The Foreign Service Journal, December 2004

skin infections and generally despondent and withdrawn. After enrolling in the USAID-sponsored program, these children are now receiving health care, basic child- hood education and integrated learning and recreational activities. Children receive meals, uniforms, sanitation material and general health care from a nurse associated with the child care center. Besides the dramatic improvement in their physi- cal condition, I was struck by how happy and well- adjusted these children appeared to be, especially considering their dire straits and past mistreatment. We played with the kids, watched them interact with teachers and visitors alike, and commented to the teachers and one another on how healthy and happy they looked. After spending an hour with the chil- dren and teachers, I left feeling grateful to the HRCI program for providing these children with a chance to grow and learn in a safe, healthy environment. Into the Setting Sun The communities and towns we passed through along the high-risk corridor in heat-drenched Ethiopia are remarkably vibrant despite the obvious impact of HIV/AIDS. Both there and in the impov- erished, garbage-strewn fetid shantytown of the port of Djibouti, where thousands of dock workers live, I saw first-hand that the HRCI program has an impor- tant impact on the health and livelihoods of thou- sands of vulnerable individuals, thanks in no small part to the teamwork between USAID’s Regional Economic Development Services Office (REDSO) in Nairobi and the country missions in Addis Ababa and Djibouti. It takes exceptional teamwork to develop HIV/AIDS programs, especially those with cross- national and border complexities. With technical sup- port and open communication between the three missions, the HRCI program can and will continue to thrive by providing critical HIV/AIDS interventions to highly vulnerable populations. USAID/Ethiopia has extended the HRCI up to the year 2008 for approximately $4 million. USAID is also engaged in discussions on how to continue its investments along the Djibouti corridor in order to further expand HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support initiatives and service deliv- ery for the next several years. The HRCI is a successful pro- gram targeting at-risk populations along this geographic transport cor- ridor. The program has clearly demonstrated that it can deliver high-quality prevention, care and support services cross-nationally with unique and innovative inter- vention strategies. USAID has similar projects in several other parts of Africa as well, and REDSO is supporting a northern transport corridor initiative in several countries in East and Central Africa. The Ethiopia-Djibouti transport corridor program, which began as an HIV prevention-only initiative, later demonstrated that prevention programs also required care and support components in order to be successful. As this program has evolved, so, too, have its scope and impact. Our delegation’s trip along the corridor drew to a close on a quiet, balmy evening as we finished our meetings and final consultations with the program’s implementing organizations in the Djiboutian capi- tol. After watching the fiery sun set into the Red Sea, we spent the evening gazing out over the Gulf of Aden as we shared our cumulative impressions and feelings of the past several days. The importance and critical impact of our work is certainly evident in the healthy bodies and smiles of the children we saw; in the truckers’ decisions to protect themselves against HIV/AIDS; in the enthusiastic, committed dock workers trained as peer educators in Djibouti; and in the people living with AIDS who receive the human touch, care and assistance from home-based care providers. It is rewarding and uplifting to see USAID pro- grams touching and favorably influencing the lives of so many vulnerable or potentially vulnerable individ- uals suffering from the desolation of AIDS. This is the joy of the work at USAID — to know that pro- grams are affecting, inspiring, and improving the health and livelihoods of the beautiful Ethiopian and Djiboutian people. What a marvelous excursion of hope to mitigate the effects of HIV/AIDS on the peo- ple of this most historic and ancient land. F O C U S 40 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 4 The importance of our work was evident in the healthy bodies and smiles of the children we encountered.