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Today, the United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), announced nearly $48 million in additional urgently needed humanitarian assistance to help people affected by the ongoing crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland announced the funding, which will provide support for nearly 2 million crisis-affected people in eastern DRC, during a visit to Kinshasa today. This funding builds on the continuing support the United States has provided to the people of the DRC, bringing total U.S. humanitarian assistance to nearly $486 million this fiscal year in response to urgent needs in the DRC. 

Here’s a sobering statistic. Research shows that, as risk factors from climate change, conflict, and globalization increase, the probability of pathogens emerging and spreading, the odds of living through a pandemic of similar severity to COVID during our lifetimes are nearly 40 percent. 40 percent. If, that is, we do not work with our partners across the world to strengthen our collective efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to emerging threats.

I am appalled by the reports of increasing numbers of women and children being subjected to sexual violence every day in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) North Kivu province, as documented earlier this month by Medecins Sans Frontieres.

In a major policy speech today at the Center for Global Development, USAID Administrator Samantha Power presented a strategic approach for reclaiming and accelerating public health progress around the world. Immediate global action is needed to reverse the staggering decline in global life expectancy and to support health systems weakened by COVID-19, the global food crisis, ongoing conflicts, and a changing climate. USAID’s global health approach will unite around three foundational efforts: 1) Turn COVID-19 into a manageable respiratory illness everywhere; 2) Build up our defenses against new outbreaks and future pandemic threats; 3) Investing in primary health care workers who will be the backbone of health system recovery.

The U.S. has contributed so far about $1.5 billion in support to ensure that UN agencies on the ground primarily have the ability to reach people, we’ve reached about 4.5 million Somalis. Unfortunately, the U.S. is right now accounting for two thirds of the international appeal, two thirds of the food aid that is needed is being provided by the U.S., which we feel very privileged to be a part of contributing to, but that is not sustainable. We need other countries to step up.

Today, on the final day of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, Administrator Samantha Power held bilateral meetings with African leaders and joined President Joe Biden and African Heads of State at the Promoting Food Security and Food Systems Resilience session.