The people of the Philippines have been hit hard by Tropical Storm Washi (known locally as Sendong.) Heavy rains, storm surges, flash flooding, and landslides have rocked communities on the island of Mindanao, with 1,249 people reported dead as of December 27, nearly 55,000 still in evacuation centers, and hundreds of thousands affected. USAID responded […]
December 8 marked a big “wheels down” party in Bishkek. Three countries—the United States, Kyrgyzstan, and the Russian Federation—provided quality wheelchairs to dozens of disabled children, helping them to be more mobile and independent. The wheelchair project was started by former Kyrgyz President Rosa Otunbayeva at a meeting with the Russian Envoy to the Kyrgyz […]
Recently, in commemoration with the 30th anniversary of the fight against HIV/AIDS, I had the opportunity to sit down with people who are on the front lines of this struggle in Kazakhstan. Our informal press round table was a chance for people living with HIV to tell their story about discrimination and access to health […]
In the Horn of Africa, millions of people face each day without knowing if they will have clean water to drink or food to eat. This uncertainty about access to the basic essentials of life stunts security and growth, and affects all people from young to old. American assistance to the Horn of Africa is […]
In October 2010, I was honored to be at the UN Security Council meeting where Secretary of State Clinton announced that the United States would prepare its own National Action Plan to implement commitments on Women, Peace and Security. Having served on the UN Civil Society Advisory Group on Resolution 1325 and as an adviser […]
It is with enormous pride that I witnessed the release of the first-ever United States National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security. Publication of the plan serves as valuable recognition and acknowledgement of a critical new step in U.S. foreign policy, one that strives to hear, honor and amplify the female voices for peace […]
India has become synonymous with innovation. Inexpensive mHealth applications. The Tata Nano. Low cost eye surgery. These are just a handful of the frugal innovations that India has developed and is now exporting. With a booming social enterprise sector, a number of the world’s leading academics, Nobel Prize winners and thinkers, a vibrant private sector, […]
Nancy Lindborg is USAID’s Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance. The drought gripping the Horn of Africa has focused all of us on the imperative of building resilience. We know we can’t prevent drought, but we can use improved and smarter programs to create greater resilience and improve food security. […]
Weekly Briefing (12/12/2011 – 12/16/2011) December 9: Last Friday, the Global Post highlighted USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah’s visit to Harvard University. On December 12th, The Guardian’s Global Health Blog also published a post about his trip to Cambridge. Speaking at a dinner, hosted by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism, Dr. Shah recalled his visit to refugee camps in Kenya and the struggle families are […]
I was sitting in the still, hot, and humid air on the porch of a Franciscan nunnery in Natarbora, a four-and-a-half-hour drive from Dili. In the quiet night, the only noise I could hear was the thump of a bass guitar coming through large speakers. I asked Godwin Kamtukule, an engineer from Malawi who is […]
