Nowhere is development such an important part of U.S. engagement as it is in Africa. In anticipation of the President’s trip next week, we thought we’d share some of our favorite FrontLines stories about our work in Africa. President Obama’s strategies on global development and Africa have laid the foundation for a new approach that focus on sustainable development and a new operational model for assistance. We look forward to the opportunities that this visit will bring.
Our Favorites include:
Food Security
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Senegal: The Mile Between the Market and the Farm. Community-based service providers link Senegal’s rural populations to the private sector for better food security.
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Zambia: Guns, Honey and Rice: USAID support is helping scale up efforts to turn former poachers into conservation farmers.
Child Survival
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Ethiopia: Ethiopia’s Army of Female Health Workers: 35,000 USAID-supported female extension workers are helping bring health care to Ethiopia’s historically underserved.
Innovation
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The Idea Incubator: The Bright Young Minds Leading USAID’s Innovation Quest. Several USAID innovation-seeking programs are giving young visionaries with big plans for development a major boost.
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Tanzania: Bringing Tanzania on the Grid. Young Innovator Alla Jazmir’s Egg-Energy is delivering electricity to low-income African households with rechargeable batteries for families without access to the grid.
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Kenya: The Business of Waste. In a model that “starts with sanitation and ends with energy,” young entrepreneurs’ start-up Sanergy brings sustainable, entrepreneurial toilets—and some useful byproducts—to urban areas in Kenya and beyond.
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Malawi: A Healthy First Breath For Malawi’s Newborns. Rice University students’ newborn breathing device aims to prevent millions of infant deaths in Malawi’s hospitals at a fraction of the cost of its high-tech cousin.
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Women and Development
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Kenya: The Value Girls from Lake Victoria’s Shores: A USAID/Nike program is helping vulnerable women in Kenya’s Lake Victoria region find success in alternative industries.
Conflict Mitigation and Prevention
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Ethiopia: Peace Brokers: USAID-sponsored reconciliation efforts usher in historic truce accord in Ethiopia’s pastoral south.
Democracy, Human Rights, and Government
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Kenya: In Community ‘Parliaments’ Kenyan Youth Find a Voice. The country’s ‘bunges,’ or democratic youth groups, are serving as a powerful counterweight to widespread apathy, unemployment and election violence, all the while fomenting tomorrow’s leaders.
Humanitarian Assistance
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Ethiopia: Catching Ethiopians Before They Fall: Highlights Famine-Preventing Productive Safety Net Program
Resilience
- Niger: Niger’s Tree of Life: In the face of recurring food insecurity and acute malnutrition, USAID is promoting the cultivation of hardy, vitamin-packed moringa as one way to build resilience in communities in the drought-prone Sahel.
Follow @USAID and @rajshah on Twitter for updates on the trip and to learn more about our work in Africa. Join the conversation using #USAIDAfrica.
