21 September 2010

2 minute read

These partnerships will maximise the resources of US institutions while placing African universities in the lead to capitalise on their on-the-ground knowledge, proximity to the challenges, and build their own capacity to better address these challenges.

“The citizens, academics, and civic and educational institutions of developing countries must be integrated into the way we partner to address development challenges,” said USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator for Africa Franklin Moore. “In this way, we can ensure that projects are sustainable, reflect decades of lessons learned, are maximally effective and targeted, and help to build in-country capacity to solve development challenges. Universities are among the most important parts of civil society, and their engagement in policy and programme design and implementation is critically important.”

“Higher education is critical to building a strong Africa,” said A۰P۰L۰U President Peter McPherson, a former USAID Administrator. “These partnerships will combine the knowledge and resources of African and US universities to solve some of the critical issues hindering economic development in African countries and each of the sectors in which USAID is working. Developed in partnership with African higher education and government leaders, these projects are part of the vision USAID and the other partners have for Africa.”

“The partners’ expertise and drive have been proven through success in a highly competitive review and selection process,” said HED Executive Director Tully Cornick. “I am encouraged to see today’s plans being transformed into sustainable solutions through applied research, higher education opportunities and community involvement. These Africa-led partnerships have seized an opportunity for change and reflect a deep level of understanding shaped by the contributions of the African institution partners.”

These 11 partnerships have detailed five-year strategic plans with a 10-year vision to address national and regional development priorities in sub-Saharan Africa through higher education human and institutional capacity development. Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through a grant to Higher Education for Development (HED), the partnerships are the result of the Africa-US Higher Education Initiative, a collaborative effort started in 2007 by a number of higher education associations and other organiations and led by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (A۰P۰L۰U) to advocate for increased engagement in African higher education capacity development.

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