Newsroom

My own Agency’s founding was rooted in strengthening food security and nutrition throughout the hemisphere. One of USAID’s first ever programs began in 1962—Operation Niños—an initiative that, in its first three years, provided nutritious, daily meals for more than 15 million children across Latin America. And since then, our Feed the Future program is working in six countries in the hemisphere.

Today, Administrator Samantha Power met with the Central America Donors Roundtable, a group of over 20 philanthropic organizations focused on Central America to discuss efforts to promote, protect, and defend civic space in the region.

Today, the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Hub announced $5 million in funding for awards and technical assistance to nine winners of the MujerProspera (WomanProsper) Challenge, a regional challenge to advance gender equality in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras through women’s economic security, employment, and entrepreneurship. The challenge advances the Biden-Harris Administration’s strategy to address the root causes of irregular migration from Central America. It was first announced by USAID Administrator Samantha Power during her trip to El Salvador in June 2021.

The cohort of MujerProspera award recipients will assist women who are already doing the work in their communities.  Even before we launch this Challenge, women across the region, it is no secret we're standing up and creating environments around them that defy traditional norms. 

Today, malaria is mostly a disease that affects other parts of the world. But during the height of the Great Depression, the US recorded over 137,000 cases of malaria, and almost 4,500 deaths. Malaria became such a public health crisis that during World War II, Disney produced a ten-minute public health film about malaria featuring the Seven Dwarves.

Yesterday, Administrator Samantha Power met with Dr. Laura Elena Carrillo, Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID) Executive Director, to discuss USAID and AMEXCID's strategic partnership for advancing economic and social opportunities for the people of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.

USAID gives kind of two kinds of assistance, so the first is humanitarian assistance, keep people alive, make sure they have access to medicine, make sure, just that they have enough rations to get them through the day. Again, the underlying premise of humanitarian assistance is that a war will end, at some point, and people will get to go home.

Today, Administrator Power met with Angeles Moreno Bau, Spain’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Global Issues.

As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to address the root causes of irregular migration, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is launching the MujerProspera (WomanProsper) Challenge, a regional challenge to advance gender equity and equality in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

Alongside COVID-19, the climate crisis is contributing to record droughts, more powerful hurricanes, and increasingly deadly wildfires in the region, leaving crop yields devastated, homes destroyed, and untold suffering in their wake. Marcela will oversee Bureau efforts with partners to address needs on the ground, reduce emissions, and strengthen efforts to adapt to extreme climate events.