to promote peer-to-peer learning and knowledge sharing. Bringing in outside
solutions to challenges which are unique to Southern Africa is not always the appropriate solution.
Strengthening the ability of each country to serve as technical experts to others within the region on
specific matters (as outlined in the J2SR Landscape Analysis) will reduce the necessity for USAID
assistance in the long-term. For example, Eswatini’s recently passed public assembly law is considered
by leading human rights advocacy groups to be one of the friendliest to civil society in the region.
Promoting this as a model law for other countries to follow by leveraging USAID/SA’s convening ability
to increase these types of South-South partnerships and learning could prove very powerful.
RDO Regional Rationale: Recognizing that political priorities affect more than one country, it becomes
necessary to consider the ways in which regional approaches to addressing governance issues influence
bilateral good governance efforts and vice versa. For example, SADC develops policies intended to align
the region’s position on critical issues such as wildlife trafficking or cybersecurity. These issues are not
solely a country-specific concern with no larger implication beyond the geo-political borders created but
are also of regional concern. Therefore, it becomes necessary to consider how regional efforts, like the
agreed upon SADC model law on cybersecurity, could have country-specific implications in terms of how
those laws are interpreted or even mis-interpreted and carried out at the bilateral level. Trafficking,
whether of people or wildlife, is a transboundary challenge, and therefore the response to mitigating it
must be regional in nature. A bilateral approach will only limit the potential impact as it is a category of
organized crime that permeates every country in the region. Illicit trade seeks the weakest governance
structures to exploit, thus a solely bilateral approach limits the overall effectiveness of one’s efforts.
Accelerating Commitment and Capacity: By working through a regional lens, each targeted country’s
efforts along the commitment and capacity continuum of the J2SR will be amplified because the
strategic approaches applied acknowledge the influencing power of shared regional learning on good
governance issues, which are often particularly politically sensitive. RDO2 will advance levels of regional
commitment and capacity by emphasizing South-South learning, which does not focus solely on the
solutions of the global North, but identifying those good governance practices within the region that are
considered best fit as it recognizes the unique regional context of Southern Africa. This will be
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demonstrated in such regional programming as judicial and magistrate seminars that bring these
individuals together throughout the region on transboundary topics such as environmental law in order
to ensure there is increased commitment and capacity to adjudicate based on the domestic, regional
and international laws that have been codified in constitutions across SADC.
Link to SA Bilateral Programming: South Africa is a major pull factor for many people not only in the
region, but throughout the African continent. As noted earlier, South Africa has advanced levels of
commitment and capacity to plan, manage, and resource its own development to leverage its strategic
advantage to assist countries in the region thus achieving greater regional growth, integration and
stability. Therefore, it becomes critical to strengthen the good governance structures within South
Africa in order to ensure that its economic growth is not at the expense of the most vulnerable seeking
refuge or those considered economic migrants. This, in turn, will increase South Africa’s level of
resilience against potential shocks to its systems as it minimizes the dissatisfaction between and among
its citizens and residents with the government by increasing the quality of service delivery, which in turn
improves trust in the social contract.
Donor Coordination: RDO2 efforts will leverage ongoing programming within the region implemented
by other donors, such as GIZ, EU, DFID, World Bank, etc. Where a specific donor has the comparative
advantage or the critical access needed to support transformational change, then USAID/SA will work to
support those efforts through co-investments rather than creating a parallel system. This has been the
case with respect to an ongoing partnership in South Africa with GIZ intended to improve transparency
and accountability by strengthening public financial management practices. Donor coordination and co-
investment in addressing good governance also helps to cement the importance of such ideals as judicial
independence being a public good to debunk narratives around domestic interference.
Regional Risks and Assumptions
Risks:
● Changes in U.S. Government policy;
● USAID has overestimated its convening capacity;
● External economic shocks, such as the current global COVID-19 pandemic, severely damages the
economies in the region and countries struggle with recovery for a prolonged time period;
● Rates of GBV worsen and continue to disproportionately affect women.
Assumptions:
● Policy changes are developed and implemented;
● Regional political stability;
● Most governments/countries in the region are willing to work with South Africa;
● Governments have sustainable budgets and do not severely reduce public spending;
● Commonly shared values around democratic governance across the region;
● Engaging men and boys as allies, advocates, role models, change agents, partners, and survivors
in policy and culturally appropriate program development, implementation, and evaluation is
important in prevention and mitigation of GBV.
Learning Agenda: RDO2 will seek to develop a knowledge base on what types of programming related
to good governance effectively lead to increased accountability and responsiveness to citizens in a
regional setting. The learning agenda will also seek to answer specific questions on best practices for
incentivizing transparency of public resources and decision making, and the creation of opportunities for
22
citizen participation in improving policy and community service delivery. Illustrative learning questions
include:
● Is there a link between governance and “inclusive” development? ROL may not necessarily help
the disenfranchised if the rules are all focused on helping those at the top stay there. What can
be done to ensure that the rights of all are respected and implemented fairly?
● How can programming designed to foster self-reliance at the national level encourage regional
level integration?
● How can we foster capacity and commitment of actors at the local and national levels for
efficient service delivery?
● To what extent is democratic governance promoting open, efficient and consistent participation
of women on all levels of policy-making?
IR 2.1: Institutional Performance and Accountability Increased: Essential to the function of any system
of governance is the ability and will of institutions to act in the service of the citizenry. Governance
systems frame the relationship between state and citizens, and as such, reflect societal power dynamics.
They determine the parameters of citizen engagement and voice in the decisions that affect their lives
which is linked to their access to services, resources, and demands for accountability. Most definitions
of good governance do not make explicit reference to gender equality and the assumption is that
governance systems are gender neutral. From a gender and human rights perspective, good governance
should be measured by its contribution to advancing human rights principles and achieving gender
equality and women’s empowerment.
