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Archives for Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah

Statement from Administrator Shah on the Six Month Commemoration of the Haiti Earthquake

Posted by  on Monday, July 12th 2010     

submitted by Anna Gohmann

Administrator Shah released the following statement on the six-month commemoration of the 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010:

“Today, we pause to reflect on the tragedy that struck Haiti six months ago and claimed the lives of more than 230,000 people.  In the wake of the devastation, countless more were left injured and 1.5 million were displaced and moved into spontaneous settlements across greater Port-au-Prince.

In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, USAID participated in the largest urban food distribution in history and fed more than 3.5 million people.  We helped distribute emergency shelter to 1 million people.  And we supported a campaign to vaccinate more than one million Haitians against diseases and outbreaks that could have decimated the population.

But our work has only just begun and significant challenges lay before Haiti and the international community.   The US has committed more than $1 billion to Haiti’s long-term reconstruction and development.  USAID is working with our colleagues at the Department of State and others across the Federal Government to apply the experience and knowledge of our development experts to high-impact projects in five key areas: agriculture, energy, governance support, infrastructure, and health.

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How You can help Transform Development through Science, Technology & Innovation

Posted by  on Thursday, July 8th 2010     

submitted by Anna Gohmann

Next Wednesday, Administrator Shah will convene an innovative and first-of-its kind hi-level conference that will focus on the role that science and technology can have in development and specifically on our projects here at USAID. The conference, entitled Transforming Development through Science, Technology and Innovation and co-hosted with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the President’s Science Advisor, Dr. John Holdren, will bring together a small group of some of the nation’s pre-eminent thought leaders to launch a new era for science and technology at USAID.

While we wish we could bring everyone interested in this topic to the conference, we would like to extend you an invitation to send your thoughts on how we can best deploy cutting-edge advancements and use them to increase our efficiency, effectiveness, and success rate. That’s why we’ve created an innovative Ideascale, where you can submit your ideas and vote on the highest priority challenges in development until 12 midnight this Thursday night. Just visit transformingdevelopment.ideascale.com and let your voice be heard. We’ll incorporate the feedback we get on Ideascale into our discussion topics and conclusions.

We’re particularly interested in your thoughts on the following key sectors on which we’ll be focusing at the conference:

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USAID’s Frontlines – June 2010

Posted by  on Tuesday, July 6th 2010     


Read the latest edition of USAID’s premier publication, FrontLines for these stories:

Administrator Rajiv Shah supports the new $3.5 billion Feed the Future initiative with trips to two target countries, Bangladesh and Sudan

USAID responds to two back-to-back natural disasters in Guatemala in May

In the Agency’s new science and technology office, scientific breakthroughs are being touted as a way to tackle health, agriculture and water challenges in developing countries

Preventing trade in “conflict diamonds” in Central African Republic starts with helping miners clearly establish ownership rights to diamond-rich properties

The 2010 InterAction forum draws hundreds to debate the methods, policies, goals and rationale for U.S. foreign aid

Read these stories and more in the new issue of FrontLines. If you would like to automatically receive FrontLines every month, you can subscribe here.

This Week at USAID – July 6, 2010

Posted by  on Tuesday, July 6th 2010     

At a forum organized by Global Washington and hosted by Seattle University, Maura O’Neill, USAID’s Counselor for Innovation, will participate in a discussion about Washington State’s contribution to the global development sector and will offer recommendations for improving the effectiveness of U.S. foreign assistance.

Administrator Shah will join Secretary Clinton at the State Department to address the 2009-2010 Jefferson Science Fellows.  The ten Fellows are tenured professors assigned for one year at State and USAID.  Their universities contribute to the success of this public-private partnership.

USAID will be recognizing World Population Day on July 11th.  USAID’s Family Planning program is one of the success stories in U.S. development assistance.  Since the launch of the program in 1965, families are better able to feed, clothe, educate, and provide health care for their children.

