Our weekly feature highlighting events at USAID Missions around the globe.
In Tanzania, on World AIDS Day, Former President George W. Bush and his family visited sites in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The highlight of their site visits was observing an innovative HIV prevention intervention funded by USAID that takes place in Tanzanian beauty salons. Former President Bush and Mrs. Bush along with their daughters and son-in-law, stopped in at Ramuu’s Beauty Salon in Dar es Salaam to see the Jipende! (Love Yourself!) Program in action. Ramuu’s is one of 46 salons in Dar es Salaam that have been trained and equipped to be Resource Centers for Women’s Health.
Speaking with the beauty salon owner and attendants, the Bush family heard first-hand how the owner and the salon attendants are trained to deliver messages to salon clients about HIV prevention, family planning and women’s health issues such as breast and cervical cancer. Mr. Bush commended the salon owner for participating in the USAID funded Jipende! Program and her efforts to empower women with important health knowledge and information.
In Paraguay, we held the closing ceremony for USAID’s Health Decentralization program. The Health Decentralization Program which began a decade ago, will conclude this month. The program has provided assistance at the central, regional and local levels to strengthen the health decentralization process and health services provided to poor people by Paraguay’s Ministry of Health. USAID assisted health councils across the country to develop local health plans and improve management of financial resources and accountability.
In Haiti, we held a ground breaking ceremony for a 246-hectare Industrial Park in Caracol. Former President Bill Clinton and Haitian President Michel Martelly were in attendance. The Industrial Park is expected to create thousands of jobs in Haiti.
