GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
In this section:
Jordan Justice for Foley Killers
Faith-Based Work Recognized
Armyworms Threaten Tanzania
W. African Seafood Exhibited in Boston
Emergency Insurance Makes Debut
Japanese Study U.S. Disaster Response
$10M Pledged to UN Emergency Fund
Jordan Justice for Foley Killers
AMMAN, Jordan—The two men a Jordanian court convicted
of murdering former USAID official Laurence Foley were executed
by hanging March 11.
Salem bin Suweid and Yasser Freihat, both militants aligned
with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq,
were sentenced to death in 2004 for gunning down Foley outside
his home in Amman on Oct. 28, 2002. According to the Associated
Press, the executions were the first in Jordan of al-Qaida-linked
militants.
Foley, who had just turned 60 when he died, was the executive
officer at USAID/Jordan, and had worked in public service
for 37 years with USAID, the Peace Corps, and juvenile and
adult offenders in Contra Costa County, Calif. In addition
to serving in Jordan, Foley worked with USAID in Bolivia,
Peru, Zimbabwe, and Washington.
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Laurence Foley
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Faith-Based Work Recognized
WASHINGTON—President Bush recognized USAID for
its work with faith-based organizations at the second White
House National Conference on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
March 9.
In 2005, USAID awarded $591 million in assistance to these
organizations, up from $521 million in 2004. Faith-based organizations
compete with other organizations for federal assistance. The
faith-based groups have used Agency grants to provide food
aid, disaster relief, HIV/AIDS care and prevention, and other
humanitarian relief.
“Faith-based organizations provide invaluable services
to people in need around the world, and USAID is proud to
have them as partners in this lifesaving effort,” said
Acting Administrator Frederick W. Schieck.
Armyworms Threaten Tanzania
WASHINGTON—USAID is spending $50,000 through
its mission in Tanzania to buy and distribute equipment and
supplies to help that country’s government respond to
an infestation of armyworms.
A large-scale outbreak is threatening tens of thousands
of hectares of crops in more than 15 districts in Iringa,
Dodoma, Singida, Manyara, Morogoro, and Lindi regions of central
and southern Tanzania.
The armyworm, a serious pest in sub-Saharan Africa, damages
cereal crops, sugarcane, pastures, and rangeland. The 2005–06
migratory armyworm season began in southern Africa following
the onset of rains in December 2005.
Prolonged dry spells, combined with isolated rainstorms
in affected areas of Tanzania, have created favorable conditions
for mass breeding. Tanzania officials say the first infestations
in the country were reported in January 2006.
Although endemic to Tanzania, this year’s armyworm
outbreak has the potential to cause extensive damage, with
reports of more than 63,000 hectares of cereal crops already
destroyed, exacerbating the food insecurity caused by current
drought conditions.
W. African Seafood Exhibited in Boston
BOSTON—Five West African companies exhibited
selections of that region’s wild fish and seafood products
at the 25th annual International Boston Seafood Show.
The companies—Somascir Frigo, Société
d’Elaboration des Produits Halieutiques, and Mauritano-Chinoise
de Pêche from Mauritania; Kerewan Fishing Co. from The
Gambia; and Sangomar Fishing Co. from Senegal—received
funding from USAID to attend the exhibit, which featured several
varieties of fresh, frozen, dried, and smoked fish and shellfish.
Products of special interest include spotted sea bass fillets,
smoked barracuda, sole fillets, conch meat, tuna, frozen cuttlefish,
and octopus.
The West Africa Global Competitiveness Hub, a project funded
by USAID to increase Africa’s share of world trade, and
the Africa Fast Track Trade program of the International Executive
Service Corps sponsored the exhibitors to participate at the
Boston Seafood Show.
Emergency Insurance Makes Debut
The World Food Program (WFP) said on March 6 it had signed
an agreement with French insurer AXA Re for $7 million in
contingency funding to provide coverage in the event of an
“extreme drought” in Ethiopia this year. The policy
is the first of its kind for such emergencies, WFP said.
