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USAID Launches its First Global Water Strategy

Posted by  on Thursday, May 23rd 2013     

This week, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, along with Senator Richard Durbin, Senator Chris Coons, Representative Earl Blumenauer and Representative Ted Poe, launched the first USAID global water strategy in the Agency’s history. Under Secretary of State Robert Hormats represented the State Department.  Lisa Nash, CEO of Blue Planet Network and Gemma Bulos, Founder, A Single Drop for Safe Water (ASDSW) and the contemporary Christian band Jars of  Clay also participated.

I began at USAID almost four decades ago working on international disaster assistance efforts, meeting water, health and food needs in the Sahel. While our planet’s needs for sustainable supplies of water and food have increased, so has our capacity to meet these needs. It’s a privilege to be part of the team that developed – and will now help implement –a water strategy that will do much to meet water, health and food needs for decades to come.

The goal of the USAID Water and Development Strategy is to save lives and improve development in a world where practically 800 million people are without adequate water and 2.5 billion people are without access to adequate sanitation. The strategy sets out two overarching objectives: improve global health and strengthen global food security through USAID-supported water programs.  Here are four projects which represent the kinds of activities we expect to be supported by the strategy:Hygiene Improvement Project (HIP) – Ethiopia;Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Enterprise Development (WaterSHED)Lower Mekong;Water and Development Alliance (WADA) – Senegal; Indonesia Urban Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (IUWASH)

The strategy sets targets for a minimum number of people to be reached over five years: 10 million with sustainable water services and 6 million with sustainable sanitation services. The strategy emphasizes the need for increased investments and expanded attention to sanitation to translate into broader health and economic benefits. In Ethiopia, the USAID- supported Hygiene Improvement programfacilitated the implementation of the Government’s National Hygiene and Sanitation strategy. More than 5.8 million people in the Amhara region have been reached by hygiene and sanitation promotion activities, and an estimated 2.8 million people have stopped the practice of open defecation and now use a basic pit latrine.

Access to safe & clean water saves lives & is vital to a productive future for every man, woman, & child. Photo Credit: USAID

The strategy seeks to manage water for agriculture sustainably and more productively to enhance food security. This will be achieved through increased emphasis on more efficient use of rainfall and improved efficiency and management of existing irrigation systems. The Haiti Watershed Initiative for National Natural Environmental Resources  supports a vertical drip irrigation system, an innovative farming method that will benefit farmers with very small land plots. By planting certain crops vertically using this irrigation system, farmers can produce better yields using less land and water, particularly helpful in this heavily deforested country. In Mali, USAID has worked with farmers on ridge tillage to help increase the efficiency of rainwater capture for improved agricultural production. This has boosted cereal crop yields.

The strategy advances activities consistent with Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 including establishing criteria to designate high-priority countries for increased investments to support access to safe water and sanitation. We have designed criteria that designate which countries will receive water and sanitation services. The criteria are based on a combination of factors, such as high childhood mortality rates due to diarrhea, and the capacity of governments to manage and sustain effective programs. Ethiopia is an example of a country that could meet the criteria. It has the requisite infrastructure, governance and institutional experience for USAID water programs that have a transformative impact.

In order to meet our objectives, the strategy relies on partnerships, innovation, and sustainable approaches to development.

Leveraging partnerships is a key theme. In 2012, USAID joined Sanitation and Water for All, a global partnership of governments, donors, civil society organizations and other development partners working together to use scarce resources more effectively. USAID is partnering with the Coca-Cola Co. to address community water needs in developing countries around the world, with a combined commitment of over $31.5 million. We have partnered with a range of public and private sector organizations, including joining with Rotary International in nearly 250 communities in the Dominican Republic, Ghana and the Philippines to develop water and sanitation projects.

One example of USAID’s focus on innovation in the WASH sector is the Development Innovation Ventures (DIV). Through WASH for Life, a partnership with the Gates Foundation, DIV is testing and scaling promising, cost-effective solutions in water, sanitation, and hygiene. DIV recently announced its biggest award yet to the Dispensers for Safe Water program. This grant will scale safe drinking water to more than 5 million, including 1.6 million children, over the next three years. DIV is one of the ways the Agency is integrating innovative approaches into how we do business.   In another example, USAID has been working with  its Global Development Alliance partner Rotary International to develop and test a tool kit to predict the likely sustainability of WASH interventions.

