Senior Advisor-Regional Program Office, USAID/West Africa

USAID/West Africa (USAID/WA) is a highly dynamic, regional mission that leverages strategically targeted programs across a region spanning 21 countries with a population of 367 million. Working through a distinct regional lens, the mission designs and implements programs that are African-led, maintain a regional perspective, support regional partners’ efforts and priorities, and pursue a long-term vision balanced with short-term, achievable results. The mission is able to accomplish these results by focusing on programs that take advantage of the interdependent nature and proximity of countries in West Africa; well-established trade and migration routes, which cut across the region; and the presence of active regional institutions, including long-time partners, which have benefited from USAID capacity building efforts and are poised to play a greater role in the region’s development. Employing targeted interventions in peace and governance, economic growth, and health, USAID/WA is able to play a key synergistic role in promoting sustainable development in the region and addressing such crises as Ebola and other regional shocks and challenges. USAID/WA focuses on four functional objectives: Peace and Security, Governing Justly & Democratically, Investing in People, and Economic Growth and is divided into three technical program teams: ● Regional Peace and Governance ● Regional Health ● Regional Economic Growth – including Trade and Investment, Power Africa, Agriculture, and Environment & Climate Change Response In addition, as a regional mission, USAID/WA fulfills an important role of providing operational services (acquisition and assistance, financial management, administrative, legal, environmental compliance, and to a more limited degree, project design and Monitoring & Evaluation) to client USAID Missions and Offices in the region, including to USAID/Ghana. USAID/WA also functions as a regional hub for learning and knowledge management. USAID/WA has an estimated annual program budget of $79 million dollars in FY 2021 funds. In addition, USAID/WA has program and operational management authorities and responsibilities for the bilateral programs in Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, and Cameroon that increases its funding level to over $235 million per year.