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USAID Legacy Sworn in as Mission Director

Posted by  on Monday, August 1st 2011     

Diana Putman speaking at her swearing in ceremony. Photo credit: Vanessa Cheeves, USAID

Friday afternoon, Diana Putman vowed to protect the constitution of the United States against all enemies as she accepted her new assignment as the Mission Director for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Previously, Diana served as the Humanitarian and Health Activities Branch Chief at the U.S. Africa Command, where she has served since August 2008. Before that, Diana served in Tunisia (3 years), Tanzania (5 years), and at the regional mission in Kenya (6 years) as Director of the Office of Food Security which designed and managed regional programs in 23 countries with a focus on agriculture, trade and food security.

She conducted much of her doctoral research in Mali, Rwanda and Somalia and in Japan, Diana conducted post-doctoral research on women and gender differences with Fulbright and National Science Foundation Support in the 1990’s.   In June 2010, she was awarded the American Foreign Service Association’s William R. Rivkin Award for Constructive Dissent for her efforts to provide counseling and rehabilitation for victims of sexual and gender-based violence.

With 3 degrees in Anthropology from Bryn Mawr College, a Masters in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, and studies at the Université de Grenoble in France, Diana has received multiple Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards from USAID, the Secretary of State’s Group Award for Heroism after the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania, and the Praxis Award from the Washington Association of Professional Anthropologists.

The long list of accomplishments, achievements and accolades goes on for a bit, but you get the picture.

What you missed from Friday’s ceremony: Diana’s family  looking on with pride. Most notably, Warren Putman, Diana’s father, who was recognized during the ceremony for his own service with USAID as a livestock and agricultural specialist—starting in March of 1962! —only five months after USAID was created.

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USAID in the News

Posted by  on Friday, July 29th 2011     

Weekly Briefing (7/23/2011 – 7/29/2011)

July 23 Voice of America reports that recent findings in a HIV/AIDS study found that taking HIV medication orally once a day was highly effective in preventing HIV in heterosexual men and women in Botswana, Kenya, and Uganda. USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah noted that the next step in the global effort to combat the disease “is to determine how the teams’ research can be put to use in a real world setting.”

July 28 At the Saving Lives at Birth Development Exchange Forum, innovators gathered from across the world with proposals for new technologies, new service-delivery models, and new ways to stimulate demand for health care services at the time of birth. AllAfrica.com reports that at the event, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah praised the group for their hard work and innovative thinking.

July 29 In an interview with Foreign Policy, USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah discussed his recent trip to the Horn of Africa to visit refugees affected by the drought. Administrator Shah explained that the U.S. has been the largest responder, providing nearly $460 million of support and reaching nearly 4.5 million people.

July 29 ABC News reported that about $14 million was awarded to innovations aimed at saving the lives of mothers and children around the world at a landmark event hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah. “Saving Lives at Birth,” the first in a series of Grand Challenges for Development led by USAID, brought together doctors, health workers, engineers and entrepreneurs from around the world to showcase innovations with the potential to prevent maternal and newborn deaths.

USAID in the News

Posted by  on Friday, July 22nd 2011     

Weekly Briefing (7/18/2011 – 7/22/2011)

July 19 At a special State Department briefing on the Horn of Africa, CNN reported that USAID Deputy Administrator Donald Steinberg stated that the Agency’s Famine Early Relief Warning System predicted the crisis and in August 2010, started pre-positioning supplies in South Africa and other areas near the crisis region. On a longer-term basis, the State Department and USAID are working with the international community to implement a long-term “Feed the Future” program aimed at increasing agricultural productivity.

July 19 The Guardian reported that USAID and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are partnering together to invest in improving sanitation services in poor countries over the next few years. The goal is to encourage the development of relevant tools and technologies that will improve basic sanitation around the world. An estimated 2.6 billion people do not have access to safe sanitation.

July 20 Voice of America featured a multimedia story on USAID’s response to the drought and food crisis in Somalia. During his trip to neighboring Kenya earlier this week, USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah visited refugee camps and announced the United States’ pledge of an additional $28 million to assist affected people in Somalia.

Preview: UN High Level Meeting on Youth

Posted by  on Friday, July 22nd 2011     

At 1.5 billion, today’s global youth generation is the largest in history and USAID understands the important role youth play as partners and leaders in development.

On July 26-27, Government Officials, civil society organizations and Youth Delegates will come together in New York City at the United Nations General Assembly for a High Level Meeting on Youth.  As the flagship event of the International Year of the Youth which culminates on August 11, the overall theme is “Youth: Dialogue and Mutual Understanding”.

Under the overall lead of Ronan Farrow, State Department’s new Special Advisor on Global Youth Issues, USAID will play a prominent role at the meeting.  Nicole Goldin, Senior Advisor at USAID, will deliver a statement on behalf of the U.S. Government during the Development Roundtable.   Visit here to learn more about the meeting and watch the event live.

