The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Tunisia promotes strengthening the social contract between Tunisian citizens and the government, inclusive private sector-led economic growth, and supporting a social safety net that provides direct relief to vulnerable Tunisians. Since 2011, USAID has provided nearly $585 million in assistance to Tunisia.
ECONOMIC GROWTH
To mitigate the economic and financial crisis in Tunisia, much of USAID’s Economic Growth programming focuses on direct support to small and medium-sized enterprises. In the past year alone, more than 19,000 Tunisian businesses have benefited from our financial or technical assistance. USAID has also focused on improving the business-enabling environment to create conditions for businesses to grow and thrive. USAID has focused on far-ranging public financial management reforms, which should, once fully implemented, substantially improve government transparency and accountability, currently a major source of public concern.
KEY RESULTS
- 30,000 businesses assisted
- 42,000 new jobs created
- 40,000 people trained
- $300 million financing facilitated
- $500 million in increased sales for assisted businesses
- $400 million in increased exports for assisted businesses
DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE
USAID works with civil society organizations, Tunisian institutions, youth, and other stakeholders to strengthen Tunisia’s democratic institutions and political processes, encourage diverse citizen participation and engagement, and promote positive youth development. USAID’s Democracy and Governance program helps advance democratic values by promoting the inclusion of traditionally underserved areas of Tunisia, civic and voter education, electoral systems strengthening, political participation, and citizen oversight initiatives.
KEY RESULTS
- Reached over 1 million citizens through civic and voter education campaigns and ensured that people with disabilities were included in the 2019 elections by developing a sign language lexicon, a smartphone application, and a series of animated videos into the Election Commission’s voter outreach efforts
- Reached over 3,940 participants in community-based activities to promote positive youth development and prevent violent extremism
- Engaged 45,000 followers on social media to promote positive youth development
- Refurbished and equipped 47 safe spaces in communities throughout Tunisia, providing Tunisian youth with opportunities to improve their skills and contribute to their communities
SOCIAL SAFETY NET
The Social Safety Net portfolio provides relief to vulnerable Tunisians to lessen the impact of the economic crisis and food prices while supporting Tunisia’s ability to more effectively target social assistance to the most vulnerable to lessen the need for subsidies and government expenditures.
KEY RESULTS
- Over 425,000 children received a one-time back-to-school allowance for education expenses for the 2022-2023 school year.
- By August 2023, 305,000 children benefited from monthly cash transfers to cover food, education, and health expenses.
- 680 students participated in the school dropout prevention program, a model employing a systemic approach to reduce school dropout rates through structural and pedagogical measures.
- In 2023, the school dropout prevention pilot program expanded to 13 more schools, totaling 22 pilot schools.
- Financed the purchase of 25,000 metric tons of durum wheat to help the Tunisian people face supply disruptions, particularly for the most vulnerable households.
