USAID works with public and private sector partners as well as civil society to help foster conditions for strengthening democratic governance practices and good governance standards of accountability and responsiveness to the people. USAID also helps citizens utilize their resources, skills and abilities to make a difference within their communities and society. Details about USAID activities are below.

USAID-supported community development projects through training and other interventions build the capacity of communities, groups and individuals to constructively engage with local and regional officials. Together they identify and implement community development projects, thus introducing participants to effective local good governance practices. These projects support empowerment of Community Development Councils (CDCs) to participate in decisions that affect their communities and also help CDCs plan and implement civic projects in collaboration with local governments. These projects are also carried out in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy and the Council for State Support to Non-Government Organizations. 

Paige Alexander, USAID Assistant Administrator, joins the local community in Zardabi, Guba, to celebrate the opening of the road rehabilitated by the Socio-Economic Development Activity co-financed by the Government of Azerbaijan and USAID.

Vugar Naghiyev, USAID

USAID helps improve the status of women in Azerbaijan by raising public awareness of issues that affect women. In particular, USAID programs empower women by engaging them in political and decision making processes. USAID also develops the capacity of women-focused civil society organizations (CSO) and government institutions that focus on women’s issues.

To improve Azerbaijan’s effectiveness in preventing and combating human trafficking, USAID supports the government and CSOs in raising public awareness. USAID also provides technical and financial support to CSOs operating shelters for assistance to victims of human trafficking.

USAID helps promote greater government institutional transparency and support more effective civic engagement with the government to combat corruption. The USAID-supported anti-corruption project increases citizens’ awareness of corruption-related issues by offering information on how to redress their grievances, as well as provides free legal advisory services.

Independent media plays a critical role in building an engaged, empowered, and educated citizenry. USAID-supported media strengthening activities have included training of journalists and promoting diverse media outlets.

Finally, USAID’s support to building capacity of local CSOs includes increasing their organizational and technical capacity. Through this support USAID provides assistance to CSOs to meet financial reporting requirements and shares international organizational best practices.

Some recent achievements in democracy and governance area include:

• Fifteen national civil society organizations improved their capacity to compete for direct funding from donors and the government;
• Ninety-seven USAID-trained women won seats in the December 2014 municipal elections;
• 110 Community Development Councils have been established and nearly 87 small-scale infrastructure projects (roads, medical facilities, heating systems at schools and kindergartens, water access, etc.) have been implemented in response to citizen demands.