Ensuring long-term sustainability of water and sanitation infrastructure interventions is a central component of the strategy. The Ghana WASH Project seeks to improve rural and peri-urban communities in the areas of water, sanitation and hygiene by linking up with communities, local NGOs, government agencies, as well as international organizations working in the sector. Through a multi-level approach, the project works to build the capacity of local communities and organizations, and not only improve water, sanitation and hygiene, but also empowers the host country to promote sustainability and development well after the project has reached completion.

Looking ahead, we are fortunate to have a great team at USAID , along with highly skilled and valued  partners, who will implement a strategy which will benefit the lives of millions of people throughout the developing world.

Environmental Awareness: The Roots of Peace

Posted by  on Thursday, April 25th 2013     

Earth Days bridge dialogue and action, addressing conflict over natural resources in Kyrgyzstan.  

Osh province, Nookat district, rural municipality Kenesh, school named after Nyshanbaev, March 26, 2013 High school students plant roses in early spring to save school’s environment. Photo Credit: Nargiza Kyrgyzbaeva

Disputes over natural resources, especially water and land, are potential triggers for conflict in Kyrgyzstan. The country has experienced violent conflict on a number of occasions in its two decades of independence, driven by factors including a struggle for limited resources between diverse ethnic communities, weak adherence to the rule of law, and corruption. To alleviate some of the tensions, USAID created Early Warning Networks, which bring local government, traditional and non-traditional leaders, youth leaders and concerned citizens together to mitigate conflict through community dialogue and events.

This year, the Early Warning Networks in the southern Osh Province and at the national level organized a series of Earth Day celebrations. In addition to fostering dialogue and cooperation between communities over potential sources of conflict, these celebrations focused on promoting environmental awareness and positive changes in local communities. These activities are part of USAID/Kyrgyzstan’s Conflict Mitigation through Targeted Analysis through Community Actionproject (COMTACA). Through activities like these, USAID fosters conflict mitigation through technology, dialogue, and community events.

Osh province, Aravan district, Ayil Okmotu Allya Anarova, March 13, 2013 Group work presents positive mood to all event participants. Photo Credit: Islam Baybagyshev

I was lucky enough to attend three events in honor of Earth Day.  In the first, two communities in the Osh Province’s Aravan district joined efforts to clean irrigation canals. This helped improve the efficiency of their shared irrigation resources and reduced the risk of conflict over irrigation access. In the nearby community of Nookat, students planted roses and trees to create a greener school but, above all, to build a sense of student unity.

Albina Nurlanova is an eleventh grader who planted trees during these Earth Day celebrations. She shared her thoughts with me: “I was very glad to plant a tree in my school by leaving a memory for future students. Time will pass and in 20 years when I visit my school, I will be proud to show my children the tree that I planted it with my own hands and teach them to protect the environment.” Taking an active part in different environmental activities that bring unity and friendship—and put smiles on people’s faces—made me proud to be a citizen of Kyrgyzstan.

This series of Earth Day events culminated on April 20 with a final event organized in the national capital of Bishkek.  It was called Environmental Awareness: the Roots of Peace. This event highlighted the importance of peace, harmony and the unity of Kyrgyzstan through environmental awareness. By planting a tree, participants demonstrated their dedication to harmony and stability by leaving a lasting memory for future generations.  More than 300 students, environmental activists, artists and local residents came together in Bishkek’s Ata Turk Park to plant trees, sing songs, recite poems and give speeches about the environment. For more information, please visit www.acted.org or https://www.facebook.com/DenZemli.

Religious Leaders “Noisy About Malaria” in Mozambique

Posted by  on Thursday, April 25th 2013     

Each year, World Malaria Day (April 25) commemorates the global fight toward zero malaria deaths and mobilizes action to combat malaria. This year’s theme is “Invest in the Future: Defeat Malaria.”

Anglican Bishop Dinis Sengulane’s message isn’t exactly what one might expect from a typical religious leader. Then again, Bishop Sengulane, who has presided over Mozambique’s Lebombo Diocese since 1976, is not a typical leader, religious or otherwise. The large cross that hangs from a chain around his neck is fashioned from components of disassembled weapons surrendered by combatants after the Mozambique civil war, a prolonged conflict that he and other religious leaders played an integral role in bringing to an end in the mid-1990s.

