Find Federal Agency

• WHAT IS ITS MISSION?
• HOW IS IT STRUCTURED?
• PRIMARY FUNCTIONS
• PROGRAMS
• BUDGET INFORMATION
• HISTORY
• CURRENT POLITICAL ISSUES
• SUCCESSES AND FAILURES
• FUTURE DIRECTIONS
• AGENCY RESOURCES
• AGENCY PUBLICATIONS
• FAST FACTS
• BIBLIOGRAPHY

PARENT ORGANIZATION: Independent
ESTABLISHED: 1980
EMPLOYEES: 30

Contact Information:
ADDRESS: 1400 I St. NW Washington, DC 20005
PHONE: (202) 673-3916
FAX: (202) 673-3810
E-MAIL: info@adf.gov
URL: http://www.adf.gov
CHAIRMAN: Ernest Green
VICE CHAIRMAN: Willie Grace Campbell

WHAT IS ITS MISSION?

According to its 1998 report to Congress, the mission of the African Development Foundation (ADF) is to "serve as the principal U.S. foreign assistance agency for empowering sustainable community development in Africa."

HOW IS IT STRUCTURED?

The African Development Foundation (ADF) is both a public corporation and an independent government agency managed by a seven-member board of directors that is appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate. The president designates one member of the board to serve as chairman of the board and one to serve as vice chairman. Five members of the board are appointed from the private sector, and two come from among officers and employees of government agencies concerned with African affairs. No more than four members may belong to the same political party.

All members of the board are appointed on the basis of their understanding of and sensitivity to community-level development processes. Thirty employees assist the board, and native Africans serve as country liaison officers. They work with ADF staff to ensure funds, supplies, and training reach the appropriate African countries in a timely manner. The ADF works closely with the World Bank and the State Department's US AID program in developing nontraditional paths to economic stability.

BUDGET: African Development Foundation

PRIMARY FUNCTIONS

The purpose of the African Development Foundation (ADF) is to strengthen the bonds of friendship and understanding between Africa and the United States by supporting local activities that promote community development in Africa. This stimulates African participation in its own development, and it encourages institutions that foster development. To carry out its purposes, the foundation offers grants, loans, and loan guarantees to private groups, associations, or other African entities engaged in peaceful community development.

The ADF has three goals: to strengthen U.S. relations with Africa, to empower the poor through support of African-led initiatives, and to increase the use of participatory development methodologies by other donors and by African governments. To achieve these goals the ADF develops small enterprises that generate sustainable income and employment, improve community-based natural resource management, strengthen civil society, and develop repeatable models for expanding grassroots participation.

PROGRAMS

The African Development Foundation (ADF) focuses on grassroots organizations, the primary recipients of its grant money. Small grants are provided directly to community groups; no grant money is channeled through governments. All activities supported by the grants are locally conceived and implemented, not imposed by outside interests. Technical assistance is provided at low cost through indigenous specialists and local institutions rather than foreign operatives. Grants are based on community self-reliance in building the capacity of nongovernmental intermediary organizations. Countries that are eligible for grants are Benin, Mali, Botswana, Namibia, Cameroon, Niger, Cape Verde, Senegal, Ghana, Tanzania, Guinea, Uganda, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe. These countries are considered to be on the path to democracy and are also among the poorest countries in the world.

BUDGET INFORMATION

The estimated 1998 budget for the ADF as appropriated by Congress was $14 million. The largest portion of this total, $7.95 million (57 percent), was spent on development grants for African countries, most notably Zimbabwe ($800,000), Benin ($725,000) and Tanzania ($700,000). The remaining funds went to operating costs (25 percent), country liaison offices (11 percent), strategic initiatives (4 percent), research (2 percent), and dissemination (1 percent).

HISTORY

Since it was established by Congress in 1980 and began operations in 1984, the African Development Foundation (ADF) has raised the standard of living in developing African countries through a unique program of grants and aid that focuses on grassroots organizations. Congress mandated that the ADF support "grassroots development in Africa . . . thus enabling the poor to participate in the process of development, to solve their development problems, develop their potential, fulfill their aspirations, and enjoy better, more productive lives."

The ADF was founded in a spirit of fostering cooperation between the peoples of Africa and the U.S. government. During its early years the agency set up country liaison offices in 35 countries and has promoted self-reliance and sustainable development, alleviating poverty and other seemingly insurmountable problems confronting sub-Saharan Africa in the process. In 1985 the ADF agreed to help Zimbabwe study ways to alleviate poverty at the grassroots level. This cooperative program included loan grants to women in agricultural areas to help them operate their own businesses. Instead of the patronizing attitude prevalent in earlier aid programs, the aim of the ADF has been to provide small resources, like loans, that enable the recipients to be self-reliant and build a sense of self-worth.