Across the region, institutions (government institutions, in particular) at all levels bemoan the lack of
capacity (whether it be material, systematic, or human) that hinders the delivery of quality services. GBV
is a human rights violation and all forms of violence against women and girls, discrimination and harmful
practices are among key contributing factors to the spread of HIV among women and girls. USAID/SA
calls for governments to eliminate gender inequalities and gender-based abuse and violence, increase
the capacity of women and adolescent girls to protect themselves from the risk of HIV infection, and
ensure that women can exercise their right to have control over, and decide freely and responsibly on
matters related to their sexuality. Among the reasons commonly documented for GBV under-reporting
are: fear of the perpetrator and more victimization, limited knowledge and skills for effective
communication and conflict resolution, economic dependence, unequal power relations, self-blame and
accepting responsibility for causing conflict and therefore accepting punishment for it, fear of
stigmatization, negative and oppressive cultural and traditional practices and norms - all compounding
normalization and tolerance of GBV at different levels - family, the community and institutions.
Institutional development is not a sector in and of itself but rather it cuts across all sectors. With that in
mind, USAID/SA will continue to engage with various institutions and government bodies that are
responsible for the delivery of essential services (like health and education) in order to build their
capacity. This will in turn have knock on effects that will improve the economy through a healthier more
educated workforce. Technical capacity building is effective only when it is done in concert with an
understanding of political will and drivers for reform. USAID/SA will adopt a broader definition of
capacity building beyond just the provision of training and materials to build skills. USAID/SA will also
include reforming incentives and institutions so that meaningful changes are made and sustained.
USAID will advocate to position critical health services, such as those addressing HIV treatment and
prevention, to be covered comprehensively under NHI policies. Taking advantage of NHI, USAID will
foster opportunities for constructive utilization of South Africa’s private health sector to broaden its
impact on improved public health outcomes for the country. USAID will endeavor to make South
Africa’s implementation of NHI a model for regional efforts to implement universal health coverage.
23
The aims of full, fair and effective utilization of the private health sector under NHI closely align with
IR1.3: Private Sector Expanded. USAID/SA will address gaps around public financial management in the
provision of critical public services and will combat opportunities for money laundering, illicit trade in
the region, and the lack of transparency in public sector budgeting. Although much of these
improvements require reforms made at the bilateral level, Southern Africa provides a unique
opportunity to reinforce South-South learning to identify best fit programming, recognizing that there is
not a one-size-fits-all solution.
IR 2.2: Rule of Law (ROL) and Justice System Strengthened: A strong independent justice system is
necessary to ensure appropriate checks on other branches of government and to secure the enabling
environment so the private sector can flourish and to ensure girls and women can actively and equally
participate in society. And while protections for girls and women are often featured in national
Constitutions, laws frequently restrict women’s rights and freedoms. Accessible, efficient, and fair
justice institutions are critical to ensuring democratic governance across the board for every country in
the region. Similarly, ROL embodies the relationship between the state and its citizens in which power,
violence, and impunity are constrained. As long as the government is subject to it as well, citizens are
equal before the law, human rights are upheld both in legal statutes and their implementation, and
citizens have access to efficient dispute resolution to prevent vigilante justice and enable commerce to
flourish. USAID/SA will build the capacity of justice institutions by providing training and peer exchanges
across the region and ensure that women have equal access to training. For example, USAID/SA will
continue to work with judges across the region to increase their skills to adjudicate matters involving
environmental crime. Because wildlife trafficking and other environmental crimes are transboundary in
nature, training judges in regional cohorts allows for the exchange of ideas during sessions and beyond
the life of training activities, thus furthering sustainability. These networks further serve as a resource
for justices and magistrates after course completion to continue to provide support when requested in
order to strengthen their ability to issue judgments without fear or favor, grounded in their respective
constitutions, and adhering to the tenets of the ROL. This is particularly important given the fact that
justices review case law throughout the region to inform their adjudication processes, therefore making
it critical to provide justices and magistrates with the skills and resources to support sound precedent-
setting judgments. USAID/SA will also build on efforts to strengthen regulatory frameworks and ROL to
help countries achieve development outcomes across sectors. Faster and more efficient adjudication
and increased access to justice will allow citizens to enforce their rights against infringement by the
state or powerful private interests. In many cases, the rights being violated are the rights to economic
and social resources, such as land, title, permits, and licenses.
RDO 3: Resilience of People and Systems Strengthened
Development Hypothesis: If the management of transboundary ecosystems and the equitable
provision of quality health and other services are improved, and citizen participation and leadership
are increased, then the resilience of people and systems throughout the region will be strengthened.
Strong and resilient people and systems are a prerequisite for an integrated, prosperous, and self-
reliant Southern Africa.
The challenges of poverty, inequality, and resource depletion collectively threaten self-reliance and
security throughout the Southern African region. Southern Africa faces several simultaneous threats
from climate change and environmental degradation, but the burden of these risks often falls more
heavily on women and other vulnerable populations than men. Natural disasters exacerbate gender
inequalities; adaptation and mitigation strategies that do not account for gender can likewise fail to
provide benefits for marginalized populations.
24
Young people across the region lack many fundamental skills necessary in the job market due to the
poor quality of basic education. The population is set to double by 2050, which will exponentially
exacerbate scarcity of essential resources like land, water, energy, and food.
11
As a response, organized
crime, human-wildlife conflict, TIP, and illicit wildlife trade will likely grow throughout the region. In
order to combat these myriad challenges, it is essential that the population has the necessary skills,
agency, and systems to access meaningful livelihoods and lift themselves out of poverty. Only then will
countries be able to withstand internal and external shocks (including climate-induced shocks) that
could otherwise destabilize the region.
Biodiversity conservation is in need of wise management, not simply to satisfy international pressures
and obligations, but because it is the basis of most rural livelihoods and is the foundation of major new
economic sectors that offer the prospect of better, more sustainable lives. Development can not be
achieved through dependence on outside resources and must rely on the best use of local resources.
Biodiversity is one of these resources and represents a formidable natural asset. USAID/SA is uniquely
positioned to contribute to inclusive sustainable development through a regional approach focused on
the management of transboundary ecosystems, the provision of quality services, and citizen
participation that cannot be addressed solely bilaterally. In order to achieve these outcomes in a
sustainable way, it is necessary to understand the unique historical, political, social, and environmental
contexts of the countries in the region. Important factors to consider include issues stemming from long
histories of colonialism like poverty, disenfranchisement, and violence (e.g. domestic, gender-based,
xenophobic), and, in the case of South Africa, apartheid and environmental stressors exacerbated by
climate change. In many respects, these lived experiences have made people in the Southern Africa
region wary of outside interventions, particularly from foreign donors. USAID/SA will incorporate
trauma-informed approaches to gain a better understanding of the communities in which interventions
are planned and to build programs with these considerations in mind.