Bishop Dinis Sengulane addresses the crowd at Coca Missava village about the importance of net retreament and malaria prevention. Photo credit: Bita Rodrigues/USAID

Today, Bishop Sengulane is fighting to bring an end to another destructive force in his nation: Malaria. The disease steals 650,000 lives around the world each year, devastating entire communities and undermining opportunities for prosperity and growth — and disproportionately affecting the African continent.

At a gathering hosted by USAID last month in Washington, DC Bishop Sengulane was joined by Rear Admiral Tim Ziemer of the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), leadership from USAID’s Global Health Bureau and representatives from a number of faith-based and community organizations, including Christian and Muslim groups. The Bishop’s message was simple and clear: “[Mozambique] reached peace 20 years ago. But 10 years ago we said there is something else that is killing day and night. Its name is Malaria. Let’s stop it. Let’s start working on that as communities of faith because we know this is not God’s will.”

In 2006 the Bishop helped launch a nationwide campaign to end malaria called PIRCOM (Programa Inter Religioso Contra a Malaria) alongside leaders from Christian, Muslim and Baha’i faith backgrounds. Their ambitious goal: train thousands of religious leaders across the country with basic malariaprevention and control messages, equipping them with the resources and tools needed to bring these messages to their communities. 

“People in Mozambique know that I often say ‘Let’s be noisy about malaria’. That’s actually how PIRCOM started… people heard us saying could we give them a platform to address even more people on their concerns about malaria.”

To date PIRCOM has trained over 27,000 religious leaders and reached nearly 2 million congregants with basic malaria education, made possible through funding from the President’s Malaria Initiative. The PIRCOM network now extends to 36 district councils and six provincial councils across Mozambique where efforts are coordinated. Reflecting on the unique role faith communities can play in saving lives through simple public awareness raising, Bishop Sengulane observed: “If a doctor talks about how important it is for you to have your home sprayed, of course he will talk about those things in those terms, because it is how he will get his salary. But when a leader of a mosque starts talking about health issues, about malaria, then people are ready to listen. [Religious leaders] have got a good audience.”

Echoing this theme, Rear Admiral Tim Ziemer added, “No matter what the cause, if you don’t have political, or community, or civil leadership behind, it isn’t going to go anywhere… these leaders represent a ‘flag pole’ for the cause.”

Still, there is much work to be done, especially in preventing deaths of children under five. Concluding his remarks, the Bishop acknowledged, “At the present moment we continue to have too many children dying of malaria. It’s very important that we ensure that with the under-fives, pregnant women and similar vulnerable groups, that we go back and do the very urgent work of providing them with whatever is needed so that malaria doesn’t kill, as we see happening too often.”

PIRCOM’s example reminds us that effective global development not only requires sound public policy and results-oriented programming, it is also a fundamental expression of our values, both as individuals and as a nation.

On this, World Malaria Day, let’s resolve to be noisy about malaria.

The Moment is Now: Modernizing Food Assistance

Posted by  on Wednesday, April 10th 2013     

Nancy Lindborg is the Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance. 

I just came back from hearing Administrator Shah’s speech at  Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where he outlined the bold vision for Food Aid Reform that was included in President Obama’s 2014 Budget Proposal. I sat  next to the Director of USAID’s Office of Food for Peace, Dina Esposito. We were both seized by the historic opportunity this proposal presents to upgrade, streamline, and recommit to our global food assistance programs—a goal that that has dangled before many of us for the last decade.

As noted by Senator Lugar, who opened today’s event, the current food aid system was created at a time of significant food surplus; at a time when shipping food around the globe made sense as a means of manifesting American generosity. But that was 60 years ago. Since then, surplus has turned to shortages, and the costs of shipping have risen exponentially. The time has come to shift our practices so we can reach four million additional children in need of food and eliminate the inefficient workaround of monetization that is currently used to convert our agricultural commodities into cash for development programs.

In President Barack Obama’s Budget, the food aid reform proposal envisions a more efficient, effective, and timely program that will reach 4 million more hungry people each year. Photo Credit: USAID

Having spent many years as part of the NGO community, I am keenly aware of the challenges presented by the monetization of Food for Peace commodities and am particularly energized by the potential to eliminate this practice.