In 1997, after undergoing severe budgetary and staff reductions, the ADF committed itself to a comprehensive reexamination of its mission and a complete reengineering of its programming and support processes. The mandate was simple—reposition the ADF to assure its long-term viability and convincingly demonstrate the unique and essential contributions it makes within the United States's larger economic-assistance strategy toward Africa. When President Bill Clinton traveled to Africa in 1998 he found evidence of the ADF's successful programs in the countries he visited. As Africa shifted to the forefront of U.S. foreign policy concerns, U.S. leaders found that the small but successful ADF was already paving the way for beneficial relations with African nations.

CURRENT POLITICAL ISSUES

One of the great strengths of the African Development Foundation (ADF) is that it enfranchises the poor in self-help activities at the local level, enhancing opportunities for community development. Because the ADF deals with grassroots organizations rather than governments, which are subject to change, development programs belong to the people they are designed to help. Assistance is targeted at those most in need of it, and the ADF is able to promote and reinforce U.S. policies in African nations without the attitude of superiority that has plagued U.S. relations with Africa for years. It assists in building democracies from the bottom up, working on the premise that if people are thriving, totalitarian dictatorships or military regimes cannot gain a foothold. Critics have claimed, however, that many of the programs assist undemocratic governments in sub-Saharan Africa.

Case Study: Uganda's Rocky Road to Democracy

Uganda has been transitioning to a constitutional democracy and a free-market economy. It has recovered remarkably in the last ten years from the social and economic devastation that resulted from autocratic rule and civil-war leadership. During U.S. President Bill Clinton's visit to Uganda, he observed many of the grassroots efforts that were instrumental in changing the government from Idi Amin's totalitarian regime into a more stable government.

However when compared to long-time democracies of the Western world, some human rights gaps remained. For example, in 1998, because of the pressures of civil unrest, children less than 15 years old awaited execution on death row. According to a March 1998 Sunday Telegraph article, children had become "the main source of manpower for the various rebel armies in their eleven-year campaign to overthrow President [Yoweri] Museveni's government." Although

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni (waving). While Museveni has been credited with liberalizing his country's economy, he has also been unwilling or unable to stop the execution of children convicted of participation in rebel forces. Critics question whether or not the ADF should contribute funds to a country with such unchecked civil unrest. (Agence France Presse/Corbis-Bettmann)

Museveni privately expressed outrage concerning the children on death row, nothing was done to alleviate the situation. The government did, however, liberalize its economy and unleash the private sector because, as Museveni stated, "without economic growth there can be no sustainable development."

But Uganda is still a poor country divided by civil unrest. The per capita income is $220, and although ADF programs have generated more than five percent economic growth annually since 1989, reaching ten percent in 1997 (one of the highest growth rates in the world), the poverty rate is still high. Relatively few Ugandans are literate and the nation's infrastructure is underdeveloped, so employment opportunities are limited. HIV and AIDS infection rates have reached devastating proportions, further complicating economic restructuring and reform. Critics of U.S. policy point to situations such as Uganda's and ask why organizations like the ADF are involved in countries with comparatively low human rights and living standards and high levels of civil unrest. They say such programs support shaky regimes and do nothing to promote human rights.

In the first five years that the ADF worked in Uganda, though, grassroots-level programs were instrumental in raising the standard of living of the people and in calming civil unrest. The ADF supported a silkworm cooperative, with training in production and processing, that enabled its members to earn in one month more than the average Ugandan farmer makes in one year. Ugandan silk is now prized for its high quality. Another program boosted vanilla production and marketing of vanilla products through the U.S.-based McCormick spice company. The ADF has also been instrumental in the construction of water systems in several villages, providing thousands of Ugandans with safe drinking water and sanitary facilities.

SUCCESSES AND FAILURES

The African Development Foundation (ADF) prides itself on getting big results from small investments, and it offers many success stories as proof. ADF-supported small businesses in Zimbabwe are now generating $6.6 million a year, more money than the ADF invested in the country over an 11-year period. An ADF-sponsored community bank in Ghana has become a model for community banks throughout that nation, and the Lesotho government implemented community agriculture initiatives that resembled ADF programs.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

Africa stands poised on an era of development and growth. The African Development Foundation (ADF), with its innovative programs and unique grassroots focus, will assist in the development of the sub-Saharan countries as they morph into economically competitive, stable democracies. Agriculture and resource development are the new goals of the ADF.

AGENCY RESOURCES

The African Development Foundation's Web site at http://www.adf.gov provides updates on project developments throughout Africa. Additional information about the agency may be obtained by sending a written request to the public affairs officer at the African Development Foundation, 1400 I St. NW, Washington DC 20005, or calling (202) 673-3916 or E-mailing info@adf.gov.

AGENCY PUBLICATIONS

The African Development Foundation's congressional presentation, including its programs overview, budget, and strategies for aiding different countries, may be viewed on its Web site at http://www.adf.gov/docs/cpfinall.html. Also, the congressional charter that established the foundation may be viewed on-line at http://www.adf.gov/docs/ADF_ACT.html.