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Archives for Europe and Eurasia

Children in Kosovo Learn About the Judicial System Through Coloring Books

Posted by  on Thursday, March 17th 2011     
Children with coloring books

Children were enthusiastic upon receiving the coloring books during the Court Open Day visit at the Skenderaj/Srbica Municipal Court. Photo credit: Mustafa Komoni, NCSC.

Submitted by Xheraldina Cernobregu, USAID/Kosovo

Children in Kosovo are now Learning About Justice thanks to over 17,000 coloring books that have been distributed to primary schools in rural and urban Kosovo since the project’s launch in June 2010. The coloring books, published with USAID support, have been in high demand throughout the country.

“Learning About Justice” coloring books are a new approach for teaching students about the judicial system, government institutions, judges, and citizens’ responsibilities. The coloring books include pictures of the people who work in the judicial system, including a judge and a policeman, each with a brief caption describing their jobs. Other illustrations describe individual rights and civic duties, such as helping to keep your neighborhood clean.

The coloring books are printed in Albanian, Serbian, and Turkish languages and were originally distributed in the municipalities where USAID is establishing Model Courts. In response to additional requests, “Learning about Justice” coloring books have been distributed throughout Kosovo, expanding the reach and impact of the program.

Individual Americans have become involved in this project as well. In addition to USAID providing support for the coloring books, more than 500 supporters in the United States have made private donations of nearly 7,500 boxes of crayons to accompany the books and to strengthen the partnership between the courts, schools, and USAID. Each crayon set is labeled with the American flag and the following message of support: “These crayons are a gift from friends in the U.S. who support your learning of the justice system and the law. Color your dreams, for as you dream, so you will become.”

The “call for crayons” was advertised online through social networks and the Kosovo Justice Support Program. The program is continuing the call for crayons to support the book activity as the Model Courts Program expands.

Rule of law is key to Kosovo’s further development and USAID is working to address the issues that are hindering that development.  Other projects include improving court administration, case backlog reduction,  and the establishment of ten Model Courts, which in the long term will serve as models for the rest of the judicial sector. All these efforts will help increase public awareness and public’s trust in the rule of law.

Putting Science in the Spotlight

Posted by  on Monday, March 14th 2011     

by Jonathan Hale, Bureau for Europe and Eurasia

Dr. Holdren discussing science and innovation with students at Bauman State University, March 3, 2011 (photograph courtesy US Embassy, Moscow)

Last week I travelled to Moscow to take part in meetings on science cooperation with Dr. John Holdren, who is Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.  Dr. Holdren and Russian Minister of Education and Science Andrei Fursenko lead the Science and Technology Working Group of the U.S. – Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission.  I represented USAID at the Working Group meetings here in Russia.

During the Cold War, both the United States and Russia focused on science for defense purposes and to create weapons. In the 21st Century, why can’t we cooperate to find science-based solutions to global challenges like hunger, poverty, global infectious diseases, and climate change? The Obama administration believes we must and Dr. Holdren and I brought that message to Russia. We want to explore science cooperation to improve the human condition and to promote development. As President Obama has said, science must have its “rightful place” and as USAID Administrator Shah has made clear science and innovation must be at the center of development. We found an interested and receptive audience in Moscow.

In addition to meetings with Russian government officials, Dr. Holdren spoke at Bauman Moscow State Technical University, which is often described as Russia’s Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  Among its many programs, Bauman University trains scientists and engineers for Russia’s space program. Many Bauman students asked Dr. Holdren how science can be used to better protect the environment and to fight climate change.  He told them President Obama wants to invest in science to help create a clean energy future.

Russia is ready to contribute high-tech solutions to global challenges. (photograph courtesy US Embassy, Moscow)

During my trip, I explored how to promote new peer-to-peer collaborations among U.S. scientists and research universities focused on seeking science-based solutions to development challenges such as global climate change. We want to find new clean energy solutions that can benefit not only the United States and Russia, but also developing countries. We want to promote breakthroughs that can lead to wider deployment of affordable clean energy technology in rural and rapidly urbanizing areas and spur a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

One possible avenue could be to create an international prize aimed at inspiring progress toward a scientific or technological goal of importance to both countries. Prizes can drive innovation and creativity and leverage resources efficiently. They have a long record of success from the Orteig Prize that led to Charles Lindbergh’s non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean to the Ansari X Prize, which led to the first non-governmental launch of a reusable manned spacecraft into space and back.  It’s clear from my trip that the enormous shared scientific potential of the U.S. and Russia could easily bring our two nations closer together in the months and years ahead.