Currently, it works like this: USAID purchases and ships Title II in-kind food aid commodities to our NGO partners overseas, who then sell them in local markets to earn the cash needed to support some of our most important development and resilience programs. Unfortunately, as Government Accountability Office studies have shown, this process on average results in a loss of 25 cents to the dollar. Moreover, it requires NGO partners to spend precious time and energy on navigating local commodity markets and negotiating sales, often in very tough environments like the DRC or Mozambique. Too often, market uncertainty leads to diminished returns, requiring additional resources to meet program goals.

The new budget reform will create a dedicated Community Development and Resilience Fund (PDF) within our Development Assistance account that will provide cash directly to our PVO/NGO partners, so they can focus instead on doing the multi-year, multi-sector development programs that are so critical to reaching and helping the most vulnerable.

In the last two years I have had a chance to visit a number of these programs, implemented by partners such as CRS, World Vision, ADRA, and Mercy Corps. In fact I visited one of these programs by CRS two years after the funding ended. In an affirming validation of the power of Food for Peace programs to transform lives, I saw firsthand how it enabled Safieta, a widow in Burkina Faso with seven children, to thrive during yet another tough dry season in the Sahel.

Above all, the Food Aid Reform proposal (PDF) is a re-commitment to USAID food assistance with greater efficiency and effectiveness. In addition to eliminating monetization, the proposal also moves Title II emergency food aid funds into the United States’ International Disaster Assistance cash account. While this change still includes an initial 55% floor for purchasing U.S. commodities, it also gives us the flexibility we need to use the right tools for the emergency at hand, whether cash, vouchers, or critically needed American food.

For full details on the U.S. government’s food aid reform, visit http://www.usaid.gov/foodaidreform.

The Final 1,000 Days of the MDGs: Accelerating Progress and Working to End Extreme Poverty

Posted by  on Friday, April 5th 2013     

Today we  mark an important milestone: 1,000 days left until the end date of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs, agreed to at the UN in 2000, constitute the world’s first global development agenda. Together, world leaders committed to tangible, ambitious targets for reducing poverty and hunger, expanding primary education, ensuring gender equality, improving the health of mothers and children, halting the spread of infectious diseases, promoting environmental sustainability, and coming together in partnership to achieve these important goals.

The MDGs and the broader development agenda are a work in progress, for sure—but it’s important to recognize what they have achieved so far, and remember these critical commitments we made.

The United States is committed to the MDGs and, broadly, to improving wellbeing, promoting prosperity, and tackling some of the world’s gravest challenges, like poverty, hunger, morbidity, and inequality. In 2010, President Obama announced the U.S. Global Development Policy, the first of its kind by any administration. The policy outlined key development objectives—broad-based economic growth, democratic governance, game-changing innovations, and sustainable systems for meeting basic human needs—that feed directly into the MDGs. This year, in his State of the Union address, President Obama reiterated the U.S.’s commitment to a core tenet of the MDGs: poverty reduction. We are now in a position, the President said, to eradicate extreme poverty within a generation. USAID and its partners are working towards this important end—by connecting people to the global economy, empowering women, saving children from preventable death, ending the scourge of AIDS, and helping communities to feed, power, and educate themselves.

Joytara, one of the women whose life has been changed for the better through Bangladesh’s “Jita” Rural Sales Programme, which generates income and employment opportunities for the rural poor. The program is one of the ways USAID is meeting MDG 1 to end extreme poverty and hunger. Photo credit: Kathryn Richards, CARE

Working together, we have made substantial progress (PDF) since the Millennium Declaration was signed 13 years ago. For the first time since we’ve measured world poverty, the number of people living on less than $1.25/day is falling in every developing region—including sub-Saharan Africa. In 1990, more than 43% of people in developing countries lived in extreme poverty; as of 2008, this proportion had dropped to 23%. Estimates suggest that the MDG 1 target to halve extreme poverty was met in 2010. During this period, more than 600 million people have risen above the $1.25/day line.

We have made important gains on other MDGs, as well. The enrollment ratio of girls to boys in primary school rose, from 91% in 1990 to 97% by 2010—that’s within the margin of error of complete parity, the target for MDG 3. The incidence of tuberculosis has fallen since 2002, and, since 2006, this decline has outpaced global population growth—achieving part of the MDG 6 target to reverse the spread of infectious disease. And more than 200 million people living in urban slums gained access to improved water sources, sanitation facilities, and housing, more than doubling the MDG 7 target.

