Karen Hilliard, mission director to Jamaica, has worked in the field of development for 20 years.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has chosen Karen Hilliard as the new mission director to Jamaica.

She was sworn into office in early October.

The Americans, in outlining Hilliard's priorities, define Jamaica as a "maturing democracy struggling with severe unemployment, drug trafficking, violent crime and more than its share of natural disasters."

As mission director, she is expected to tackle health and education programmes, and promote the type of development projects that take the environment into consideration.

USAID offers very little development assistance to Jamaica. Its grants in 2006 ran to about US$14 million.

Hilliard, who brings "nearly 20 years of management and agency experience to Jamaica," according to acting USAID administrator Hen-rietta Fore, has had previous postings in Haiti, Malawi, Nicaragua and Ukraine.

She most recently served as director of strategic planning and budgeting in USAID's Bureau for Global Health in Washington.

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