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 PolicyPolicy
IV. Agency Budget Summaries

U.S. INFORMATION AGENCY


  1. RESOURCE SUMMARY

  2. METHODOLOGY

    • The drug percentage figure is based on estimates provided by the six geographic area offices, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Office of Research and Media Reaction, the Bureau of Information, the International Broadcasting Bureau, and the Office of the Director. Programs involve grants (including speaker programs, educational exchanges and foreign visitors to the U.S.) that are directly attributable to drug control.

    • It is more difficult to calculate the drug control portion of other activities: the costs of radio broadcast and Internet sites, for example, are spread over a number of thematic areas. An attempt has been made to estimate some of those amounts. Areas in which the costs are not possible to attribute to drug control include the press support provided by overseas posts for visiting U.S. officials and the contact work done by officers in the field with key foreign publics.

  3. PROGRAM SUMMARY

    • The mission of the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) is to inform foreign audiences about U.S. government policies. Through the use of multilingual media products, exchange programs and the activities of its overseas posts, USIA explains policy within a foreign cultural context and seeks to influence public opinion through interaction with key host country media, academic institutions, government departments, and non-government organizations (NGOs). USIA officers abroad seek to facilitate contact and broaden the dialogue between U.S. institutions and their counterparts in other countries.

    • USIA's drug control efforts support Goal 5 of the National Drug Control Strategy -- "Break foreign and domestic drug sources of supply." Public affairs programming is designed to build understanding and support for U.S. international counterdrug activities. It provides timely and accurate information about U.S. policies and programs, demonstrates the threat posed by drug trafficking to source and transit countries, and strengthens the capacity of foreign countries to fight drug abuse, trafficking and related criminal activities. USIA's counterdrug programs are carried out in the following ways:

      • Overseas Posts. USIA officers at 190 U.S. Information Service (USIS) posts in 141 countries direct public affairs programs on drug issues under the direction of the ambassador and in close collaboration with State, DEA, and other U.S. government agencies. USIS posts provide information products to the media, organize press support for visiting U.S. government officials, build relationships with key government and non-government organizations, arrange speaker programs and workshops for selected audiences, and administer exchange-of-persons programs. The drug-producing and transit countries of Latin America continue to be USIA's primary focus for building public support against illegal drugs. Posts in the heroin-producing and drug transit countries of Asia, Africa, and Europe conduct more limited programs.

      • Information, Exchanges, and Research. USIA supports the activities of its overseas posts with products and services from its Washington headquarters: news, official texts and other materials on drug issues are transmitted electronically to the field or posted on the agency's various Internet sites; American experts are recruited to participate in speaker programs, teleconferences and seminars; and reference services are available to respond to inquiries from post contacts. Professional and academic exchange programs on drug-related issues are conducted to enable Americans and their international counterparts to compare techniques and experiences. USIA also conducts polls of foreign public opinion and analyzes the reporting of foreign media on U.S. programs and policies related to drugs.

      • Broadcasting. USIA regularly provides news, features, and interviews on drug issues through the Voice of America's 52 language services and through affiliated media outlets Radio Marti, Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, and Radio Free Asia. The Worldnet television service transmits news stories, public service announcements, and documentaries for use at field posts or for rebroadcast by foreign media and conducts interactive teleconferences via satellite on drug-related issues.

  4. BUDGET SUMMARY

    1998 Program

    Goal 5: Break foreign and domestic drug sources of supply.

    • USIA's budget estimate for FY 1998 totals $7.3 million, an increase of $0.1 million from the FY 1997 funding levels, covers increases in operating costs.

      • A total of $4.8 million will be spent on drug-related activities at USIA's posts overseas. This base program includes the cost of media programs, salaries and administrative overhead, and local costs for seminars and speaker programs. In addition to these funds, the Department of State Embassy Narcotics Affairs Sections expends funds in support of USIA programs, particularly on demand reduction and prevention. In FY 1998, USIA implemented an international public affairs strategy in concert with other USG agencies to improve coordination and effectiveness of U.S. government expenditures across agencies on public diplomacy concerning drug control.

      • Washington-based activities will spend $1.9 million, including: (1) $1.2 million for International Visitor, Hubert Humphrey, Fulbright and other drug-related exchange programs (2) $0.5 million for information programs including teleconferencing, speaker programs, texts, background articles, and reference services; and (3) $0.2 million for foreign media analysis and public opinion research and overall policy coordination.