Private Sector Engagement: Close and continuous work with the private sector will be integral to
achieving resilience of systems and people both in South Africa and the region. Building on the already
vibrant culture of social investment by the private sector, USAID/SA will engage stakeholders in the co-
creation process, and where appropriate, trauma-informed approaches, to enhance development
impact. Many gaps exist where the private sector could play a larger role whether it be supporting the
management of ecosystems and natural resources in the area of service provision, in providing non-
state education opportunities, or engaging the population to amplify its voice, and USAID/SA will work
to engage relevant stakeholders in these efforts. For example, South Africa’s Independent Power
Producers (IPPs) have a mandate to invest a portion of their revenues in the socioeconomic
development of their surrounding communities. To help them achieve this goal, USAID/SA will partner
with IPPs to help deepen the impact of these investments. Regarding service delivery, SADC recognizes
that existing public sector budgets are not sufficient to provide all the necessary services. Therefore,
USAID/SA will work to increase private sector financing in the provision of these essential services while
also supporting an enabling environment that encourages direct private sector participation. On the
health front, USAID/SA will continue to work closely with the private sector to maximize the impact of
programs to combat infectious diseases. USAID/SA will enhance its engagement with the private sector,
including with the mining, agricultural, and pharmaceutical sectors to improve access to prevention,
care, and treatment services in limited resource settings. A well-integrated private and public health
system will result in greater accessibility and population coverage of health services.
11
USAID/Southern Africa Tropical Forestry and Biodiversity Assessment, November 2017
25
Financing Self Reliance: By increasing resilience and strengthening systems, a virtuous cycle will be
created in which governmental systems will be able to consistently provide high quality and valued
services, which will in turn increase the capacity and resilience of individuals. This means that
individuals and industries will be better prepared to contribute to strengthening government systems
through actions, like paying the full value of their natural resource consumption (i.e. levies for water
use) and other municipal taxes. Not only will citizens be more willing and able to engage with a more
transparent government, but the government will be driven to be more efficient in delivering services.
Moreover, by incorporating a regional lens, USAID’s efforts to strengthen South-South learning and
knowledge exchanges between communities and civil society will increase the transboundary
coordination and collaboration of civil society to address regional development challenges such as
natural resources management, trade, and access to basic services. In the Education sector private
providers can be more agile than governments in targeting the skills required by industry to address the
high levels of youth unemployment in the region. In the health sector, the GoSA funds the vast majority
of the HIV and TB response, over 70 percent and 85 percent respectively. Funding for HIV has grown
more than the overall health budget over the last nine years, with the GoSA nearly tripling its domestic
budget for HIV treatment to more than $1 billion. USAID/SA will continue engaging with the GoSA,
other donors, civil society, and the private sector to mobilize and leverage greater resources for health.
Redefining the Relationship: Governments across the Southern Africa region and intergovernmental
organizations are key stakeholders as USAID/SA encourages each country along its J2SR. However, each
relationship is different, and the type of development support countries will receive over the next five
years reflects the realities of the J2SR Landscape Analysis. A customized approach is envisioned in which
USAID/SA will assess the unique context and determine if regional programming is necessary and
appropriate. If not, and bilateral engagement makes the most sense, USAID/SA can and will coordinate
with the USAID Missions in the region to assist with RDR as appropriate. In South Africa, USAID/SA is
working with a variety of different ministries to encourage increased accountability, transparency, and
equitable provision of essential services. In the health sector, USAID/SA supports the GoSA’s goals of
controlling and ending HIV/AIDS and TB. USAID’s relationship with the GoSA has shifted over time from
mainly direct service delivery to a more technical assistance role as the GoSA has taken greater
ownership of its health programs. A key priority of USAID programming is building strong health
systems through high-impact technical assistance and above-site interventions. USAID/SA will continue
direct funding to local partners, which currently makes up the majority of its health funding. By
partnering directly with local institutions to implement locally generated solutions, USAID/SA will
maximize the potential impact of USAID resources by shifting accountability and ownership to local
stakeholders.
RDO Regional Rationale: Regional programming and technical services are provided to urban and rural
populations in order to positively influence country commitment and capacity, depending on the
country’s unique J2SR landscape. From a sustainability perspective, it is especially critical to focus
regionally on natural resource management in order to improve resiliency to common and devastating
environmental issues throughout the region, including: increased temperatures, drought, flooding, and
the increased spread of communicable diseases, which are a result of a changing climate and poor
natural resource management. Moreover, the movement of people within the region in search of
better education and job opportunities, safety and stability are significant. This affects the extent to
which governments have the capacity, resources and willingness to provide access to equitable and
quality public goods and services, which could impact the region’s overall stability. It will become
necessary to ensure that civil society is equipped with the resources and networks across the region to
demand the protection and promotion of rights that have been stated in regional and international
frameworks, which have been further codified in constitutions.
26
Accelerating Commitment and Capacity: The RDO3 approach will advance commitment and capacity
across the region because of its inherent focus on strengthening individuals and communities to
withstand internal and external shocks to the system. It recognizes that governments have made
certain political commitments with respect to minimum standards around the provision and protection
of public goods, such as education, the environment, energy and health.
Link to SA Bilateral Programming: As noted earlier, South Africa is a major player in the region, which
cannot be overemphasized and should not be under-estimated throughout this strategy, particularly
with regard to the region’s stability and growth potential. Therefore, bilateral programming is
developed with the recognition that strong institutions in South Africa -- in business, civil society and
government -- will play a critical role throughout the region and beyond, whether positively or
negatively. For example, linking education with the needed skill sets in South Africa to create pathways
for employment contributes to a virtuous cycle within the region as it promotes economic growth and
stability, which in turn can contribute towards a friendlier environment for foreign direct investments,
thus perpetuating a positive outcome. USAID/SA also recognizes that with growth comes impact on the
environment and South Africa is the leading contributor towards GHG in the region, which respects no
geo-political boundaries and has wide-reaching and long-term implications. Therefore, it will be
necessary for bilateral programming to take into consideration ways to work with the South African
government, communities, and private sector to reduce GHG.