Elsewhere, though, we have more work to do. Today, 1.2 billion people still live in extreme poverty, and 870 million people suffer from hunger—we expect the proportion of undernourished to drop to 12.5% by 2015. This, however, falls short of MDG 1 target of 11.6% (half of the 1990 level). Globally, primary enrollment is at 90%, up from 82% in 1999. But that remains below the MDG 2 target for universal primary education. While we’re within the margin of error for gender parity in primary schools, progress on secondary education has been slower. Although we cut under-five mortality by more than a third, we are still only halfway to the MDG 4 target of a two-thirds reduction. And although maternal mortality has been halved since 1990, this is far from the MDG 5 target of a three-quarters reduction. The number of AIDS-related deaths fell to 1.7 million in 2011, a decline of 24% from the peak in 2005—but this lower mortality also means that, today, more people than ever are living with HIV/AIDS.

The MDGs touch on issues across the development spectrum. USAID’s programs reflect this broad array of efforts—and others as well, like promoting human rights and democratic governance, managing and mitigating conflict, investing in renewable energy and infrastructure, building resilience to recurrent crisis, combating climate change, and more. USAID Forward (for which the 2013 Progress Report, PDF, was just released) and the USAID Policy Framework (2011 – 2015) (PDF) outline this comprehensive approach to development.

In recent years, USAID and its partners have made substantial contributions towards MDG achievements. In these final 1,000 days, though, there is much more we can accomplish—and USAID is looking to accelerate progress as we near the finish line. Through Feed the Future and the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, for instance, we are catalyzing private sector investment and expanding our reach to smallholder farmers, to help them increase productivity, adopt modern technologies, connect to wider markets, and access financial services and products. Together, these initiatives can help lift 50 million people out of poverty in the next 10 years. And in cooperation with UNICEF and the governments of India and Ethiopia, we are spearheading a global effort to reduce under-five mortality to less than 20/1,000 births in every country by 2035.

USAID is also looking towards the future of development—and towards finding new ways to address some of our most intractable challenges, such as helping fragile states realize peace, stability, and long-term prosperity. We also recently released policies and strategies to address some of the most pressing issues we face, like building resilience to recurrent crisis (PDF), the development response to violent extremism and insurgency (PDF), promoting gender equality and female empowerment (PDF), engaging and empowering youth in development (PDF), and adapting to and mitigating climate change (PDF).

The global community has also begun a discussion about “post-2015”.  What will the next set of MDGs look like?  USAID has been deeply involved in this dialogue. The UN Secretary General’s High-level Panel and the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, for instance, will both issue recommendations in the coming months. We are grateful for the leadership of these two bodies and the many contributions from a diversity of voices around the world—and are looking forward to continuing the conversation.

While we work to accelerate progress in these final 1,000 days, we also hope these interlinked and collaborative efforts will produce a new development agenda, for beyond 2015, that builds on the impressive and historic successes of the MDGs.

Learn more about how USAID is working towards achieving the MDGs.

Water and International Cooperation

Posted by  on Friday, March 22nd 2013     

Christian Holmes serves as USAID’s Global Water Coordinator. Photo credit: USAID

As we celebrate World Water Day, it is important to consider this: only if we cooperate effectively, can we sustain the supplies of quality water necessary for human life.

The United Nations has set 2013 as the International Year of Water Cooperation. USAID addresses the global challenges of water in close cooperation with non-governmental and civil society organizations that undertake the critical frontline responsibility of developing and implementing water programs. Our partners are advocacy groups that bring both knowledge and passion to the challenge, governments that are dedicated to providing a better life for their citizens, and communities that best understand the challenges and solutions. We have reached out to universities that are creating innovative solutions, to the private sector that can build a new global economy while supporting sustainable development, and to international development and financial institutions that provide essential program development, implementation and financial support.

USAID supports water cooperation at the local, national and regional level. Over last 10 years, we have provided some 50 million people with water and sanitation services.

In Somalia, the School Environment and Education Development for Somalia (SEEDS) provides access to water, sanitation and hygiene facilities on school grounds, promotes hygiene education and trains teachers and government officials. The results thus far: 359 latrines constructed and another 189 rehabilitated in 114 schools; 213 hand-washing facilities installed in 90 schools and five water points completed. All told more than 150,000 people in these communities benefited, and student enrollment increased by more than 32,000. It’s important to note that of those students, 12,666 were girls whose parents would only allow them to attend school with the kind of private, girls-only latrines built as part of this project.

