Since 1998, more foreign service personnel have been killed in the line of duty than U.S. members of our foreign service.

“Localization” is the latest buzzword in foreign aid. But in one sense, perhaps the most important, America has for decades been the world leader in building local capacity.

Last year, more than 70% of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Overseas Workforce, and 85% from the Department of State, were not U.S. citizens, but rather nationals of the host country (or, to a lesser extent, third-country nationals). Although there are certain functions that Foreign Service Nationals (FSNs) and locally engaged personnel (as the State Department calls them) are not permitted to perform (e.g., they do not have access to information classified), they work alongside Americans around the world to advance American interests.

It’s difficult to overestimate the value that DSPs bring to the facilities they serve (more more than 270 consulates and embassies) and more broadly to the interests of American foreign policy. In times of crisis, they protect and assist American citizens, with the assistance of consular FSNs. more than a million Americans every year, whether issuing replacement passports, offering advice on local health care, or assisting in the safe return of abducted children. NSFs also play a crucial role in embassy security, with more than 12,000 employees in positions dedicated to protecting U.S. diplomats, citizens and facilities.

They add value by serving as a bridge between embassy teams and the countries where they operate. They help Americans better understand the conditions, traditions, and attitudes of host countries. For example, in 2018, when Sri Lanka’s Muslim communities were threatened with targeted post-election violence, the US ambassador in Colombo managed to defuse tensions with the crucial help of a local political specialist from the FSN. This FSN, originally from the city where the riots and attacks took place, provided the ambassador with crucial information on the political dynamics of the region, actively monitored developments and subsequently visited the city. Her local expertise helped the ambassador work with the Sri Lankan government to defuse the crisis.

This “bridging” function also helps embassy teams better target U.S. support and investment toward the most impactful projects and opportunities…thus helping countries on their “path to self-reliance” (as I said when I was a USAID administrator). For example, an economic specialist from the FSN in Praia has targeted Cape Verde’s textile industry to strengthen and support it, increasing the country’s finished textile exports six-fold in a single year, creating 600 new jobs.

A more important aspect of this “transition” function is how NSFs help host countries better understand the challenges they face and the tools available to address them. For example, an Estonian woman, aware of the urgency of the HIV/AIDS crisis in her community, worked with U.S. officials to urge her government to act. These efforts helped Estonia secure a $10 million grant from the United Nations Global Fund to Fight HIV, AIDS and Tuberculosis, the first grant of its kind in the region. Combating HIV/AIDS, an important priority of the U.S. government, has become an important priority for Estonian leaders, and the funding provided has provided a boost to Estonian efforts to increase the country’s public health capacity.

Our embassies are sometimes called upon to work in dangerous locations and difficult circumstances, and NSFs are so often on the front lines. On a terrible day in August 1998, terrorists simultaneously bombed our embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya. In Nairobi, the attackers intended to detonate explosives inside the embassy basement, but failed to do so. arrested by NSFs functioning as local security guards and by US Marineswho prevented entry to the embassy. Today’s attacks cost 224 livesincluding 12 Americans and 44 foreign service nationals. Unfortunately, there were other incidents in which innocent lives were lost, both among Americans and those who supported the American effort. As an administrator, I created FSN Global Recognition Day in 2018 to serve as an annual opportunity to thank them for their service and, yes, their sacrifice.

But the “localization” contributions of NSFs are perhaps the most important because they often extend well beyond formal service to the U.S. government. They contribute to embassy teams, shape embassy programs, and gain skills and experience that contribute to the development of their countries for years after leaving their jobs in the United States. Just one example is Dorine Genga, a former USAID DSF under the Partnership for Resilience and Economic Growth in Northern Kenya. During her time at USAID, Dorine contributed to the project that reduced extreme poverty by 12% and increased women’s dietary diversity by 28% in just two and a half years after the program’s launch. Today, it serves as program manager for the economic and social inclusion project in Kenyaa collaboration between government and NGOs that enables tens of thousands of Kenyans living in extreme poverty to build sustainable livelihoods and strengthen their resilience. It’s a real location. It’s greater autonomy. This allows her to leverage what she learned as an FSN.

Localization is not simply about replacing U.S. grantees and contractors with local grantees and contractors. It’s about helping countries lead their own bright futures. It’s about building local capacity and helping to train and equip tomorrow’s leaders. This fulfills the goal I outlined on my first day as USAID Administrator: “The goal of all foreign aid must be to end its need to exist.” » When NSFs serve in our missions and embassies, they help America…and strengthen their home countries.

Leveraging the skills and experience of our thousands of FSNs… true localization that accelerates the path to autonomy.

This blog was researched and written with the help of Dhruvi Thakker.