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USAID/Paraguay and the US government aid agencies that preceded
it have provided development assistance for over 60 years.
This assistance has been in the fields of agriculture, health,
education, public works, economic reform, strengthening
democratic institutions, and environmental protection.
Bilateral U.S. Government development assistance commenced
in 1942 with the creation of the so-called “Servicios”
(Services) providing assistance in three sectors, health,
education and agriculture. Achievements during this era
included the construction of the buildings that house the
Ministry of Health, the Barrio Obrero and Juan Max Boettner
Hospitals and rural infrastructure works in health, education,
and agriculture.
During the following years, the coming programs were “Point
Forth” in 1950 and the “Alliance for Progress”
in 1961. Between 1960 and 1970, the fruits of the cooperation
between the peoples and governments of Paraguay and the
U.S. included: the running water and sewer systems of Asuncion;
the Trans-Chaco Highway and the roads to Ciudad del Este
and Pedro Juan Caballero; the introduction of pasteurized
milk, artificial insemination, the concept of agricultural
extension; the provision of access to credit to farmers
through small loans; the initial strengthening of university
level training in nursing, agronomy, and veterinary sciences;
and the initial support for the creation of the Technical
Planning Secretariat which reports directly to the President.
Following Paraguay’s democratic opening in 1989,
USAID provided support to strengthen the Electoral Tribunal,
with a view toward helping ensure free, clean, and transparent
elections. Assistance from USAID and other donors facilitated
judicial reform, leading to the replacement of the old written,
inquisitorial system of administering justice –which
dated back to the colonial era-- with a modern, efficient
method of adversarial, public, oral trials.
For more information on U.S. assistance to Paraguay,
please click on the following documents:
History of U.S. assistance
from years 30s to 60s
History
of U.S. assistance from years 70s to 80s
History
of U.S. assistance to years 90s |