Pic of the Week – USAID Health Huts

Posted by  on Thursday, July 1st 2010     

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah meeting with expectant mothers on health issues

A community health hut is an innovative approach to ensure health services for those who don’t have the money or the transportation to travel great distances to see a doctor.  USAID supports a nationwide network of nearly 1,500 huts in Senegal, staffed by almost 10,000 volunteers, covering a population of nearly two and a half million people. These often small, one or two-room structures are widely accessible around the country, including remote, rural areas where there may be no other health provider available.  It is community-managed, financed and volunteer-staffed, which means it’s not government driven, but in the hands of the people.  USAID began supporting these structures in the early ‘80s and since then, as the largest and most consistent donor, its support has become synonymous with comprehensive community care here.   In fact, it is a very important aspect of the malaria prevention and treatment program (the President’s Malaria Initiative) and critical to family planning and reproductive health programs, all of which work hard to reduce maternal and child mortality, as part of the Millennium Development Goals.

This Week at USAID – June 28, 2010

Posted by  on Monday, June 28th 2010     

As part of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Statesmen’s Forum, Administrator Shah will give an address on the U.S. Global Health Initiative.  Dr. Shah’s remarks will focus on integration and innovation for better health outcomes.   This event, held on Tuesday at 1 PM Eastern, will be webcast live.

Alonzo Fulgham, USAID’s Chief Operating Officer, will join Ambassador Melanne Verveer during the U.S. National Voluntary Presentation at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Annual Ministerial Review.  Mr. Fulgham will discuss how U.S. commitments to the Millennium Development Goals are integral to the empowerment of women around the world.

USAID Administrator’s speech to the AAPI

Posted by  on Monday, June 28th 2010     

Check out the transcript of Dr. Rajiv Shah’s speech at the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin Annual Convention.

USAID in the News – 28 June 2010

Posted by  on Monday, June 28th 2010     

submitted by Jessica Scott

Administrator Rajiv Shah shared insight on his ideas for agency reform at the National Press Club June 18 luncheon. His inspiration for the changes stemmed from the extraordinary actions of his staff in response to the earthquake disaster in Haiti. The emergency teams demonstrated their versatility by purchasing food from local reserves as opposed to depending on food sent by the US. Working closely with the World Food Programme, they managed to feed approximately three and a half million people. The reform will not only focus on disbursing aid, but determining the impact it has as well as providing solid evidence to the American taxpayer’s as to the significance of their contributions.

The Helping Babies Breathe Campaign, a program implemented to prevent birth asphyxia, was announced last week in Washington. The purpose of this campaign is to educate midwives and traditional birth attendants in underprivileged countries on how to resuscitate a newborn. USAID has teamed up with the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and Save the Children to power this initiative. Currently, the curriculum is being offered in ten countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America through USAID maternal and newborn health programs.

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Dinner with friends.

Posted by  on Saturday, June 26th 2010     

Just had a great evening of meeting and speaking with young doctors at the annual conference of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI). They’re an impressive group of professionals who are doing so much on behalf of their communities and people in need overseas.

Back in my college days in Michigan I volunteered to assist physicians in an extremely poor community in South India. This group of doctors not only treated people’s medical needs, they also created an enduring development program that improved livelihoods and strengthened the community. I was there for only a few months, but it was enough to convince me that when we put our minds together to solve some of the most difficult problems, we can be successful.

And in that context, I really appreciate what groups like AAPI are doing to create that sense of possibility.

Later, I created with my wife, Shivam, who was then my girlfriend, a Philadelphia-based youth leadership and mentoring program with chapters in several major U.S. cities that brought young people to Washington, DC to inspire them about the potential to serve. And one of our first grants was from the very organization that I just spoke with last night.

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This Week at USAID – June 21, 2010

Posted by  on Tuesday, June 22nd 2010     

Secretary Clinton and Administrator Shah will deliver opening remarks on “LGBT Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy” at an event co-hosted by State’s Office of Civil Rights and GLIFAA, the organization for Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies.

At an event in the Ronald Reagan Building, USAID will join the Brookings Institution to launch a new report on education in Pakistan.  The event will discuss efforts to create concrete programs in Pakistan’s education sector that can more effectively advance U.S. security objectives in the region and contribute to longer-term stability in Pakistan.  Administrator Shah, Congresswoman Lowey and Mr. Strobe Talbott, president of the Brookings Institution, are among the key speakers.

Administrator Shah will give remarks at a dinner during the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) conference in Washington, DC.  AAPI is a forum to facilitate and enable Indian American Physicians to excel in patient care, teaching and research and to pursue their aspirations in professional and community affairs.

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