Donor Coordination: As noted earlier, there are numerous donors actively engaged in similar RDO3
programming across the region. As USAID financial resources are limited, it will leverage those ongoing
programs implemented by other donors, such as GIZ, EU, DFID, World Bank, etc. Where a specific donor
has the comparative advantage or the critical access needed to support transformational change, then
USAID/SA will work to support those efforts through co-investments rather than creating a parallel
system. GIZ has a focus on technical and vocational training, a clear synergy with USAID’s priorities
around youth skills development. The European Union has been providing institutional support to the
Department of Basic Education for many years and good coordination ensures that EU and USAID funds
complement each other. USAID’s Education team also has longstanding partnerships with South African
philanthropic organizations like the Zenex Foundation, the DG Murray Trust and ELMA Philanthropies.
Regional Risks and Assumptions
Risks:
● Changes in U.S. Government policy;
● USAID has overestimated its convening capacity;
● External economic shocks, such as the current global COVID-19 pandemic, severely damages the
economies in the region and countries struggle with recovery for a prolonged time period.
Assumptions:
● Policy changes are developed and implemented;
● Regional political stability;
● Most governments/countries in the region are willing to work with South Africa;
● Civil society is strong enough to identify and champion social and development issues and
effectively engage the private sector;
● Civil society sees value in engaging with the private sector; and
● The private sector has an appetite for engaging in development related issues beyond
traditional CSI and CSR strategies.
27
Learning Agenda: RDO3 will seek to develop a broad knowledge base on how the challenges of poverty,
inequality, and resource depletion collectively threaten self-reliance and security throughout the
Southern African region. The learning agenda will also seek to answer specific questions on the
effectiveness of service provision and citizen participation as it relates to the resilience of communities
and societies. Illustrative learning questions include:
● How do poverty, inequality, and resource depletion collectively threaten self-reliance and
security in Southern Africa?
● What specific skills do young people lack in order to be successful in the job market? How can
the skills mismatch be effectively addressed in both the short and long term?
● How can non-state providers best strengthen the education systems in the region?
● What specific risks does population growth pose for the Southern African region, and how can
USAID/SA assist countries to become more prepared to mitigate these effects?
● What is the best way to measure the contributions that universities make to promoting self-
reliance through their research, innovation, quality education, training, and community
engagement?
● To what extent have countries in the region improved on GBV service provision, access to
specialized facilities including places of safety; and comprehensive treatment including PEP,
followed by legislation and lastly; coordination, monitoring and evaluation of GBV programs?
IR 3.1: Management of Transboundary Ecosystems Improved: Healthy ecosystems are the foundation
of sustainable development across Southern Africa. They support livelihoods and key economic sectors,
including mining, energy, agriculture, fisheries, and nature-based tourism, while buffering against
climate shocks and securing natural resources that include water, land, and biodiversity. Wildlife and
natural landscapes are important economic assets in the region, contributing substantially to GDP,
foreign exchange, and domestic and foreign investment. However, water scarcity, unsustainable land
use, and human-wildlife conflict jeopardize the biodiversity and ecosystems of this region.
Transnational wildlife crime further undermines regional security and weakens legitimate economies.
This illegal trade thrives on weak governance and corruption, undermining efforts to control the criminal
behavior linked to wildlife crime. Consequently, when countries lose wildlife and security as a result of
the illegal wildlife trade, they also lose the tools essential to strengthening ROL and fighting poverty.
Compounding these threats, Southern Africa has low adaptive capacity to climate variability and other
environmental shocks and stresses, emphasizing the need to strengthen the resilience of both people
and the natural and social systems in which they live. If viable wildlife populations are to be preserved,
particularly in the light of an uncertain future climate, biodiversity conservation can not be restricted to
protected areas, but must be incorporated as part of sustainable land use even in densely settled areas.
To transform the region’s resilience to these threats, USAID/SA will continue its work with regional
institutions to strengthen transboundary coordination and management of the region’s scarce and
vulnerable natural resources. USAID/SA will make targeted investments aimed at countering the threats
posed by illegal wildlife trade and enhancing broader natural resources security. By combating wildlife
trafficking across Southern Africa using a landscape approach, USAID/SA will balance enhanced
enforcement with interventions aimed at increasing benefits to communities from wildlife protection.
USAID/SA will also strengthen cross-border coordination and collaboration and enhance partnerships
with private sector stakeholders.
IR 3.2: Equitable Provision of Quality Health and Other Services Improved: When citizens have
equitable access to quality essential services (such as water, sanitation, energy, health and education),
they have the capacity to contribute positively to the growth and resilience of their countries. These
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essential services can not be looked at in isolation, but rather as the basket of essential services needed
to create resilient people and communities. The lack of sufficient, widely accessible, affordable, and
reliable services for the majority of the population is widely recognized as one of the biggest obstacles
to achieving sustainable poverty reduction in Southern Africa. Furthermore, there is a gender divide in
how these essential services are made available and/or accessed. For example, a gender gap in
educational attainment and school drop-out rates persists among learners across the region. In South
Africa and Lesotho, male children are leaving school at higher rates than girls. In others, barriers to
universal enrollment and completion of primary school disproportionately disadvantages female
students. Although there are some differences in the level and quality of access to these services across
the different countries in the region, the common challenges are more numerous, ranging from weak
human and institutional capacity to inadequate financial resources and poor supporting infrastructure.
These common challenges are significant enough to justify a regional approach to tackling these issues.
This IR contributes directly to key priorities in Southern Africa’s regional plans and frameworks
developed through SADC as codified in plans such as the Regional Infrastructural Development
Masterplan (RIDMP), the SADC Education Protocol, the SADC Gender Protocol, the SADC Health Policy,
and the SADC RISDP.
Energy: Access to electricity is extremely uneven in Southern Africa. Only one third of all residents have
consistent access to electricity in the region and the World Bank documents inadequate access to
energy as the single largest impediment to economic development. Men and women experience energy
poverty differently. Furthermore, when men and women have access to electricity, they tend to use it
differently. Decision makers cannot make “gender blind” decisions - at the policy, project, or product
design level - and assume that men and women will benefit equally. Understanding gender-based
differences in energy needs, uses, and access, allows the various stakeholders across the sector to better
meet the demands of the population they aim to serve.
