USAID Weekly
ISSUE XIV • October 23, 2007
Top Story
Bridges of Understanding
Remarks by Henrietta H. Fore
Acting USAID Administrator and
Acting Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance
 Meridian House, Washington, DC
October 16, 2007
Private enterprise is a critical driver of world economic growth and social development. Governments should support, not dominate, that process. Recently, I spoke at the 50th anniversary conference of an umbrella organization for aid groups, the Society for International Development. I told them that today we are at the threshold of a new era - and in this new era we are just beginning to create what we could describe as a Global Development Commons. A Global Development Commons would be a community of continuous and real-time exchange, collaboration, partnership, and action between public and private donors, agencies, private enterprises, NGOs, host governments, and civil society. It is a time of great excitement and momentum, with an explosion of ideas, actors, and solutions.
As your organization's new entry into the field demonstrates, the number of players and the complexity of the issues in international development continue to grow. This growth demands that we build a more comprehensive and efficient network of resources, skills, and information exchange. Rather than command and control, we must communicate, collaborate, and act -- together.
(Full Speech)
Top Story
USAID Promotes Gender Equity in Education in Southern Sudan
 USAID, in cooperation with the Government of South Sudan, has launched a five-year, $6.5 million Gender Equity through Education program in Juba, Southern Sudan. The program will promote gender equity in secondary schools and teacher training institutes throughout Southern Sudan and the Three Areas (Abyei, Blue Nile, and Southern Kordofan).
Currently, less than one in 10 girls complete their primary education, and as few as one percent of them attend the less than 100 secondary schools that serve the millions of people living in Southern Sudan. In addition, there are significantly low numbers of qualified women educators.
The United States is the single largest donor to Sudan, contributing nearly $4 billion toward assistance in Sudan and eastern Chad since fiscal year 2005. (Full story)
USAID World News
In The News
Debt for Nature Agreement to Conserve Costa Rica's Forests
An agreement to reduce Costa Rica's debt by nearly $26 million over the next 16 years was reached by the governments of the United States and Costa Rica, the Central Bank of Costa Rica as well as U.S.-based Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy…
Suai Farmers Start Earning Incomes from New Cash Crop
Farmers in the southern district of Suai recently held a harvest ceremony as they started harvesting a new cash crop product, mungbeans, intended mostly for export to Southeast Asian markets…
Telling Our Story
Rebuilding Thai Villages through Consensus
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Photo: AIT/Vinij Tan |
Villagers from the Kampuan subdistrict in southern Thailand gather regularly at town hall meetings to discuss relief efforts and community priorities.
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