USAID hands over Child Support Centers to Azerbaijan

Posted by  on Monday, March 7th 2011     

By: Vugar Naghiyev, USAID/Azerbaijan

Child and Family Support Centers (CFSC) established under USAID’s Community-Based Children’s Support Program have provided around 30,000 vulnerable children and 8,000 families in Azerbaijan with essential social services over the past six years. The majority of children that use the centers are considered vulnerable – meaning they live in institutions, are from poor families, are Internally Displaced Persons (İDPs), or are living with a physical or mental disability.

Implemented by Save the Children and funded through USAID’s Displaced Children and Orphans Fund, the program began in 2004 to provide community-based models in support of the Azerbaijan Ministry of Education’s “State Program on De-Institutionalization and Alternative Care (2006-2015)”. This State Program envisioned reunification of children living in institutions with their biological families or alternative care providers.

Anver Tagiyev tailoring at his workshop. Photo Credit: llgar Ahmadov Social worker, Goygoy CFSC (Child and Family Support Center).

Anver Tagiyev, 17, is one of the beneficiaries of the program. Suffering from a congenital spinal cyst, Anver developed a neurological curved foot as the ailment advanced. Although Anver went through surgery in 2002 to correct the problem, complications required the amputation of his right leg. Now, Anver is wearing a prosthetic leg.

Severe health problems coupled with the untimely death of his mother led to Anver’s decision to drop out of high-school. Despite his poor health, in 2009 he got the chance to attend a six-month course on sewing in Baku conducted by the Employment and Treatment Center for Young People with Disabilities. However, upon return to Goygol (a town 220 miles west of capital Baku) he faced unemployment. Most young people with disabilities have limited opportunities for employment in the country; Anver was not an exception. Despondent and hopeless, Anver became unconcerned about his future. His father remembers that difficult period his son went through: “For a father I cannot think of anything worse than feeling powerless to help your child. Waiting for Anver, wondering where he could be and in what company, I spent many sleepless nights.”

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USAID Shows Youth the Benefits of Conserving Energy

Posted by  on Monday, January 31st 2011     

By: Olha Myrtsalo, USAID/Ukraine

Saving energy is key to any country’s solid economic future and to its future as an independent country.  Teaching this generation of youth to take ownership over energy-saving best practices proves paramount in ensuring Ukraine’s sustainable energy future. Ukraine’s dependence on imports from Russia for most of its energy supply makes energy conservation especially important. In the country, where 70 percent of heat from the apartment buildings escapes through windows, walls doors and bad heating systems, USAID believes that that every Ukrainian can contribute to saving heat by taking just small steps toward reducing their energy footprint.

USAID’s Municipal Heating Reform project, together with the Ministry of Housing and Communal Services and Ukrainian celebrities, announced the Energy Efficiency Season to make energy efficiency fashionable and inspire Ukrainian youth to demonstrate responsible attitudes toward energy consumption.

Throughout the course of the Energy Efficiency Season campaign, four gala-concerts and TV programs (all incorporating the word “teplo” or “heat” in Ukrainian): Teplo Fashion, Teplo Feng Shui, Teplo City and Teplo Ukraine will feature tips on how to get warm and keep warm with simple and low-cost energy saving measures. The events will promote heating efficiency through fashion events and give celebrities a platform from which they can share ideas on energy conservation drawing from their personal experience.

Ukrainian singer Alyosha, who represented Ukraine at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, explains why she decided to join USAID’s Energy Efficiency Season campaign. Photo Credit: USAID Municipal Heating Project

Sarah Wines, the USAID Acting Mission Director, observed, “If each of us begins to make small changes in our lives, we will all contribute to saving energy. And if each of us tells our friends, our parents, our brothers and sisters that they too can make a difference by just changing their habits, we will help this country achieve energy independence and make it a leader in the world and in Europe on how to live in a new era of lower energy consumption and clean energy.”]

According to Olga Romanyuk, the Deputy Minister of Housing and Communal Services, decreasing Ukraine’s dependency on imported fuel is a key task for the Ukrainian Government.  She said that this can only be achieved by implementing energy saving technologies and educating the youth on how to conserve energy.

U.S. and Russia Further Cooperation In The Fight Against Polio

Posted by  on Thursday, January 27th 2011     

Submitted by Jonathan Hale, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Europe & Eurasia

While in Moscow last summer, I visited the M.P. Chumakov Institute of Poliomyelitis and saw the history of collaboration between the U.S. and Russia on polio research.  I saw opportunity to advance our cooperation to address new challenges and work with Russian experts to eradicate polio for good enabled by the Obama Administration ‘reset’ policy and the U.S.-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission.