Weak regulation, commercially unviable utilities, and limited energy sector planning and procurement
capacity are major challenges. Dramatic increases in both supply and access are necessary. To this end,
USAID/SA will increase the supply and access to efficiently produced energy services by facilitating
procurement and strengthening the enabling environment for private sector energy investment.
USAID/SA will promote regional energy sector integration consistent with SADC goals and strategy. This
will increase the efficiency with which Southern Africa’s abundant, yet unrealized energy potential is
harnessed for development and self-reliance. Increased regional integration through the harmonization
regional infrastructure development policies will also lead to increased energy trade which will in turn
contribute to reduced energy prices and increased economic productivity and higher quality of life for
the population. The energy sector is the greatest contributor of GHG in the region, with South Africa as
the largest electricity generating country relying heavily on coal to generate electricity. The energy
sector is also highly affected by climate change and higher temperatures and reduced rainfall negatively
affect hydropower generation in the region. To address climate risks, USAID programming will help
reduce GHG emitted by the sector and mitigate the impact of climate on hydropower by supporting
programs geared towards diversifying sources of energy in the region.
Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH): More than 40 percent of the population of Southern Africa
lacks access to adequate, safe drinking water, while 60 percent does not have access to adequate
sanitation. USAID invests heavily in water resource management in Southern Africa, particularly across
the trans-border river management organizations. Gender roles and cultural norms affect the way that
women and men manage and use water resources, including macro-level water management and
household level water, sanitation, and health. Women and girls in areas without household access to
29
clean water typically bear the disproportionate burden of fetching water, made more difficult by
increasing aridity and water stress.
It is predicted that by 2050, the already water scarce region will have 20 percent less rainfall to replenish
its surface and subsurface stocks. National, municipal, and local sanitation planning is underfunded
throughout the region. As a result, malfunctioning or absent sanitation infrastructure results in lethal
contamination of waterways and water resources. A significant financing gap exists between the total
investment required to build and maintain Southern Africa’s WASH infrastructure and the funds
available from public sources. In South Africa alone, the infrastructure investment gap is projected to
exceed $20 billion by 2030. As a result, waterborne and related diseases continue to affect a large
portion of the population, burdening healthcare systems, contributing to malnutrition, and restricting
opportunities for economic growth and development. Significant private sector expansion and
investment to alleviate these challenges is required. USAID/SA will use an integrated, holistic approach
to improve access to, and quality of, water and sanitation service delivery, as well as technical assistance
for community water and sanitation systems, increasing capacity in national and regional water
governance entities and innovative financing to stimulate increased investment in sustainable water
systems. This increased private sector engagement will lead to increased innovative approaches,
investment and partnerships for water and sanitation schemes and infrastructure.
Education: Education institutions in the region often fail to provide the majority of students with the
fundamental skills they need for higher level learning. In the region, Seychelles, and Mauritius have the
highest average foundational reading scores, with Namibia, Zambia and Malawi ranking lowest. South
Africa lands somewhere in the middle because poor results from some schools are masked by the
results of excellent schools on the other side of the spectrum. Among countries in the region, South
Africa has by far the highest difference in reading outcomes between schools, which is an illustration of
the structural inequalities inherited from apartheid that still plague the education system (SACMEQ II).
Despite the GoSA’s large investment in basic education, the country continues to face challenges in
providing a quality education in the majority of the country’s schools. The system is plagued by poor
teaching methods and weak content knowledge, large, multilingual classes, lost teaching time, low
accountability, and bullying and violence in schools, including high rates of GBV. Schools that tolerate
sexual violence increase the vulnerability of girls to HIV infection and, in regions where the sexual abuse
of boys is widespread, boys are also at heightened risk. There is overwhelming evidence that schooling
has considerable benefits for girls, including reduced teenage pregnancy, delayed marriage, and reduced
child labor. The GoSA considers education to be one of its highest domestic priorities and one of the
greatest long-term challenges facing the country, as is evident in the 2013 National Development Plan.
Poor education outcomes have resulted in record high youth unemployment of 55 percent. In addition,
3.4 million young people (or 33 percent) are neither working nor enrolled in education. Simultaneously,
the labor market has a high skills shortage: in 2018, 32 percent of employers in South Africa reported
difficulty filling jobs, substantially higher than the 10 percent reported in 2012. USAID/SA will prioritize
locally led quality interventions from pre-primary to tertiary education that will improve the capacity of
education institutions and make direct connections between skills development and employment. For
example, USAID/SA will work with private sector organizations to provide financing for early childhood
learning centers and with industry associations to create pathways to employment through the co-
creation of relevant training programs in public technical colleges.
Health: A healthy population is critical to achieving an integrated, prosperous, and self-reliant Southern
Africa region. This goal is mirrored in both SADC’s strategic health development goal to “accomplish an
acceptable standard of health for all citizens and to reach specific targets within the objective of ‘health
for all’ by 2020” as well at the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal 3 to achieve “good
30
health and wellbeing for all” by 2030 (to which most countries in the Southern Africa region are
signatory). Despite alignment with evidence-based global agreements, sound development policies, and
increased investment in health, the region is challenged among others, with poor performance of health
systems, inequitable access to health services, low availability of quality of health care, and lack of
universal health coverage. These factors continue to hamper the region’s ability to obtain and sustain
positive health outcomes for its citizens and vulnerable populations. South Africa has one of the highest
HIV/AIDS and TB burdens in the world. The number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in South Africa is
estimated at 7,599,215, of which 63 percent are women. An estimated 38 percent of new HIV infections
were among those aged 15–24 years of age, with an incidence three times higher among young women
than young men. TB remains the leading cause of death in South Africa. Although deaths associated
with TB are decreasing, they are still high in PLHIV. Even though much progress has been made in
decreasing new HIV and TB infections and increasing the number of patients on treatment, many
challenges remain in providing equitable and quality services. Similar to the HIV/AIDS systems building
approach, USAID/SA’s TB program will continue to build the technical and managerial capacity of South
Africa’s TB program to reduce the TB burden, focusing on finding the missing TB patients and improving
access to quality, patient-centered TB, drug-resistant TB, and TB/HIV care, strengthening TB service
delivery platforms and advancing TB research and innovations to achieve improved impact on program
implementation. South Africa has made significant investments in combating infectious diseases.
