The USAID Mission Director in Angola, Diana Swain, briefed members of the working group on May 24, 2005, on program initiatives in Angola. While humanitarian assistance had constituted the bulk of USG aid in the past, these levels were dropping dramatically and the focus had now shifted to transitional strategies. Priorities were capacity building, governance issues, health and HIV/AIDS, and land and food security. Swain emphasized the importance USAID attaches to creating public/private partnerships to address these critical challenges. Partnerships had been established in the areas of HIV/AIDS, malaria, agricultural resettlement, and micro financing, creating synergies and mobilizing larger resource bases through these arrangements. Chevron and ExxonMobil had taken leading roles in this respect. (In June, Lazare Kaplan also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with USAID for social projects in Lunda Norte.) In response to a question, Swain noted the budgetary constraints that USAID/Angola faces but said it was possible to tap into global funds to increase the size of the pie for Angola. As one example, she cited the prospect of securing funds in the energy sector, but other opportunities existed as well. (Subsequent to the briefing, the US Government announced a major grant to combat malaria in Angola. $15 million is earmarked for this program in the first year and $10re million during the second.) During the discussion period, many suggestions were offered for USAID involvement in critical sectors of the society and economy. Swain acknowledged that there were many roads worth exploring, ranging from education to rule of law and business development, but choices had to be made in light of available resources.

At an event co-sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the US-Angola Chamber of Commerce on June 8th, the Vice Minister of Health, Dr. Jose Van Dunem, gave an impressive description of the challenges that the Angolan Government and the international community faced in confronting the outbreak of Marburg in Uige Province. The Vice Minister emphasized the importance of establishing real team unity among representatives of government, WHO, CDC and NGOs, such as Medecins Sans Frontiers. This was an essential first step since the government did not have the capacity and resources to meet the threat of Marburg. A second major challenge was education and public information, particularly in addressing the cultural customs of the people living in Uige. Local traditions such as kissing relatives who had died contributed to the spread of Marburg since the illness is transmitted by contact with body fluids. Only by enlisting the support of the churches, local leaders, and especially traditional healers could the cultural traditions begin to be addressed. Van Dunem described his visit to the affected region and how he personally met with the local leaders, including women, to enlist their support in breaking the chain of transmission of Marburg. Although the Vice Minister believed the spread of Marburg had been broken, he said the original source of the disease had not been identified and it was critical to monitor the situation. Because access to many municipalities within the province was restricted owing to the destruction of roads and bridges during the war, this was a difficult task.