Roselyn Matthews, USAID Office of HIV/AIDS

From: Justin Skarb [mailto:jbskarb@hotmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 4:19 PM
To: Matthews, Roslyn(GH/OHA)
Subject: RE: Question Regarding U.S. Foreign Assistance

Ms. Matthews,

I'm hoping that a more general and narrower question might be easier to answer.

From my research I believe that in many instances USAID provides assistance via third-party contractors and grant recipients. In these instances, is this assistance classified as assistance to the country / region where the ultimate services are provided? For instance, were USAID to enter into a grant agreement with Chinese medical service providers for the provision of medical care in Nigeria, would such a grant relationship be categorized as U.S. assistance to the home country of the service providers (China in this example) or, alternatively, to Nigeria as it is the country ultimately receiving the medical care from the service providers.

As I'm sure you are extremely busy, I thank you for your time. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Justin Skarb

RE: Question Regarding U.S. Foreign Assistance‏
From: Matthews, Roslyn(GH/OHA) (rmatthews@usaid.gov)
Sent: Tue 1/29/08 2:18 PM
To: Justin Skarb (jbskarb@hotmail.com)

Hi Justin,

I apologize for the delay in getting back you. I’ve been meaning to e-mail since last week. Your follow-up question is one I can answer for you. You are correct in your assumption. In fact, in most instances, USAID provides assistance through either grantees or contractors. In the example you raise, the assistance would be categorized as aid to Nigeria, since the services would be directed to Nigerians. However, some of our HIV/AIDS grants, for example, go directly to groups indigenous to the country. If, in fact, it’s a grant works on “capacity building/institutional capacity” the benefit would be two-fold. Organizations would ultimately be better able to manage their organizations, which in turn, should help them be able to provide improved services.

Hope this is helpful!

Roslyn Matthews
Office of HIV/AIDS
USAID