Furthermore, while the region’s HIV programming response is detailed in each country’s respective
Country Operational Plans, it is important to note that the established PEPFAR platform allows a unique
opportunity for countries to leverage gains to fight other infectious diseases, as is evident from the
recent COVID-19 outbreak. USAID/SA will continue to work closely with host country governments,
development partners, private sector, civil society, and other key stakeholders to ensure that gains in
these programs are sustained. As the region advances on its J2SR, the health of its citizens remains a
critical part of ensuring sustainability and self-reliance. For Angola, malaria continues to be the
dominant health concern. Malaria is the cause of 60 percent of hospitalizations for children under five,
which is why the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) program is the largest U.S. Government health
program in this country. Despite factors contributing to the increase in malaria cases which affects the
Government of Angola’s ability to respond (climate change and a prolonged recession), PMI is seeing
results. These include a 53 percent decrease in deaths of children under five and an overall 50 percent
reduction in mortality from 2016 to 2019. Increased infectious disease transmission is likely to occur as
a result of climate change and therefore programs implemented under this IR must include climate
adaptation measures.
IR 3.3: Citizen Participation and Leadership Increased: An informed and empowered citizenry is integral
to ensuring the resilience of people and systems. It also serves to monitor the government’s ability to
adhere to the principles of transparent and accountable governance. Amplifying “voices,” and in
particular the voices of marginalized and under-represented populations, will improve equitable service
provision and application of the law as well as ensure that the priorities and needs of marginalized
groups are not overwhelmed, overlooked, or disregarded by the majority. In South Africa, the legacy of
apartheid shows that should a country’s citizens become oppressed, the region will enact policies and
civil society networks to advocate for the end of that oppression. This demonstrates that a highly
connected and empowered civil society throughout the region can have a significant impact on limiting
and mitigating efforts to disenfranchise people and communities. Over the next five years, USAID/SA
will focus on reinforcing South-South learning and not just international best practices. For example, at
the micro-level, this could include fostering participation of parents in the governance of schools
through Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs), promoting citizen participation in addressing violence in
schools by promoting social cohesion, providing targeted leadership training for young educators on
31
emotional intelligence to make them more trauma-informed, working with communities to provide
access to water, and ensuring adherence to the principles of free, prior and informed consent for
indigenous groups. In health, community-led monitoring will empower PLHIV to participate actively in
their own healthcare and hold authorities accountable for providing quality HIV and TB services. At the
macro-level this could include well-designed modes of decentralization and, more broadly, various
forms of representative decision-making and political oversight. Inclusion of youth in decision-making
as well as building their capacity to lead across all sectors will be vital. Support to networks of trained
young leaders and institutions that build youth leadership will enable their voices to be represented at
various levels. For instance, USAID/SA will expand its health programming for adolescent girls and
young women at the highest risk of HIV infection so that they are empowered and surrounded by vital
support to protect them from HIV. Empowering citizens and strengthening indigenous populations’
abilities to advocate and substantively engage with the government and the private sector will have a
transboundary impact. As a result, the region will remain resilient in the face of natural and human-
made conflict and the potential for violence and civil unrest will be mitigated.
MONITORING, EVALUATION, AND LEARNING
Collaboration, Learning and Adapting (CLA) is USAID’s approach to organizational learning and adaptive
management in the program cycle and helps to ensure that programs are coordinated internally and
externally, grounded in a strong evidence base, and adapted to remain relevant throughout
implementation. This approach allows USAID/SA to listen to, collect, and learn from staff regarding
what they know and understand about CLA and Knowledge Management, to identify where good
practices currently exist so they can be leveraged (e.g. bi-annual portfolio reviews, annual partners
meetings, support from RPPDO’s Geographic Information System (GIS) Specialist, etc.), and to identify
where they are not yet in place or not being conducted systematically so weaknesses can be mitigated
(e.g. disseminating information from site visits). The proposed recommendations will be centered
around improving roles and responsibilities, processes, technologies, and information governance within
the mission and wider region. This will help inform USAID/SA’s efforts to advance as a learning mission,
improve its development effectiveness, and achieve the Joint Strategic Plan Goal to improve
“knowledge-sharing, collaboration, and data-driven decision-making by leaders and staff.”
Each of the programming approaches outlined in the RDO sections are aimed at building and/or
accelerating the capacity and commitment of local actors and institutions as they move along their J2SR.
By addressing the unique development challenges in each sector in an integrated fashion, USAID/SA will
work to foster self-reliance across the region. This will look different for each RDO and the approach will
need to be tailored to fit the specific country context. For example, RDO1 will focus on forming
partnerships with local stakeholders such as business associations, private sector bodies, investor bodies
and business support networks to improve the enabling environment to ultimately increase trade and
investment. On the other hand, RDO2 and RDO3 will focus more on engaging with civil society actors
and host government officials in an effort to increase citizen participation and oversight to ultimately
improve service delivery and governance. RPPDO will also focus on ascertaining whether an integrated
programming approach is working at USAID/SA. In order to do that, the Mission will think about
identifying appropriate indicators and other approaches for monitoring and evaluating the value added
of combined results. Responsibility for data collection and reporting for the RDCS, and its integrated
results, will fall across the mission’s technical offices with the main POCs as follows: RDO1: Regional
Economic Growth Office (REGO); RDO2: Democracy and Governance Team (DRG) in the Regional
Environment, Education, and Democracy Office (REED); and RDO3: Regional Environment, Education and
Democracy Office (REED) together with the Health Office (HO). Data collection and reporting for results
32
of both bilateral and regional programs will happen in the Development Information Solution (DIS)
online environment and will link each project and activity to the new RDCS Results Framework starting
in early 2021.
