We want countries to work on their journey towards self reliance- Dr Huerta

The newly appointed USAAID Senior Development Advisor Dr Alexandria Huerta says they want countries including Fiji to work on their journey towards self-reliance.

While speaking at her press introduction, Dr Huerta says she wants to build partnership and show their counterparts in Washington that this is an area of opportunity where resources can have an impact.

Dr Huerta says they want to work with countries who would be in charge of their destiny and development in the future.

She says this will encourage the countries to move away from having a donor and recipient relationship with America but a partnership one.

Dr Huerta says what they have noticed is that a bit of funding for resources goes a long way for Pacific island countries.

She says they hope to expand their current portfolio and include more programmes in other sectors where they have never been before and she will be advocating back to her colleagues in Washington for increased engagement. US Ambassador Joseph Cella says Dr Huerta is a strategic and tactical thinker.

In this role, Dr Huerta will oversee donor engagement and coordination, strategic development, monitoring and evaluation of USAID programs in the Pacific islands.