Djiboutians celebrate the opening of a clinic funded by USAID

Lt. Col. Leslie Pratt/USAFRICOM

Education

Our education program improves the quality of teaching and learning in primary schools. Working with Djibouti's Ministry of Education, we are developing a national teacher training plan to create a strategy to improve access and retention of girls in school. We are working to revise textbooks using a gender lens, link secondary school girls with university mentors, and support parent-teacher associations to identify school priorities. We also strengthen governance among 112 school management committees, help produce the Ministry's annual statistical manual with improved data and graphics, and provide job training to out-of-school youth.

Global Health

To improve the health of Djiboutian families, our activities improve nutrition, combat and treat tuberculosis, polio, and HIV/AIDS. The country has one of the highest prevalence rates of tuberculosis in the world. We strengthen the National Tuberculosis Program to maintain quality assurance systems and improve the capacity to address multi-drug resistant strains. The country has been polio virus free since 1999, but is surrounded by countries with continuing outbreaks; therefore we support the government’s polio surveillance system. All targeted health staff were trained in polio awareness, and nationwide, all children have received the polio vaccine. Our current health programs improve the Ministry of Health’s capacity to deliver effective, high-quality services through improved governance and systems. Health activities include training health personnel in financial management and service delivery, as well as strengthening the health management and information system.

In addition, we successfully negotiated the first U.S.-backed public-private partnership in Djibouti, bringing government, USAID, and Dubai Port World together to address HIV/AIDS along the Djibouti-Ethiopia transport corridor. The agreement will build a 1,600-square foot community center to provide health care to 30,000 truckers and vulnerable people living along the corridor, as well as counseling, testing, education, and personnel.

Working in Crisis and Conflict

As a result of drought and food insecurity in Djibouti, we continue to provide humanitarian assistance that addresses urgent needs and builds resilience for the future. Complementing these efforts, the USAID-supported Famine Early Warning System Network monitors and assesses climatic conditions and projections to help predict developments that may create food insecurity.

We support the World Food Program Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation to support vulnerable communities and refugees.