There are several initiatives that USAID/SA is exploring to address the self-reliance learning agenda
(SRLA) and to facilitate regional learning. In particular, USAID/SA is interested in gathering evidence to
help answer the following Learning Questions: #1) How can PSE support countries in advancing on the
J2SR?; #2) How can USAID apply evolving approaches to FSR in different contexts?; #3) How can
different approaches to design, procurement, and management of programs foster self-reliance? What
promising partner engagement practices emerge from these approaches? #4) In fostering self-reliance,
how can USAID use its influence, knowledge, and convening power to complement projectized support?
and #5) How can local, sub-national, national, and regional voices, priorities, and contributions be
integrated into how USAID fosters self-reliance? In order to achieve SRLA and regional learning,
USAID/SA plans to establish an M&E community of practice, which will draw membership and expertise
from different regional institutions, academia, implementing partners and individual consultants
(including for example Centers for Learning on Evaluation and Results (CLEAR) and the South African
Monitoring and Evaluation Association (SAMEA)). USAID/SA will work with the Anglophone Regional
Africa branch, which is housed at Witwatersrand University, in Johannesburg, and will give the Mission
access to regional think tanks on monitoring, evaluation, and learning. USAID/SA is an institutional
member of SAMEA and by extension, an affiliate member of the African Evaluation Association (AfrEA).
USAID/SA will also explore opportunities to build the capacity of existing host government M&E systems
where practical.
33
ANNEX A: REGIONAL OPERATIONS MAP
USAID/SOUTHERN AFRICA Regional Activities & Support Services to USAID Bilateral Missions and Offices
Country
Regional Programming & Engagement
Technical Support
(e.g. Gender, Env.
Compliance,
Economics, MEL
IDIQ, Engineering)
Pooled Support Services
Regional Convening
H
E
A
L
T
H
D
R
G
E
G
A
G
Edu/
Youth
E
N
E
R
G
Y
F
F
P
E
N
V
R
F
M
O
R
O
A
A
R
L
O
R
E
X
O
R
P
P
D
O
USAID Bilateral Missions
Madagascar
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Malawi
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Mozambiqu
e
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
South Africa
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Zambia
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Zimbabwe
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Non-Presence or Limited Presence Countries
Angola
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Botswana
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Eswatini
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Lesotho
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Namibia
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
34
The “Regional Programming and Engagement” columns identify the technical sectors that the RDCS
Results Framework supports. These technical sectors and budgetary considerations will drive decision-
making on activity and project designs in the countries listed. The countries listed are where activities
may be implemented over the life of the RDCS after consultations and concurrence from the bilateral
OU. Regional programs require frequent collaboration and convening with bilateral OUs to ensure that
programs continue to address transboundary issues and are complementary to bilateral
programs. Therefore, there is overlap with the regional program and regional convening column.
The “Technical Support” column identifies a host of services that are provided by USAID/SA. For
example, the regional Gender Advisor, regional Economist, regional Environmental Advisor (REA), and
Mission Environmental Officer all situated in RPPDO provide analysis on trends impacting the region and
are on call to provide technical support both virtual and in person to USAID/SA and the OUs listed. The
regional Engineer situated in the regional Executive Office provides technical support on infrastructure-
related issues.
The “Pooled Support” columns identify the support offices at USAID/SA. The countries marked are
those that receive dedicated support from USAID/SA staff either as primary or secondary Point of
Contact (POC) on support services. For example, the regional Legal Officer in USAID/SA serves as the
primary Legal Officer for Zimbabwe. In Limited Presence Countries (LPCs), RPPDO does not play a
primary role but rather a secondary role supporting the local staff hired to work in the LPC program
office.
Furthermore, most support offices also provide support to the independent operating units of Power
Africa, Prosper Africa, and RIG, which are physically present in South Africa (but not listed in the
table). All three Operating Units have a mandate beyond the countries listed in the table. Moreover,
with a Congressional Notification approved, USAID/SA is in the process of placing four USAID positions in
the Johannesburg duty station. USAID/SA serves as an ICASS Alternate Service Provider for USG
agencies occupying space on the USAID compound in Pretoria; service provision is provided by USAID
support offices. In addition, two other USG agencies sublease space from USAID/Namibia requiring
some support from REXO in Pretoria.
“Regional Convening” is particularly important for technical offices that are frequently coordinating
across countries and for the Agency which invests in learning opportunities. USAID/SA offers an easily
accessible location with state of the art facilities, ideal for hosting conferences and training that attract
staff from outside the countries listed. As noted above, regional convening overlaps with regional
programming and engagement because of the importance coordination and collaboration plays in
successful implementation of transboundary programs.
Note that Tanzania will not receive support or technical services from USAID/SA, instead Tanzania will
continue to receive regional support and services from the East Africa Regional Mission.
35
ANNEX B: PEPFAR
USAID/SA serves as an implementing agency of PEPFAR. PEPFAR’s commitment to the region is historic
and USAID’s contributions are integral to the program’s success. Likewise, the PEPFAR program is
integral to the USAID/SA Mission, and PEPFAR resources reinforce USAID’s strong regional platform.
Moreover, PEPFAR embodies many of the self-reliance principles that further not only the Agency’s J2SR
efforts, but also serve as a platform for fighting other infectious diseases, including TB, malaria, and
COVID. However, while USAID informs PEPFAR’s programmatic approaches, PEPFAR’s strategic goals
and directives are mandated from the State Department’s Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator
(S/GAC). In response to new evidence and innovations in addressing the HIV epidemic, S/GAC’s
programmatic and budget directions change on a yearly basis. Due to the importance of the Southern
Africa HIV response, PEPFAR often adjusts its strategy on a quarterly or more frequent basis in the
region.
USAID/SA provides management oversight and technical, programmatic and administrative support to
five PEPFAR teams around the region. Angola, Namibia, and Botswana are LPCs with USDH Country
Representatives and Health Office Directors who are delegated the authorities to manage PEPFAR.
USDHs in the LPCs report directly to USAID/SA’s Front Office, with the RHO in Pretoria serving as a
technical backstop and delivering services on request. For the NPCs of Eswatini and Lesotho, RHO is
delegated with programmatic and financial oversight responsibility. The PEPFAR teams in the NPCs are
all contractors and USDH oversight of the programs rests in RHO.
