Education was the focus at a Humanitarian and Health Activities Conference held February 1-5, 2010, in Arusha, Tanzania.

Hosted by U.S. Africa Command's Humanitarian and Health Activities Branch (HHA), the event gathered representatives from various African nations, regional engagement cells, Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa and others from U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) with involvement in humanitarian assistance.

With intent to educate Country Team representatives on the various HHA programs and how to use them on the continent, the event also served as an opportunity for a face-to-face meeting for attendees to address issues and ask questions.

"The HHA conference provides an invaluable forum for a diverse group of stakeholders from the field to meet with Stuttgart HHA program managers and cross pollinate ideas, issues and best practices," said Lieutenant Colonel Richard Murphy, Strategy, Plans and Programs project officer.

Keynote speaker and U.S. Africa Command deputy to the commander for civil-military activities, Ambassador J. Anthony Holmes shared his ideas on effectively implementing the 3D concept, a tripartite engagement between defense, diplomacy and development. The concept is that security is not only maintained by military force, but is also highly dependent on preemptive diplomacy and development.

"Enhancing peace and security in Africa will require that all elements of nation power be applied systematically and concurrently in a strategic fashion if we are to make progress," said Holmes. "Traditional Department of Defense programs need to be coordinated and incorporated into a broader foreign policy objective for each and every country where we engage."

3D means recognizing all programs conducted by DoD are part of a bigger picture, part of the larger foreign policy objectives in a country, according to Holmes. It also means taking a longer-term perspective, considering all the different tools at one's disposal with the security assistance programs, as well as dialoguing and collaborating with other country team members to ensure that security cooperation activities are linked to and supportive, said Holmes.

The conference also featured discussions on Theater Security Cooperation (TSC) programs hosted by Michael Casciaro, TSC division chief, United States Agency for International Development by Diana Putnam, U.S. Africa Command HHA branch chief, as well as HHA program managers' overviews on their respective programs. Training on how to use a system that tracks humanitarian assistance projects was also provided.

"Many stakeholders were unfamiliar with the various HHA programs and how to exercise them," said Major Jim Gotlewski, U.S. Africa Command HHA program officer. "This conference was an ideal forum for educating these stakeholders and an opportunity to work out difficulties that had been encountered by individuals in each country."