In Kingston, Jamaica we will celebrate Reading Week. As part of the celebration, Jamaica’s Mission Director will take time to read to a class of children. I-PLEDGE is an initiative of Grace Kennedy Money Services (GKMS) through the brand Western Union, which seeks to support the development of primary education by improving literacy, particularly reading. April fourth to eighth will be observed as Reading Week.
In Vietnam, we will sign a memo of intent for an Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) program. Recognizing that nearly 75 percent of all new, emerging, or re-emerging diseases affecting humans at the beginning of the 21st century have originated in animals, USAID has launched a global Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) program. In Vietnam, this program will support the development of comprehensive disease detection and response capacities, particularly in geographic areas where disease threats are likely to emerge, and work to aggressively pre-empt or combat diseases that could spark future pandemics.
In Mozambique, we will handover archaeological artifacts and historical preservation work conducted on Ibo Island under USAID’s Arco Norte Tourism Project. USAID has been working on cultural, archaeological and historical assets on Ibo Island since 2006. With the end of the USAID funded Arco Norte Tourism project, we completed this support and now want to hand-over these improved and restored assets to the Ministry of Culture in Mozambique.
