Accession Number:

AD1166615

Title:

U.S. Assistance to Central America: Department of State Should Establish a Comprehensive Plan to Assess Progress toward Prosperity, Governance, and Security

Descriptive Note:

[Technical Report, Congressional Report]

Corporate Author:

United States Government Accountability Office

Personal Author(s):

• Grover, Jennifer
• Michels, James
• Hunt, Bradley
• Broach, Sophie
• Fremont, Jon
• Westling, Kayli
• Almoguera, Pedro
• Doherty, Neil
• Dowling, Mark
• Fisher, Justin
• Mulkins, Christopher
• Ruli, Zamir
• Salerno, Aldo
• Villecco, John

Report Date:

2019-09-01

Pagination or Media Count:

87

Abstract:

The United States has provided assistance to the Northern Triangle of Central America for many years to address poverty, weak governance, and insecurity. Introduced in 2014, and updated in 2017, the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America Strategy supports the objectives of improving prosperity, governance, and security. State coordinates implementation of the Strategys objectives among agencies. This report examines 1 the projects the U.S. government has implemented from fiscal years 2013 through 2018 to support the Strategys objectives in the Northern Triangle, 2 what is known about project results, and 3 what is known about progress toward the objectives. GAO reviewed results for a subset of 190 projects in a nongeneralizable sample of six sectors selected based on funding, country, and objective analyzed Strategy documents and key elements of effective strategies interviewed officials and conducted fieldwork in the Northern Triangle. GAO recommends that State collaborate with DOD and USDA to develop a comprehensive approach to monitoring and evaluation of projects that support Strategy objectives. State did not concur, citing lack of authority to direct other agencies actions. GAO modified the recommendation to clarify that a collaborative effort would allow State to include information about all relevant projects as it evaluates progress under the Strategy as discussed in this report.

Descriptors:

• interagency coordination
• climate change
• health services
• students
• congress
• employment
• public policy
• united states government
• department of state
• law
• military education
• military personnel
• business administration
• central america
• department of homeland security
• families (human)
• governments

Subject Categories:

• Government and Political Science
• Economics and Cost Analysis
• Administration and Management

Distribution Statement:

[A, Approved For Public Release]