The United States African Development Foundation - Research Paper Example

Though US funds many of the international development programs via UN, but USAID (United States Agency for International Development) is one of the most prominent organizations working directly under the US government towards the goal of democracy promotions and economic development of various states. United States African Development Foundation was conceived by the US congress in 1980, as a complimentary organization to USAID and other functional programs directed at similar goals. However, this organization was developed with the focus over the impoverished states of Africa, to empower the marginalized population of the areas under focus.

The groundwork for the USADF`s legislation is laid upon the model of the Inter-American Foundation, however the scope and background of both the organizations differ to a great extent. USADF is an independent, though federally run organization committed at the goal of formulating strategies specific to the African communities to assist the marginalized societies by granting economic as well as technical assistance at the grassroots level. Going into the history of the organization, the initiation period was quite shaky as it took almost four years to bring the organization into its functional shape.

Right in the beginning the appointment of the board of governors for this organization were delayed and it wasn’t until 1983 that these appointments took place. Later in 1983, most of the high level staff resigned due to some issues which again made the functional capacity of the organization restricted to some extent. The organization again gained momentum when the General Accounting Officer (GAO) was asked to take over the look after the management needs of the organization. In 1984 however, the relevant officers presided over the desired positions and reforms in procedures took place to bring the organization into its current shape (Grassroots Development: The African Development Foundation).