At USAID we are inspired by the energy of youth in the developing world, and actively searching for ways to engage them in the development dialogue and process.   Alongside the formal events, USAID (Nicole Goldin and Erin Mazursky, Youth Advisor) will host a listening session on youth in development at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.

While this is a culminating event, this important gathering of leaders, stakeholders, and a wide array of impressive young leaders from around the world will help to further the recognition of youth as important players in international development. This has been an important year of elevating the profile of youth, and USAID is happy to play a role in continuing the momentum.

You can tell us more about your interests in youth in development at www.usaid.gov/youthimpact; or visit us on Twitter and share your comments using the hashtag#USAIDyouth.

USAID in the News

Posted by  on Friday, July 15th 2011     

Weekly Briefing (7/11/2011 – 7/15/2011)

July 12 CNN, McClatchy Newspapers, and The Washington Post reported that at a speech to the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton cited the importance of foreign aid and how the State Department and USAID are using “commercial diplomacy” to help U.S. companies compete and win in the future. Clinton noted that more than 1,000 economic officers and over 400 locally-employed staff around the world are promoting American business interests and looking for new opportunities for U.S. businesses abroad.

July 13 In an interview with The Huffington Post, USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah discussed the current drought and food crisis in the Horn of Africa. Shah stated that the food shortages are putting millions of lives at risk and threatening to further destabilize a troubled region of the world. “It’s so important to be promoting security and stability in these parts of the world, as opposed to be dealing with these devastating and difficult consequences of failure,” Shah stated.

July 14 Foreign Policy’s The Cable blog reports that in a recent interview with Deputy Secretary of State for Management Tom Nides, the State Department and USAID have a national security mandate. “We are helping countries through Feed the Future, Global Health Initiatives, climate change, and economic support funding. We’re doing that because we’re building up these countries to be more self-reliant and have stronger economies. By doing that, that helps our national security,”

Not Just from the American People, For the American People

Posted by  on Wednesday, July 13th 2011     

USAID 50th anniversary banner

I was 15 when I watched on CNN as Somali clansmen dragged U.S. servicemembers through the mangled streets of Mogadishu.  Throughout my adult life, I’ve watched, studied, and participated in subsequent U.S. interventions in failed and fragile states. Yesterday, I spoke at the USGLC Annual Conference-Investing in the Future: A Smart Power Approach to Global Leadership, explaining just that.

In 2003, I deployed with a battalion task force of nearly one-thousand soldiers to eastern Afghanistan.  I had the fortune of leading a platoon of infantrymen and witnessed first-hand the enormity of the development deficit faced by Afghans in the wake of more than two decades of violence.   It was also this point in my life I began to ask myself whether there was a way to pre-emptively address development challenges around the world so that there would be fewer instances in the future where we had to risk the use of military force.  Ultimately that question led me to USAID.

The two clasped hands in USAID’s logo exemplify the motto “From the American People,” but I’ve learned that our assistance also derives benefits for the American people.  Development assistance helps keep our country safe, helps to develop the markets of tomorrow, and demonstrates America’s moral leadership around the world.

For example, in 2010, six years after the devastating civil war, southern Sudan was preparing to vote for its independence.  No one could guarantee the referendum would proceed peacefully, if it proceeded at all.  In August 2010, five months before the referendum was slated to begin, many were still convinced it would not take place, but our development assistance made a crucial difference.  USAID helped establish facilities for the referendum’s operations; secured voter registration cards; and helped to train Sudanese poll workers to register voters.  USAID also provided lanterns so poll workers could count ballots into the night.  The results of the referendum have since been officially counted and this week’s historic celebration of independence is a success-story USAID can take pride in helping to make happen.

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From the Field

Posted by  on Monday, July 11th 2011     

In Sri Lanka, we are holding our annual multi-religion and multi-ethnic festival.  After nearly 30 years of conflict, the festival is meant to give members of these previously conflicting groups a chance to meet and know each other in order to foster reconciliation and respect for diversity.

In Afghanistan, we will hold the Afghan Women Judges Association (AWJA) Conference.  The AWJA is an alliance of women judges that provides legal training to women judges, runs legal aid services for women, and promotes legal rights awareness to women and girls. This the first time that the Supreme Court in Afghanistan has recognized the Afghan Women Judges Association Conference’s validity and extended its blessing to its formation.

In Kyrgyzstan, we will give the final presentation on the results of research analysis conducted on economic recovery and the future of southern Kyrgyzstan.  We will present findings of a survey conducted with numerous entrepreneurs in volatile areas of southern Kyrgyzstan.  The event will also include a facilitated discussion of the existing barriers for business expansion in the south as well as the potential opportunities for economic development in the future.

Administrator Shah Receives Award for Indian Diaspora

Posted by  on Monday, July 11th 2011     

Diaspora can make a difference.  That’s the reasoning behind India’s Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award—the most prestigious civilian award given by the President of India to successful Indian diaspora who have enhanced India’s prestige around the world.

