April 15, 2011
Volume Two, Issue Fifteen
Supporting Women as Peace Stewards in Sudan
USAID Deputy Administrator Donald Steinberg (center) and USAID Mission Director Bill Hammink (right of Steinberg) at Juba Port meeting with southern Sudanese who have returned from northern Sudan to their areas of origin. Photo Credit: Sarah Armstrong/USAID
Speaking at Ahfad University for Women in Omdurman, Sudan on April 9, USAID Deputy Administrator Donald Steinberg announced a new USAID global grant program to increase the substantive involvement of women in peace processes.
Grants of up to $2 million each, totaling up to $14 million, may be made available for projects that directly address the objectives of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325, which calls for supporting the essential role of women in all aspects of peace and security, recognizing their leadership in peacemaking, and ending sexual violence in conflict.
The goal of this new program is to bridge the gap between women as peace-builders at the grassroots level and women as peace-makers at the negotiating table, by providing funding for female negotiators and mediators to fully participate, taking into account their unique needs as women, such as the provision of child care, transportation, accommodations, and security.
"We all know that when social order breaks down, it is women who suffer the most," said Steinberg, who visited the university during a three-day visit to northern and southern Sudan, where he also met with a variety of government and international officials and civil society leaders. "But women are far more than victims-they are also the key to building just and lasting peace, stable and prosperous economies, and vibrant civil society."
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DC Details
U.S. and Qatar Agree on Food
USAID Administrator Shah and Dr. Khalid Al-Attiya sign the Memorandum of Understanding. Photo Credit: Pat Adams/USAID
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The United States and Qatar on Thursday agreed to work together to enhance global food security. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah and Dr. Khalid Al-Attiya, Qatar's minister of state for international cooperation.
"Both the United States and Qatar see food security as a development issue that must be addressed comprehensively and creatively. This agreement demonstrates the strong partnership between our nations and emphasizes our joint commitment to address this global challenge," said Shah. "Research to improve dry land agriculture is essential to the success of President Obama's Feed the Future Initiative. More importantly, this partnership will improve the lives of people living in food insecure countries who rely on rain-fed agriculture."
Minister Khalid Al-Attiya called global food insecurity "a threat to world security."
"By seeking to develop new technologies for sustainable agriculture in Qatar, we hope to become a model to dry land countries so that they too can boost their agricultural production in the coming years," he said.
See more on the food security memorandum.
From the Field
How One Gram Made 100 Kilograms
Saodat Shabonova holds some of the potatoes she grew from true potato seeds. Photo Credit: Janice Setser
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In Tajikistan, three-quarters of the population live in rural areas and much of the population relies on the harvest to survive. Due to the lack of reliable seed potatoes and information about how to produce them, harvests are poor. Yields decrease because potatoes kept for planting from the previous year's harvest acquire diseases and produce less each successive year. Buying new seed potatoes is costly and risky because, unlike in more developed countries, there is no government agency to certify the quality.
This year, through the USAID program, agriculture volunteers received training on how to produce seed potatoes from true potato seeds. Along with potatoes growing below ground, a potato plant produces a small tomato-like fruit containing hundreds of tiny "true seeds."
After receiving this training, Saodat Shabonova and her husband were astounded by the harvest: each potato plant produced 44 tubers.
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Experts Urge EU to Step Up Malaria Efforts
A mother and her child test out their ITN in Rufiji District, Tanzania. To increase the likelihood that these life-saving commodities will be used, nets come in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes to meet consumer preferences.
Photo Credit: PMI
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Global Malaria Coordinator Rear Admiral Tim Ziemer led a session on best practices for partnerships at the Oslo Malaria Conference held in the Norwegian Capital April 12-13. More than 200 participants - including national and international policymakers, academics and development organizations - came together to examine how research and innovation, health strategies and funding systems can help meet the United Nations target of near-zero malaria deaths by 2015. Queen Sonja of Norway attended the opening where Norwegian foreign affairs minister Jonas Gahr Støre urged governments in Europe to take malaria prevention and treatment as a serious global health issue.
Participants also looked at how collaboration between research, development and funding organizations and institutions in the public and private sectors be facilitated in order to boost innovation and scale up for impact.
The President's Malaria Initiative (PMI), led by USAID and implemented with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has helped 15 high-burden countries in Africa to dramatically scale up highly effective malaria prevention and treatment interventions. As PMI progresses, new strategic challenges are emerging. With reductions in malaria transmission and burden in many focus countries, PMI will need to work with National Malaria Control Programs and other partners to improve laboratory diagnosis of malaria, surveillance, and the capacity to respond to malaria epidemics. Additionally, with the increasing reports of artemisinin drug resistance in Southeast Asia, PMI will expand its program in the Mekong region to assist to decrease malaria transmission and thereby contain and mitigate the impact of this resistance.
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