By Elizabeth Baldwin, Analyst/Activity Manager for the Office of HIV/AIDS Earlier this year, I attended two meetings in Johannesburg and Kampala to celebrate the end of the HIV/AIDS New Partners Initiative (NPI) – an interagency President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program totaling $200 million and spanning Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Helping build [...]
Tag archives for Capacity building
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 [...]
Making the Grade: U.S. Government Progress in Global Agricultural Development
Originally posted on DipNote, the official blog of the U.S. Department of State. Ambassador Ertharin Cousin serves as U.S. Representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture. I am inspired by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ gathering of America’s most committed leaders from several professions to focus on global agriculture and food [...]
From the Field
In Senegal, at Bembey University we will launch a higher education agreement with Fairfield University. This new partnership between the United States and Senegal seeks to introduce a service learning model to support health education for middle school students and teacher training in educational technology. In Egypt, as part of the Improving the Performance of [...]
Ox Plow and Other Training Help Southern Sudan Farmers Increase Agricultural Yields
Residents of southern Sudan have long relied on subsistence farming utilizing traditional methods. These practices, such as hand tilling and broad casting of seed, result in crop loss, disease, and infestation, and severely limit farmer’s yields. USAID is working to overcome these challenges by introducing new technology and farming methods to residents of Northern Bahr [...]
Children in Kosovo Learn About the Judicial System Through Coloring Books
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 [...]
Witnessing History in Southern Sudan
By Angela Stephens, Development Outreach and Communications Officer Juba, Sudan—One of the most inspiring and humbling parts of observing the referendum on southern Sudan’s self-determination was being in the room at a referendum center as votes were counted the night polling ended. At the center where I observed, Lologo Center in Juba, five Sudanese poll [...]
Administrator Shah Speaks to Faith-Based Leaders at White House Feed the Future Event
Submitted by Ari Alexander, Deputy Director at the Center for Faith-based & Community Initiatives and the Coordinator of Global Engagement at USAID. Originally posted on the White House Blog Yesterday I was honored to witness an exhilarating moment in the progress of the President’s Feed the Future initiative. In a truly collaborative event hosted by [...]
Leading Through Civilian Power
After months of effort and meaningful discussions, today I was happy to join Secretary Clinton to unveil the first ever Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) at a State Department town hall. Complementing the Presidential Policy Directive on development that was released earlier this year, the QDDR helps make real the commitment the Secretary has [...]
Voter Registration for Referendum Completed in Sudan
Submitted by Diana Harper Last week, voter registration for the January referendum on self-determination for southern Sudan came to a close in Sudan after a process described as peaceful, well-managed, and participatory. To see first-hand what voter registration was like, USAID staff captured video at the registration kickoff in Juba, the regional capital of southern [...]