Administrator Shah (wearing the award) with his wife, Shivam Mallick Shah, and Ambassador Meera Shankar with her husband Ajay Shankar. Photo Credit: USAID

USAID’s Administrator, Rajiv Shah, was recently honored as an Indian-American who is making a difference when he was presented with the above-mentioned award at a reception at the residence of Indian Ambassador Meera Shankar.  Dr. Shah is one of 15 people, of Indian descent, from around the world to receive the award.

In his acceptance speech, Dr. Shah stated, “This award has particular significance to me, because it symbolizes two of the most important values in development work:  partnership and service.”

Although he was born and raised in suburban Detroit, Dr. Shah’s parents hailed from India, and his Indian heritage has influenced his path in life.  He still recalls the shock of seeing the deep human suffering in slums of Mumbai while on a family trip to India as a small boy.  Years later, as a medical student, he went back to India and volunteered in a poor community in South India, where impoverished students in a one-room schoolhouse looked for inspiration to three  portraits on their classroom wall—Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and USAID’s founder John F. Kennedy.

At the original award ceremony in New Delhi in February, which the Administrator was unable to attend, the President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil called on the Indian diaspora to participate in building a better life for India’s disadvantaged.

And in his speech last night, Dr. Shah echoed the importance of drawing on the talents and skills of the diaspora community to help meet development challenges:  “As someone who walks between both of these worlds—the halls of government and the Indian diaspora community—I appreciate the critical role diaspora communities have to play in expanding economic opportunity, increasing access to services, advocating for peace, and consolidating democratic gains.”

Dr. Shah also highlighted examples of USAID’s successful partnership with India, such as halving HIV prevalence in Tamil Nadu and reducing electricity losses in Bangalore.  And he underscored India’s important role as a model for development and as a donor itself, noting the potential—with the help of diaspora and other partners—for expanding these achievements throughout India and around the world.

Dr. Shah also stressed that USAID is changing its relationship with India from that of donor-recipient to a new strategic partnership, working hand in hand with the Indian government and private sector on initiatives that will harness technologies and innovations of both countries to address global challenges.

For more information on USAID’s work in India, please visit the USAID/India mission website.



Talking with America’s Youth

Posted by  on Monday, July 11th 2011     

On Thursday, I had the opportunity to speak with American youth from the White House about the importance of getting involved in international development. Kalpen Modi, the Associate Director of the Office of Public Engagement, invited me to answer questions from a room full of young innovators and the Twitter and Facebook online communities.

I found this experience especially meaningful because I believe that young people today have a deeper and more thoughtful understanding of global development and its ties to our nation’s prosperity, security and values than at any time in our history. Through the power of social media and political advocacy, as well their ground efforts, they have gained a profound appreciation of the difficulties developing countries face and the interests our nation has in alleviating them.

A few weeks ago in Southern Sudan, I met a group of kids who are learning English and math in a USAID-supported primary education program.  The students ranged in ages from four to fourteen years old. Many of the older students have lived through a period of violence and suffering and have not yet had the opportunity for even a basic education. When you see American taxpayer money being effectively used to provide education in a way that improves the lives of these children and contributes to the peaceful founding of a new nation—the 196th country in the world—you get a genuine sense for the significance of this work.

More than ever before, young people recognize the importance of sustainable, long-term development and are getting directly involved in issues like education, hunger, climate change, and global health. They understand that a world in which hunger is beaten, diseases are eradicated, the planet is protected, markets are free and people are equal is a world that makes us safer, enhances our prosperity and reflects our values as Americans.

Today, the opportunities exist for young people to steer their talents towards serving those in greatest need, no matter what professions or degrees they choose. Whether you’re a teacher, investment banker, or engineer, you have valuable skills that can help drive meaningful change around the world. Visit our website to learn more, stay connected and tell us about the global development issues that concern you.

Stay tuned for more blog posts with additional answers to your specific development questions.

USAID in the News

Posted by  on Friday, July 8th 2011     

Weekly Briefing: 7/4/2011 – 7/8/2011

July 5: New York Times columnist Nick Kristof discussed American aid to Africa and said the Obama administration’s Feed the Future initiative, led by USAID, deserves credit for saving 4 million lives yearly.

July 7: CNN reports that USAID Deputy Administrator Donald Steinberg will be part of the official U.S. delegation traveling to Juba on Saturday to attend the ceremonies marking the independence of South Sudan.

July 8: The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that the National Science Foundation (NSF) and USAID are partnering together to support new and existing scientific partnerships between universities and other research institutes around the world. The program will connect American researchers with their colleagues overseas to study natural disasters, water scarcity, and other problems facing developing nations.

July 8: At a special State Department briefing on South Sudan’s upcoming independence, Voice of America reports that USAID Deputy Administrator Donald Steinberg stated that the U.S. will host a conference in Washington in September to promote South Sudan as an investment destination. Steinberg also noted that USAID plans to support an open, corruption-free economy in the country

July 8: The Deccan Herald reported that USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah received the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award yesterday. The award is given by the Government of India to recognize the achievements of the Indian Diaspora.

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