USAID focuses on public-private partnership

KATHMANDU, Sept 24: The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) today hosted an event for representatives from more than thirty key private sector companies in order to lay the foundation for future partnerships with the private sector in Nepal.



“I believe that the private sector in any country is just as responsible as the government for ensuring social and economic development” remarked the U.S. Ambassador to Nepal, Scott H. DeLisi at the event. [break]He added, “I hope that future partnerships between USAID and the private sector in Nepal will result in sustainable solutions to some of Nepal’s greatest development challenges.”



USAID is renewing a global effort to pursue partnerships with the private sector to accelerate development efforts. Globalization has shifted the flow of financial resources to developing countries and transformed international development. Three decades ago, 70 percent of U.S. financial resources to developing countries came from official U.S. Government assistance.



Today, the vast majority- 85 percent-comes from the full spectrum of the private sector and others, spanning businesses, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), foundations, faith-based groups, and diaspora communities sending remittances abroad. This shift reflects the important roles that the private sector and others play in international development, the USAID/Nepal stated in a press release.



“The event was an opportunity to showcase USAID’s public-private partnership approach and to foster more of these partnerships in Nepal,” said USAID Mission Director Dr. Kevin Rushing. Over the past decade, USAID has developed several partnerships with private companies in Nepal, including MTV, Aveda and Tazo Tea.



Through a recent partnership LOMUS Pharmaceuticals became the first company in Nepal to manufacture oral contraceptives. Public-private partnerships can significantly expand and deepen the impact of development assistance.



Partnerships work through linking U.S. foreign assistance with the resources, expertise, and creativity of private sector partners. This innovative approach to partnership enables partners to bring their strongest assets to bear to address jointly defined development challenges.

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