In Nepal, where 66 percent of households experience food shortages each year, USAID’s Nepal Economic Agriculture and Trade (NEAT) program is helping cut input costs and boost crop productivity by installing and rehabilitating irrigation systems and training local technicians to maintain them. That, along with parallel efforts that are part of this project, is expected to directly benefit over 300,000 Nepalese and indirectly impact millions in the country by improving the business environment, facilitating trade flows and strengthening fiscal policy.

We support a wide range of development activities to promote Trans boundary water cooperation. USAID and the University of Colorado Boulder are partnering to assess snow and glacier contributions to water resources originating in the high mountains of Asia that straddle ten countries.  This assessment will be crucial in helping to forecast the future availability and vulnerability of water resources in the region, beginning with accurate assessments of the distinct, separate contributions to river discharge from melting glacier ice and seasonal snow.

In the Asia-Pacific region, USAID has supported the efforts of WaterLinks to build the capacity of Asia’s urban water sector. WaterLinks paired water operators from Asia countries to share best practices to meet the demand for water and sanitation and address related issues like wastewater management and climate change resilience. WaterLinks facilitated more than 60 water operator partnerships, resulting in more than one million people gained improved access to safe water supply and sanitation services.

Also in this region, USAID supports the Mekong River Commission and the riparian countries to plan the sustainable development of water resources in the Lower Mekong Basin (LMB), where 60 million people live and 80 percent of them rely directly on the Mekong river system for their food and livelihoods:  USAID supports projects that seek to improve sediment flows and management; enhance scenario planning approaches and promote sustainable fisheries management

In Africa, to help meet these varied water demands across the Mara River Basin; in 2005  USAID provided funding to launch the Trans boundary Water for Biodiversity and Human Health in the Mara River Basin TWB-MRB project. The project has helped local communities develop new water services, refurbish nonfunctioning water systems, and improve sanitation services.

We also support organizations that will build global partnerships. Last year, USAID joined the Sanitation and Water for All Partnership which brings together governments, donors, civil society organizations, and development partners to achieve sustainable sanitation and drinking water.

As a member of The US Water Partnership (USWP), USAID is part of a national effort to unite American expertise, knowledge, and resources, and mobilize those assets to address water challenges around the globe, especially in the developing world. This week, the USWP recognized thirteen new members, including think tanks, universities, government agencies and for-profit groups willing and ready to join a growing number in this country concerned about global water issues.

While there are multiple ways to cooperate, a constant supply of quality water is the fundamental life force that drives us to work together to safeguard this precious resource.

A United Africa Under a Child Survival Revolution

Posted by  on Tuesday, January 22nd 2013     

Peter Salama, Unicef Representative to Ethiopia, makes closing remarks at “African Leadership for Child Survival” held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on January 18,  2013. Photo credit: UNICEF

Last Friday, it was a real honor for me to take part in the closing ceremony of the African Leadership on Child Survival – A Promise Renewed (ALCS/APR), together with H. E. Kesetebirhan Admasu, Minister of Health in Ethiopia, my esteemed colleague Dennis Weller, USAID mission director to Ethiopia, and my African colleagues in health and development.

In June 2012, during the first Call to Action – Promise Renewed meeting in Washington D.C., Dr. Tedros had committed that Ethiopia would host an African Leadership for Child Survival Conference that was linked to the AU summit. That promise is now fulfilled and I wish to thank Dr. Tedros and Dr. Kesete and all of the colleagues at the Ministry of Health for making this all African meeting a reality and a success.

The pledge signed by the African countries present and the consensus reached by the conference are both significant and historic. The event has marked a new era for the African continent in which it is no longer acceptable for any child to die an untimely and preventable death.

As we have seen at this meeting, in many ways the progress made in the health sector in Ethiopia, as well as many other African countries, has become a  powerful global symbol of what can be achieved in resource-constrained environments and has given many international partners renewed faith in the development enterprise.

To accelerate progress we need to do some things differently. Dramatic reductions in preventable child deaths can be achieved through concerted action in five critical areas, outlined in the global roadmap: geographical focus, high burden populations, high impact solutions, gender equality, and mutual accountability and financing.

