USAID operates seven country programs and a regional program in the Middle East and North Africa. This region faces many challenges, including terrorism, instability, weak governance, high unemployment and poor education systems. USAID’s Middle East Bureau was created in March 2008 from the former Asia and Near East Bureau.
A wide range of social and economic challenges continue to affect the Middle East and North Africa. In some countries, booming populations and unemployment rates of over 15 percent contribute to internal instability. Weak democratic institutions in many countries in the region fail to provide citizens with ways to actively participate in the decision-making that affects their lives.
Inadequate economic opportunity, a lack of education and skills training, and poor prospects for long-term health and prosperity reinforce intolerance and extremism and provide fertile ground for unrest. In Iraq and West Bank/Gaza, continued conflict poses serious obstacles to development.