Today, USAID Administrator Raj Shah joined Dr. Nils Daulaire, Director of the Office of Global Health Affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Dr. Veronika Skvortsova, Deputy Minister of Health and Social Development for the Russian Federation, in signing a Protocol of Intent that will deepen cooperation between American and Russian health experts to eradicate polio around the globe.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Betty King, HHS Director of Global Health Affairs Nils Daulaire,USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, and Russian Deputy Minister of Health Veronika Skvortsova

It’s fitting that Administrator Shah signed this Protocol while visiting Geneva to serve on the World Health Organization’s Commission on Information and Accountability for Women and Children’s Health.  Polio is a highly infectious disease that mainly affects children under the age of five.  One in 200 infections leads to paralysis and among those paralyzed, 5-10% die.  Polio is easily preventable with available vaccines, as evidenced by the success of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative to reduce polio by 99% worldwide since the Initiative started in 1988.   However, recent years have seen outbreaks in several countries.

It pains me to think of the children that unnecessarily suffer from a disease that can be prevented for 14 cents.  It’s incredible that we’re so close to ridding the world of this disease once and for all. I believe that, working with our international partners, we can finally live in a polio-free world.

I am excited by the impact that we can have on lives around the world working together as global partners.

USAID Health Project Supports 8,000 Births in Armenia

Posted by  on Monday, January 24th 2011     

By: Armine Karabekian, USAID/Armenia

I have visited a number of health facilities during site visits, and  I feel great pride when I hear of the positive impact of our assistance in improving health in rural communities, particularly mothers and children.  The stories about rural nurses like Alina Hovhannisyan are especially touching.  Alina is a community nurse in Haykavan village in Shirak province and a graduate of USAID/Armenia’s Safe Motherhood Clinical Skills training.  The knowledge and skills she gained from the course enabled her to help a village woman deliver her baby when she was in premature labor,  The nearest maternity hospital was 12 km away and there was no time to wait for the ambulance.  There are many other children, like little Mariam born that day, that our programs and trainings help to promote a healthier future for Armenia.

Community nurse in Aigeshat conducts infant check-up at the village health post, renovated through USAID’s Project NOVA. Photo Credit: USAID/Armenia

Quality and accessible health care has been USAID’s long-standing priority in Armenia.  In 2004, the Mission initiated Project NOVA to assist the Armenian Ministry of Health in their efforts to improve the quality of reproductive health, family planning, and maternal and child health services in the country.  Through this project USAID assistance helped extend free primary health care (PHC) and maternity services by equipping and renovating two-thirds of Armenia’s neediest rural health facilities, as well as training 25% of Armenia’s PHC physicians.  New systems of health care financing and monitoring were established such as the Open Enrollment system, whereby people choose their own health care provider (85%-90% of resident population are now enrolled).  Quality Assurance and family medicine practices were introduced.  The primary cause of maternal death in Armenia – post-partum hemorrhage rates – was reduced by over 60% from 5.4% in 2005 to 1.7% in participating facilities.

In January 2010, building on the accomplishments of this five year project, USAID launched the one-year Maternal and Child Health Improvement Project (NOVA 2) to follow on former activities in five southern regions and to expand assistance to five additional northern regions of Stepanavan, Akhuryan, Ijevan, Martuni, and Hrazdan.

NOVA 2 reached over 500,000 people in these ten regions and benefited 270 primary and secondary level facilities, supporting over 8,000 births.

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USAID-Supported Program Returns $15 million to US Treasury

Posted by  on Friday, January 21st 2011     

By Paige Alexander, Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Europe and Eurasia

Today, I hosted a ceremony in Washington with the Board of Directors of the Albanian-American Enterprise Fund (AAEF) to celebrate the return of $15 million to American taxpayers. The Albanian-American Enterprise Fund was established in 1995 with a $30 million grant from USAID to assist the economic transformation of Albania after the fall of the Soviet Union. The AAEF promoted private sector development by investing in a wide range of enterprises, providing management advice, and training entrepreneurs. The Fund has leveraged over $750 million in growing the Albania economy, creating over 3,500 jobs, and establishing a legacy foundation, the Albanian American Development Foundation, endowed with over $200 million to continue supporting sustainable economic development, entrepreneurial leadership and cultural tourism in Albania.