The theme of equity, in all its dimensions, has come out very strongly through the conference conclusions on geography, gender equality and high burden populations. We know that as much as we have made global progress on child survival in recent decades so too have we seen an increasing concentration of child deaths in Africa which now accounts for around half of all the world’s child mortality.

During the three days, we have also seen that the highest rates of death are now overwhelming in fragile states and conflict-affected countries and regions. This demands that our attention also be placed on governance issues and on human security. There is a major role here, not only for the United Nations but also for regional institutions, and is why the role of the AU will be even more paramount as we move forward on this initiative. Indeed we are very hopeful that with the Ethiopia government taking over the chair of the AU in 2013, maternal and child survival will be seen as not only a health and development issue but as a peace and security issue. It seems auspicious that the African Leadership on Child Survival has taken place right before the AU heads of state meeting next week. I sincerely hope that the recommendations of this conference are shared with the AU leadership and head of states for their endorsement.

We have seen the strong leadership of African governments in this process. This is not an initiative led by UNICEF or USAID or any other partner, and it is very refreshing to see that this initiative and the commitments being made are home-grown. All countries have existing strategies and plans for improving maternal, newborn and child health. Integration of the ALSC/APR initiative with local processes, rather than setting up vertical mechanisms, will be important. Government should also coordinate efforts of various partners and the different initiatives and synthesize them into a coherent whole at the country level.

One of the most exciting aspects of the meeting and the overall process for me is to have seen the peer to peer dynamic in action. I know the lesson learning and sharing of good practices from country to country will continue over the coming months and that many countries are planning study visits to other African countries. We should nurture this dynamic at all costs. I believe the seeds of success and of sustainability for us in African have been planted by all at this meeting. By working hand in hand, we can and we will end all preventable maternal, newborn and child deaths, and thus complete the work begun under the child survival revolution.

Under Five Child Survival Under Microscope at Summit

Posted by  on Friday, January 18th 2013     

This post originally appeared on Mom Bloggers for Social Good.

This week child survival is under critical review in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia during the African Leadership for Child Survival – A Promise Renewed summit. This meeting, held at the African Union headquarters and convened by the Ethiopian government along with UNICEF and USAID brought together African Ministers of Health to enter into discussions about markedly improving child survival rates. The summit ends Friday.

Between 1990-2011 child mortality has decreased 39% in sub-Saharan Africa. Photo credit: Mom Bloggers for Social Good

Between 1990-2011 child mortality has decreased 39% in sub-Saharan Africa. According to UNICEF, 1 in 8 children in sub-Saharan Africa die before their fifth birthday from five leading causes: pneumonia, pre-term birth complications, diarrhea, intrapartum-related complications, newborn infection and malaria…continued

Read more to learn which key tweets and infographics are emerging from the summit at the#promise4children hashtag.

Follow USAID Global Health on Facebook and Twitter.

 

USAID’s Youth in Development Policy: Investing in Young People’s Sexual and Reproductive Rights and Health

Posted by  on Wednesday, January 16th 2013     

Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the Youth Health and Rights Coalition. They do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Agency for International Development nor of the U.S. federal government.

It is often said that young people are our future. But young people aren’t just assets for development tomorrow – they are agents of change today. The first-ever USAID Youth in Development Policy (PDF) clearly recognizes this reality and provides important opportunities to involve global youth in shaping our development agenda and advancing their health and rights.

Young people in Kenya. Photo credit: USAID.

Today’s generation of young people is the largest in history; nearly half of the world’s population—some three billion people—is under the age of 25. Given that this large demographic of young people presents the world with an unprecedented opportunity to accelerate economic development and reduce poverty, the policy is particularly timely and critical. It rightly acknowledges that in order for young people to realize their potential and contribute to the development of countries, they must be able to access information and services that protect their rights and promote their sexual and reproductive health throughout their life span. Advocates, implementers, young people and government partners can help achieve that vision by ensuring that the following important policy provisions are translated into action:

Start early in life

Young people bear a significant burden of poor sexual and reproductive health outcomes, including unmet need for family planning, early marriage and childbearing, maternal death, gender-based violence and HIV. However, when families, communities and nations protect and advance adolescent and youth reproductive rights, young people are empowered to stay healthy and take advantage of education and economic opportunities throughout their lives. We know when these investments happen early in life as well as throughout the life course, they help foster more gender equitable and healthier attitudes and behaviors. So why wait? Let’s embrace the tenets of the policy and invest in young people’s health and rights today.

