As the recent winter Olympics in Sochi illustrated all too well, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Russia face tremendous hurdles in their everyday lives, including openly hostile laws and an extremely difficult working environment for the grassroots organizations that advocate for social change in the face of grave personal risks. The situation in Russia is unfortunately not unique, with LGBT people facing increasing hostility, discriminatory laws, and escalating threats of violence in many countries around the world.
Archives for 2014
No Birth Should Be Left Up To Chance
Crafting Economic Empowerment for Women in North Lebanon
North Lebanon, an area that has seen a large influx of Syrian refugees, had already been facing many economic challenges, most notably loss of income due to scarce employment opportunities. USAID has intensified efforts in this region to help Lebanese communities hosting Syrian refugees through targeted assistance.
Pounds of Prevention – Focus on Peru
In this next installment in the Pounds of Prevention series, we travel to the southeastern regions of Puno and Cusco in Peru. Here USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance has been working through its partners with the government and the private sector to help communities prepare for future disasters.
Partnerships and Opportunity: Reflections from the African Union Summit
In late January, when President Obama addressed the country, he spoke of our work across Africa “bringing together businesses and governments to double access to electricity and help end extreme poverty.” I watched, from Nairobi, Kenya, where I had just seen his words brought to life. The day before, I traveled to Baringo—a rural county in midwestern Kenya, where half the population lives in poverty and over 90 percent of people don’t have access to electricity.
Satellite Data for the People: USAID Supports Launch of New Forest Watch Tool
Thinking and Working Politically
A couple of weeks ago, I attended a workshop hosted by the Australia-based Developmental Leadership Program with the fanciful title of Thinking and Working Politically. This was the second meeting of this ad hoc group of donors, think tankers and implementers. The first meeting took place in New Delhi in November and Oxfam’s Duncan Green […]