Participants hold a symbolic check to USAID for $15 million

Returned to the American people from the Albanian-American Enterprise Fund, a symbolic check to USAID for $15 million. The ceremony featured, from left to right, Roberta Mahoney, Senior Deputy Administrator, E&E Bureau, USAID; Paige Alexander, Assistant Administrator, E&E Bureau, USAID; Michael D. Granoff, Chairman, AAEF; Stephen Eastham, Senior Capital Markets Advisor, E&E Bureau, USAID; Dianne Blane, Board Member, AAEF; Dan Rosenblum, Coordinator for U.S. Assistance to Europe and Eurasia; Domenick G. Scaglione, Chairman Emeritus, AAEF; Ambassador Gilbert Galanxhi, Embassy of Albania; Cofo Boga, Board Member, AAEF; and James H. Duffy, Board Member, AAEF. Photo credit:Patricia Adams/USAID.

At the ceremony, the Chairman of the AAEF, Michael D. Granoff, presented a symbolic check for $15 million to USAID for the funds returned to the Treasury of the United States. This money represents half of the initial USAID investment that produced such outstanding results.

Speaking at the ceremony, I recognized the results, the return of funds to the Treasury, the efforts of the Board and staff of AAEF, the work of my E&E colleagues who made this possible, and welcomed the participation of our distinguished guests. Ambassador Galanxhi, Coordinator Rosenblum, Rep. Elliot Engel, Chairman Granoff, and SDAA Roberta Mahoney all added their comments to this welcome occasion.

Paige Alexander Leads Bureau for Europe and Eurasia

Posted by  on Wednesday, January 12th 2011     

By: Paige Alexander, Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia

I am honored to have been nominated by President Obama to lead the Bureau for Europe and Eurasia as their Assistant Administrator.  Following confirmation by the U.S. Senate on December 22nd, I was sworn in on Monday, January 3rd.

Paige Alexander (left) sworn in as Assistant Administrator by Deborah Kennedy-Iraheta, OHR Director (right), as Roberta Mahoney, E&E’s Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator (center), looks on. Photo credit: USAID/Bethany Egan

Let me briefly introduce myself.  I’m returning to USAID where I previously served for eight years (1993-2001) in a number of positions in the Bureau for Europe and Eurasia, including as Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator.  From 2001-2010, I was Senior Vice President at IREX, an international nonprofit development organization that supports educators, journalists and community leaders in over 100 countries.  I have also been Associate Director of Project Liberty at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a consultant to the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the C.S. Mott Foundation, and the Open Society Institute in Prague.  I also served on the boards of the Basic Education Coalition and the Project on Middle East Democracy.  In short, over 20 years working in the international development field, I have had the perspective of being on the ground as a foundation grant maker, working with an academic institution to implement programs, and administering projects through a non-profit organization. Returning to USAID with all these perspectives I feel is invaluable.

I am excited to lead E&E in this time of challenge and change.  In the Europe and Eurasia region, we face resetting our relationship with Russia, dealing with post-conflict problems, and addressing development issues from the Atlantic to the Bering Straits and from the Artic to the Mediterranean, all in a demanding budget environment.  E&E has great people both here in Washington and in the field, and I’m confident that, working together, we will remain development leaders and good stewards of the taxpayers’ money.

I look forward to working with the dedicated staff in the Bureau for Europe and Eurasia and across USAID to fulfill the President’s, the Secretary’s, and the Administrator’s shared goal of modernizing and strengthening the Agency, elevating development, achieving our core objectives in E&E, and forging new partnerships with emerging and established donors to confront global development challenges.

Europe and Eurasia Celebrates Progress on Disability Rights and Addresses Continuing Challenges

Posted by  on Monday, December 6th 2010     

Submitted by Jonathan Hale, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia

Nver Mirzoyan, an 8-year old child in Hobartsi, Armenia, suffers from congenital cerebral palsy and was able to attend school for only a few months a year.  During winter he stopped going entirely because his mother—the sole breadwinner of the family—was busy earning money through odd jobs and Nver could not reach the school in his home-made wheelchair.  Through a USAID-funded program, Stepanavan ADP and their partner DPO, “Full Life” intervened on Nver’s behalf, and obtained the agreement of the Hobartsi school Principal to accept Nver in his school beginning in September 2009.  The school was also targeted for modifications to improve accessibility as part of the USAID program.  A ramp was constructed for the school which made the school entrance accessible for Nver.  “Full Life” is working with his school and providing them with an inclusive education toolkit, helping the staff and children to better integrate Nver and children like him into the school community.