More money, more tracking

The Youth in Development policy clearly calls for the implementation of evidence-based programs and interventions. The Youth Health and Rights Coalition (PDF) looks forward to supporting this effort with the range of tools and resources developed to effectively implement evidence-based sexual and reproductive health interventions. But we need more than guidance to truly protect and promote the well-being of young people. Advancing youth development will require more funding, better data collection to track investments and outcomes, robust partnerships across sectors, and strong commitment across the agency. It’s a challenge, but one worth taking.

“Nothing about us, without us!”

Many of the young people who are members and partners of the Youth Health and Rights Coalition often call upon this phrase to express the importance of meaningful and ongoing youth engagement, something which is still too often missing in development today. The policy puts the importance of youth participation and engagement front and center of the USAID programming process and emphasizes the need to support more meaningful and equal partnerships with young people while building capacity of local youth-led and youth-serving organizations. USAID’s dedication to civil society consultations to inform the development of the policy was an important first step to put words into action. So let’s keep it up and continue to engage young people as we move forward with the implementation of the policy.

We applaud USAID for recognizing how critical it is to meaningfully engage youth across the diverse countries where the Agency works and look forward to future collaborations. Only together can we succeed in meeting the sexual and reproductive rights and health of all young people and work with them to fulfill their full potential.

The Youth Health and Rights Coalition (PDF) is comprised of advocacy and implementing organizations who, in collaboration with young people and adult allies, are working to advance the sexual and reproductive rights and health of adolescents and youth around the world. The YHRC advocates with key decision makers to prioritize funding and support for comprehensive adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive rights and health policies and practices. Their goal is to ensure young people in the developing world have the sexual and reproductive rights and health information, tools, commodities, and quality services necessary to make healthy and informed choices about their own lives.

Member organizations of the coalition include: Advocates for Youth, American Jewish World Service, Americans for Informed Democracy, CARE, Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE), Family Care International, FHI 360, Georgetown University-Institute for Reproductive Health, Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Guttmacher Institute, International Center for Research on Women, International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region, International Women’s Health Coalition, Ipas, John Snow, Inc., Marie Stopes International-US, PATH, Pathfinder International, Plan International USA, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Population Action International, Population Reference Bureau, Population Services International, Public Health Institute, Save the Children, and Women Deliver.

Ethiopia Hosts African Leaders to Accelerate Gains in Child Survival

Posted by  on Wednesday, January 16th 2013     

Today it was an honor for me to join African colleagues in health and development at the opening of the African Leadership for Child Survival – A Promise Renewed. Minister of Foreign Affairs Tedros Adhanom, Minister of Health Kesetebirhan Admasu, and the rest of the Ethiopian Government should be congratulated for hosting this meeting to accelerate the reduction of Africa’s child mortality rates.

Ethiopia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Tedros Adhanom opens the African Leadership for Child Survival meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Photo credit: UNICEF

Ethiopia has made great progress in tackling child survival and strengthening their health sector. Since the development of Ethiopia’s first national health policy in the mid-1990s, Ethiopia and the United States Government have partnered to increase and expand access of quality health services to Ethiopians nationwide. The United States is proud to have a long-standing health program in Ethiopia with many of our agencies working in the health sector: CDC, DOD, Peace Corps and my agency, USAID.

Last June, Ethiopia joined India and the United States in cooperation with UNICEF to host a Child Survival Call to Action in Washington. More than 700 global leaders came together and challenged each other to reduce child mortality to 20 deaths per 1,000 births, or lower, in every country around the world by 2035. Assuming countries already making progress continue at their current trends, achieving this rate will save an additional 5.6 million children’s lives every year.

In the last two decades, Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced a 39 percent decline in the under-five mortality rate, a tremendous achievement that has been called part of the “the best story in development.” But despite this progress, we know that some countries are doing better than others. By joining together to share best practices, we can create a strong coalition to help each other’s children live to see their fifth birthdays.

An investment in Africa’s children is an investment in Africa’s future. I am pleased USAID is supporting the African Leadership on Child Survival meeting – and we are committed to being Africa’s partner in this effort for years to come.

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