USAID assistance to Namibia began when the country gained its independence in 1990. The United States has contributed significantly to Namibia’s post-apartheid recovery through programs that provide financial support, technical assistance, and build local capacity to secure Namibia’s longer term development goals.  Assistance spanned through a wide range of objectives in an effort to meet development outcomes for example "ABCDE" of development:

• AIDS and TB prevention, care, and treatment
• Basic education
• Community-based natural resource management
• Democracy and governance
• Employment creation and enterprise development

Collaborating with other U.S. Government agencies, USAID has supported the Namibian Government’s efforts to improve the quality of essential services such as health care and education, promote sustainable management of natural resources, improve economic opportunity, and assist national efforts to strengthen democracy and governance.

Over time, as conditions in Namibia changed with the generalized HIV/AIDS epidemic, USAID shifted its bilateral emphasis to health and HIV/AIDS exclusively. To date, USAID has made significant investments to help strengthen Namibia's capacity to sustain equitable and well-utilized health and social sector services.

U.S. assistance to Namibia will continue to evolve as the Namibian Government embarks upon significant reforms that will increase its ability to manage, coordinate and deliver quality services to the Namibian people.  For example, the shifting of financial and managerial responsibilities for HIV/AIDS to the Namibian Government will allow U.S. support to move away from providing direct service delivery into technical assistance.