Armenian researcher conducting street poll on disability issues. Photo Credit: World Vision

Unfortunately, the stories of most people with disabilities (PWD) in Europe and Eurasia do not end as happily as Nver’s. In most countries in the region it is estimated that somewhere between 3% and 10% of the population is living with some form of disability.  Children with disabilities are typically relegated to “special schools” where they obtain an inferior education or they may be kept out of school altogether by parents who fear the stigma attached to their child’s disability. Very few schools in the region are able to offer inclusive education, although there are some efforts to improve this situation, including several funded by USAID. Also, adults with disabilities are very rarely employed. For example, estimates are that less than 10% of the adults with disabilities in Armenia have jobs. Due to the combination of high levels of unemployment and the meager disability benefits that are offered across the region, individuals with disabilities are at great risk of living in poverty. Given that social services for PWDs are also largely absent, the conditions under which they live are often dire.

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USAID Seizes Development Opportunities in Ukraine

Posted by  on Friday, October 22nd 2010     

Submitted by Roberta Mahoney

I arrived in Ukraine on Columbus Day to discuss challenges in Ukraine and how our programs are addressing those issues, as well as to visit our projects to see the real impact American aid has on the ground.

On Tuesday we met with the U.S. Embassy, USAID Mission, and implementing organizations in Kyiv to discuss our programs in Ukraine, the upcoming municipal elections, and financial reform programs. Since regional issues have long torn Ukraine’s regions apart, it was interesting to see those areas where Ukrainians had common perspectives – particularly on the devastating impact of the global economic crisis (which caused Ukraine’s GDP growth to fall from +8 percent in 2007 to -15 per cent in 2009).

Roberta Mahoney and others discuss the results of the USAID Municipal Heating Reform project with city and hospital officials. Photo Credit: USAID/Ukraine

I then traveled to Crimea accompanied by the USAID Mission Director, Janina Jaruzelski, State’s Coordinator of U.S. Assistance to Europe & Eurasia (ACE), Dan Rosenblum, and several other State, USAID, and Embassy staff.

On our first morning in Crimea, we visited a number of hospitals that have received some 2,800 pieces (filling 96 trucks!) of medical equipment from a project of ACE’s Humanitarian Affairs section.

In the afternoon, we met a cross-section of young leaders in Crimea’s NGO community working to address issues from minority and prisoner rights to the media and the rights of persons with disabilities.  The group, which received leadership training through the USAID Ukrainian Strengthening Civil Society Organizations (UNITER) project, was remarkably perceptive about their capacity to influence policy and politics, the need to represent and motivate their members, and the real need to focus in sustained and creative ways on financial sustainability.

Thursday took us to a different Crimean city, Yevpatoria, where we met with the dynamic mayor about his comprehensive plan for the revitalization of the city’s economy. We then visited another hospital, this time from the outside, and watched as Ukrainian workers retrofitted the exterior of the hospital’s walls and attics with insulation with assistance from the USAID Municipal Heating Reform (MHR) project, which is also working in four other towns in Crimea.

The hospital will be able to increase heat generating efficiency in this cold region from roughly 64 to 99 percent, which will save the hospital money and improve conservation of critical resources.  Such a dramatic reduction in energy waste is one example of the positive impact MHR can have on Global Climate Change.

The highlight of the day, however, still lay ahead: meeting with NGOs and businesses devoted to promoting Crimea to the rest of the world!  We discussed the opportunities and challenges of promoting Crimean tourism with a significant representation of Crimean tourism businesses.

During a tour of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, we learned that Yevpatoria’s last multi-domed mosque was designed by Sinan, the greatest architect of the Ottoman Empire, who took inspiration from the domes of Haghia Sophia in Istanbul in creating Yevpatoria’s impressive Turkish-style mosque.  Sinan had also designed many other Istanbul mosques.

Yevpatoria is home to the Qaraim, an ancient community closely linked to Judaism that is arguably the smallest ethnic group on earth, numbering some 2,000 individuals.  During the Russian Civil War, Mr. Duvan, the town’s mayor and one of the most illustrious members of the Qaraim community who had fled the Russian Revolution for exile in France, sent a shipload of wheat to the city to help his former citizens survive.

One last stop remained — the one stop business center. Hailed as a success by the business community, citizens, and the government, the office brings all the actors together under one roof to significantly reduce the time it takes to register a new business and limit opportunities for bribery and corruption during the process. It was a fitting end to a successful visit, as we came away assured of the capacity of Crimeans to establish businesses to share the beauty, history, and bounty of the peninsula with the world, while providing hope and jobs for its citizens.

In all we’ve had a very successful visit, gaining exposure and insight to the breadth of the USAID’s program and accomplishments and the challenges that remain in Ukraine, from democracy and governance to health, energy, and the economy.

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