South Africa has a high burden of HIV/AIDS. In 2019, there were an estimated 7,599,215 PLHIV, of which
more than half (63 percent) were women. While the estimated number of new infections among adults
declined by 56 percent from 1999 to 2019, there were still an estimated 194,494 new HIV infections in
2019. Among children, the estimated number of mother-to-child transmissions declined by 87 percent
from 2004 to 2019, and 75 percent of those transmissions were estimated to occur during
breastfeeding. This decline in incidence and shift of transmission from perinatal to postnatal led to a
shift in the age distribution of HIV-infected children, with over half (52 percent) of whom are now 10-14
years of age. South Africa’s HIV epidemic is largely driven by heterosexual transmission, with underlying
behavioral, socio-cultural, economic, and structural factors influencing HIV transmission risk. These
factors include national and regional population mobility and migration; economic and educational
status; lack of knowledge of HIV status; alcohol and drug use; early sexual debut; GBV; incomplete
coverage of male circumcision; intergenerational sex; multiple and concurrent sexual partners;
inconsistent condom use, especially in longer-term relationships and during pregnancy/post-partum;
discrimination and stigmatization; and gender dynamics, including unequal power relations between
men and women.
USAID is one of two lead implementing agencies for PEPFAR in South Africa with some others supporting
PEPFAR as well. Through the PEPFAR program, USAID collaborates with the GoSA and local
organizations to prevent new HIV infections, expand treatment coverage, and strengthen the public
health system in 27 high-burden districts, while advancing the goals of the SA National Strategic Plan
(NSP) for HIV, TB and STIs: 2017 – 2022. The PEPFAR program is guided by S/GAC, where short- and
medium-term goals and objectives are set through a collaborative interagency process led by S/GAC.
Historically, the PEPFAR program was rolled out across the country as an emergency response which has
in recent years adopted the Strategy for Accelerating HIV/AIDS Epidemic Control (2017-2020). To
facilitate this transition, PEPFAR supports programs that are aligned to the GoSA’s campaign to
accelerate HIV epidemic control by putting a total of 6.1 million individuals on antiretroviral therapy
36
(ART) in the public health system by December 2020. The campaign, known as Operation Phuthuma (or
“hurry”), has been implemented under the South African national and provincial departments of health.
Because the GoSA provides a significant majority of HIV financing in the country, Operation Phuthuma
has a central focus on marshalling the resources of GoSA to enhance management responsibilities of
department staff at national, provincial, district, and sub-district levels. For its part, USAID will continue
to work with GoSA to accelerate achievements by responding to high-frequency, site-level data to
implement immediate, data-driven program improvements that maximize performance on case finding,
linkage, and retention. Findings from community-led monitoring will be integrated into this process.
Results of Operation Phuthuma to date have demonstrated a dramatic turnaround of HIV patient
retention issues that existed at the end of FY 2018. Strengthened coordination between PEPFAR
implementing agencies, GoSA, and South African civil society have furthered these improvements.
To bolster and sustain the HIV/AIDS response, USAID has focused on strengthening local capacity
through its long history of implementing PEPFAR programs using a spectrum of local partners such as
civil society, academic institutions, research organizations, and the private sector. In 2018, PEPFAR
instituted a targeted approach to increase investment to local partners and a rapid transition to utilizing
indigenous implementing partners. Globally, the PEPFAR aim was to have 25 percent of the funding by
the end of FY 2018 go towards local/indigenous partners, 40 percent at the end of FY 2019, and 70
percent by the end of FY 2020. USAID/SA exceeded this target and has programmed approximately 76
percent of the PEPFAR partner funding over the last two COP cycles, which is by far the largest
percentage in any PEPFAR country in the world. USAID/SA will continue to prioritize utilization of local
partners within the dictates of annual COP guidance.
In 2018, the USAID South Africa PEPFAR program developed a long-term strategy to increase funding to
local partners, including to increase its use of G2G awards. USAID/SA and GoSA have signed two G2G
agreements. These agreements are with the DBE and the DSD.
While core PEPFAR programming has a focus on buttressing the public sector to deliver HIV services,
engaging the private sector to deliver innovative health services and serve hard-to-reach populations is
of paramount importance to the South Africa Mission. South Africa has been a leader in recognizing
that one-size-fits all health services become a barrier to best serving individual needs, pioneering
Differentiated Service Delivery
[1]
models that utilize the private sector to deliver client-centered
services. One prominent example is the Central Chronic Medication Dispensing and Distribution
(CCMDD) model, which uses private sector logistics companies to dispense chronic medicines (including
HIV and TB medication) outside of public health facilities at alternate pickup points. Clients who qualify
for this service are able to collect their medication from convenient locations, such as retail pharmacies
or smart locker locations. USAID/SA continues to pursue opportunities to engage the private sector in
the national HIV and TB response for maximum impact, employing the following key strategies:
integrating innovative private sector approaches to improve access to life-saving medicine and increase
access to treatment; developing marketing campaigns to reach underserved populations; utilizing data
and advanced analytics to identify solutions to improve program performance; targeting the uninsured
sectors of the South African workforce living with HIV; and linking the private sector to beneficiaries of
programs such as Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe (DREAMS) to jobs.
USAID will continue partnering with U.S. based and local firms to improve access to HIV prevention,
care, and treatment in limited resource settings.
Southern Africa, the epicenter of the HIV pandemic, is also the region at the forefront of the global
effort to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. Over the course of the RDCS strategy, countries in
37
the region will reach or surpass the UN’s “95-95-95” goals, which will result in more than 85 percent of
PLHIV attaining and maintaining HIV viral suppression. Country by country, patient and client
information systems will have matured, providing policymakers and service providers with the
individual-level information necessary to ensure that: (1) client-centered HIV services reinforce
treatment adherence; and (2) community-focused programming provides effective platforms to keep
the region’s children, adolescents, and marginalized communities HIV-free. Private sector expertise and
capacity in clinical and laboratory services, logistics and supply chain systems, data analytics, and
marketing and demand creation will continue to provide innovations that improve services and bring
those services closer to clients. Regional governments will continue to finance a significant share of
their national HIV response, particularly human resources and high value commodities, such as ARVs.
Beyond HIV, 20 years of PEPFAR health systems investments will provide the foundation to respond to
new and emergent public health threats, as evidenced by the region’s COVID-19 response.
[1]
http://www.differentiatedcare.org/
