Back in June, I posted here about the negative impacts of global undernutrition as my colleagues and I prepared for Feed the Future’s agriculture and food security Research Forum in Washington, D.C. This week, as I attend two meetings for the international Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement during U.N. General Assembly week in New York, [...]
Archives for September, 2011
Investing in Women to Change the World
In this era of slow growth, high unemployment, and fiscal woes, investing in women is an economic imperative. Fortunately, this recognition has taken hold in several quarters. At the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit on Women and the Economy last week, Secretary Clinton argued that “by increasing women’s participation in the economy and enhancing [...]
Delivering Quality, Affordable and Equitable Care to Improve Health
The U.N. High Level Meeting on Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases marks only the second time in history the UN has held a special meeting on a health issue: the first was for HIV/AIDS in 2001. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) represent an urgent and growing global public health concern. In 2008, NCDs — diseases such [...]
FWD the Facts about Famine, War, and Drought in the Horn of Africa
As many of you know, the worst drought in 60 years has devastated communities throughout the Horn of Africa, leaving more than 13 million people in a state of crisis—greater than the population of Los Angeles and New York combined. In Somalia—where twenty years of war and violence has limited humanitarian access and destroyed the country’s [...]
USAID Impact @ UN General Assembly in New York
Every year, USAID plays an important role in the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York. This year is the 66th session of the Assembly and our USAID Impact blog is dedicated to giving you updates. This week from September 19-23, USAID Administrator Raj Shah and other Agency leaders will participate in several events. [...]
Our Continuing Commitment to the People of Haiti
On Thursday, I had the opportunity to meet Emyl Mil, a rice farmer in Haiti, a focus country for President Obama’s Feed the Future initiative. When I spoke with Mr. Mil, he was excited about the use of a new, innovative approach called System of Rice Intensification. This new technique has significantly increased rice yields [...]
Horn of Africa Update
Each week USAID produces a fact sheet (pdf, 211kb) with updates on the drought in the Horn of Africa. These fact sheets provide background information about the crisis, key recent developments, data on U.S. humanitarian assistance to the region, and public donation information. We’ll now be featuring the key developments of the week on our [...]
Meeting Global Water Needs: Challenges and Solutions
I spoke today at the International Water Forum held at the United Nations. The Forum was organized by the Energy and Water Institute of New York and The Chronicles Group in cooperation with The World Water Organization (WWO), and WaterAid America. The International Water Forum at the United Nations convened policy makers, academics, non-governmental organizations, [...]
