Everyday, USAID works to provide assistance in dozens of African countries. The organization, which also provides assistance in Latin America, Asia and the Middle East, aims to help African countries through regional missions, each with a goal to build sustained states that can respond to the need of their people and reduce widespread poverty. USAID works with African governments and institutions to develop strategies to improve health, the environment, economic growth, agriculture and education.

USAID is involved with many different initiatives on the African continent. One such initiative is the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. The largest facet of the United States’ Global Health Initiative, PEPFAR‘s goal is to transition AIDS relief from an emergency response to a sustainable program that governments can have in place to prevent the spread of the disease. PEPFAR also aims to expand the prevention and treatment of AIDS and integrate HIV/AIDS programs into more schools and institutions in Africa to foster a better awareness of the illnesses among children and young adults.

Another USAID initiative is the Congo Basin Forest Partnership. The Congo Basin covers six countries and 700,000 square miles, making it the second largest contiguous tropical forest in the world. While the forest is largely intact, it still faces a variety of threats, including unsustainable timber and mineral extraction and land clearing for agriculture. On top of that, there is not a strong government system in place to protect the forest. The Congo Basin Forest Partnership is working to improve forest governance and to create financial mechanisms to support the forest preservation.