      • The Bureau of Broadcasting will spend a total of $0.6 million on the Voice of America's multi-language news and features programs and on Worldnet television programs, including live teleconferences.

    1999 Request

    Goal 5: Break foreign and domestic drug sources of supply.

    • The total drug control request for Goal 5 activities for FY 1999 is $7.6 million, a net increase of $0.3 million over FY 1998. The 1999 request will allow USIA to maintain FY 1998 programming levels despite continuing declines in its overall resources. The additional funding covers anticipated increases in overseas and domestic salaries and other operation costs, but no new program initiatives. Most of these resources will be focused on efforts in the Western Hemisphere.

  5. PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS

    • In FY 1997, USIA and its USIS posts abroad employed a wide range of program tools to advance Goal 5 of the National Drug Control Strategy. Many activities provided support for the Strategy by ensuring that foreign publics had accurate information about U.S. policies and programs. These efforts contributed to strengthening support for and understanding of U.S. actions to control drugs at home and abroad. Among the many positive outcomes were the following:

      • A long-term public affairs campaign by the USIS post in La Paz resulted in a 60% drop in negative articles on U.S. counterdrug efforts in Bolivia, and a corresponding increase in positive coverage. By targeting influential media outlets and commentators and constructing a database to monitor coverage over two years, USIS La Paz showed a dramatic change in the focus of Bolivian media editorials and general attitudes towards counterdrug efforts.

      • An International Visitor program for participants from Cyprus, Malta, Egypt, Israel, and Portugal led to the creation of the European-Mediterranean Partnership Against Substance Abuse. The new organization, which includes both Turkish and Greek Cypriots, is establishing a regional database and offering low-cost, professional education and treatment programs. Its regional approach to combating narcotics addiction and trafficking was a direct result of the group's exposure to anti-drug programs in the U.S.

      • The USIS post in Bangkok was successful in broadening public support for the recapture, in Thailand, of bail-jumper Li Yung-Chung, accused of drug offenses in the U.S. This public affairs initiative resulted in editorials in major Thai media which led to increased efforts and the ultimate recapture of Li, who was extradited to the U.S. The Voice of America's Thai service broadcast a series of special reports on Li's extradition and return to the U.S.

      • A series of media interviews with Ambassador Frechette, arranged by USIS Bogota, provided an effective forum for stating the U.S. position in the wake of the announcement of decertification of Colombia. Reaching an estimated 6.7 million Colombians, the ambassador articulated U.S. concerns about the Colombian government's counterdrug cooperation and its policies on extradition and eradication. These prime-time interviews were given prominent news play and served as a rebuttal to the anti-U.S. rhetoric that followed the decertification announcement.

      • In Santo Domingo, a USIS public affairs campaign designed to gather public support for extraditing Dominicans fleeing criminal prosecution in the U.S. brought sharp public focus to this drug-related issue. The campaign was an influential factor in the landmark extraditions of two of the most notorious Dominican fugitives from American justice, Maximo Reyes and Francisco Medina.

      • Students and educators from Alaska and Russia are working to develop anti-drug and anti-alcohol abuse training programs and health fair exhibits for presentation in both countries. The program, funded by a USIA grant to the Secondary School Linkages Program, calls for the exchange of groups of Russians and Americans to share ideas and experiences on these issues.

      • USIS La Paz, working with a private Bolivian television network, USAID and the Embassy Narcotics Affairs Section, produced a series of 12 short TV documentaries intended to increase Bolivian public support for joint U.S./Bolivian alternative development and counterdrug programs. An important component in the embassy's overall public affairs strategy for Bolivia, the series ran over a four-month period. During that time, viewership increased by a factor of three, ultimately reaching 94,000 homes.

      • Years of close cooperation between the USIS post in Mbabane and key officials in Swaziland came to fruition in a national drug demand reduction program launched in December 1996. With the engagement of the country's top policy makers and a contribution of funds from U.S. sources, this campaign to reduce local drug consumption employs strategies such as theater performances to dramatize the anti-drug message in the countryside.

      • In Costa Rica, a USIA-recruited drug prevention specialist worked with fifty Ministry of Education officials and school guidance counselors on developing a drug prevention program on the positive prevention model. After a period of evaluation, the techniques are likely to be adopted nationally, providing the country with its first comprehensive drug prevention school program.