The policy was calculated using rainfall data from 26 weather
stations in Ethiopia. Payment is triggered when the data indicate
that rainfall is below historic averages for March through
October. A rainfall level that low is considered a predictor
of widespread crop failure. The insurance policy assumes losses
from 17 million poor farmers.
“The humanitarian emergency insurance contract might,
in the future, offer us a way of insuring against these massive
losses before they spell destitution for millions of families,”
WFP Executive Director James Morris said.
Michael E. Hess, USAID’s assistant administrator in
the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance,
backs the insurance purchase. “I would like to see it
spread,” he said in an interview with the New York
Times.
Hess, who was previously a risk reviewer and vice president
at Citibank, also noted in the interview that most American
farmers already have insurance in case of drought.
Japanese Study U.S. Disaster Response
WASHINGTON—A delegation of Japanese officials
visited USAID Feb. 10 as part of a tour of the United States
to conduct research on disaster preparedness, response, and
recovery.
The Office of Volunteers for Prosperity (VfP Office) and
the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) presented
a briefing to the 17-member Japanese delegation composed of
members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly.
“We are very interested in benefiting from USAID’s
experience in disaster management overseas,” said Erena
Niwa, a representative of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
“In order to respond effectively, a good relationship
is essential among the many elements in the national government,
local governments, NGOs, and the private sector.”
Another objective of the group was to learn how to integrate
volunteers and private sector aid into relief efforts in Japan.
Jack Hawkins, director of the VfP Office, explained how trained
American volunteers are deployed overseas through VfP partner
organizations, nonprofits, and companies for short-term assignments.
“While disasters require specially trained responders,
VfP volunteers are experts in a variety of sectors such as
healthcare, information technology, and education, and they
have played important postdisaster and long-term reconstruction
roles,” he said.
The delegation also learned that OFDA coordinated with the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help sort and
distribute foreign aid for Hurricane Katrina. “For the
first time in its history, OFDA provided assistance for a
U.S. domestic emergency following Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice’s request that USAID take the lead role in managing
humanitarian donations from the international community,”
said Michael Marx, an OFDA division director.
In addition to USAID, the Japanese delegation visited FEMA
headquarters and the Pentagon in Washington. The delegation’s
first stop was at the hurricane-ravaged parts of New Orleans,
where members met with the city’s mayor as well as with
officials of the FEMA Area Field Office. The delegation also
visited New York’s Office of Emergency Management and
the New York City Council.
$10M Pledged to UN Emergency Fund
NEW YORK—The United States has pledged $10 million
to the United Nations’ upgraded Central Emergency Response
Fund, a new $500 million reserve designed to ensure a more
predictable and timely humanitarian response to disasters
and complex emergencies in the world.
Bill Garvelink, senior deputy assistant administrator for
the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance
(DCHA), announced the pledge March 9 at the UN. Garvelink
leads USAID’s participation in the UN’s Donor Support
Group, which helps guide the international response to disasters
like the recent earthquake in Pakistan.
The Donor Support Group is part of the United Nations Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). “OCHA
is an important partner with USAID in any humanitarian response,”
Garvelink said. “The formation of the ODSG has brought
like-minded countries together to help not only support OCHA
but also build alliances for better collaboration in the humanitarian
community.”
Chaired by the United States since July 2005, the group
is composed of OCHA’s primary donors; there are currently
18 members. It complements the General Assembly’s work
by eliciting feedback on specific policy and management issues
within a limited group of member states. The group also gives
donors an opportunity to discuss with OCHA the administrative,
policy, and operational aspects of its work.
Membership criteria include a $300,000 contribution to OCHA
and a willingness to provide political support to strengthen
OCHA’s work and role within the UN humanitarian system.
This year, the group is focusing on reforming humanitarian
efforts within the UN, including financing, staffing, and
management of UN operations.
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