In 2006, USAID marked 50 years in Sri Lanka with the unveiling of a retrospective book titled “Fifty Years of Partnership.” The stories, in English, Sinhala, and Tamil, trace the evolution of US assistance to Sri Lanka over the past five decades.
Since 1956, USAID programs have invested in Sri Lankans - working in health, business development, agriculture, and local governance. To date, these activities have totaled nearly $2 billion in assistance to Sri Lanka. USAID continues to support work toward a negotiated settlement to the conflict and good governance, economic development, humanitarian assistance, and tsunami reconstruction.
The celebration also included a seven minute companion documentary DVD and a series of newspaper advertisements run over a period of two months in English and vernacular publications that provided readers short vignettes about various USAID programs over the decades.
