U.S. Assistance to Central America: Department of State Should Establish a Comprehensive Plan to Assess Progress toward Prosperity, Governance, and Security
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.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1166615
Entities
People
- Aldo Salerno
- Bradley Hunt
- Christopher Mulkins
- James Michels
- Jennifer Grover
- John Villecco
- Jon Fremont
- Justin Fisher
- Kayli Westling
- Mark Dowling
- Neil Doherty
- Pedro Almoguera
- Sophie Broach
- Zamir Ruli
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office