USAID/Paraguay and the U.S. Government aid agencies that preceded it have provided development assistance in Paraguay 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 programs were “Point Four” in 1950 and the “Alliance for Progress” in 1961. Between 1960 and 1970, the fruits of cooperation between the people and Government of Paraguay and the U.S. included: the running water and sewer systems of Asuncion; the Trans-Chaco Highway; the roads to Ciudad del Este and Pedro Juan Caballero; the introduction of pasteurized milk, artificial insemination, and 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 on matters related to long-term strategic planning for the government. 

Following Paraguay’s democratic elections 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, 1940 - 1960s

>> History of U.S. Assistance, 1970 - 1980s

>> History of U.S. Assistance, 1990 to present