Press Releases

Yesterday, President Trump signed into law the Global Food Security Reauthorization Act, sponsored by Senators Isakson and Casey, and Representatives Smith and McCollum, with the strong support of Senators Corker and Menendez and Representatives Royce and Engel. This reauthorization is a powerful reaffirmation of the United States' commitment to ending global poverty, hunger, and malnutrition.

On Wednesday, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Mark Green met with Ambassador Agustín García-López, Executive Director of the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID). In the meeting, Administrator Green expressed his appreciation for Ambassador García-López's commitment to U.S.-Mexican cooperation. The two also discussed how to deepen the partnership between USAID and AMEXCID, particularly related to work the United States and Mexico are doing together in the Northern Triangle of Central America.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced three new partnerships to mobilize skilled volunteers in support of growing women-owned businesses, supporting youth entrepreneurship, and promoting conservation around the world.  The partnerships will deploy skilled volunteers on long-term and short-term assignments to provide business services and training.

I congratulate both Nadia Murad and Dr. Denis Mukwege for winning the Nobel Peace Prize. In a world too often torn apart by conflict, discrimination, and hate, heroes like Ms. Murad and Dr. Mukwege show us that progress toward peace is possible. Both inspire us to answer the moral imperative to protect children, women, and other vulnerable populations.

As I have said on a number of occasions, the ultimate goal of development assistance must be to work towards the day when it is no longer necessary, and we should measure our work by how far every one of our investments moves us closer to that day. At the heart of our work is the core belief that each country must lead its own development journey. USAID is realigning its policies, strategies, programs, and investments to support our partner countries on what we call their "Journey to Self-Reliance."

I welcome the passage of the Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development (BUILD) Act of 2018. The provisions of the BUILD Act fully aligns with the President's National Security Strategy and the Reshaping American Government in the 21st Century reorganization and reform plan.

Last night, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Coordinator for Power Africa, Andrew M. Herscowitz, and the Power Africa team received the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal (called the "Sammy"), as the 2018 National Security and International Affairs Winner, awarded by the Partnership for Public Service. This national honor for excellence in government recognizes the unique public-private partnership model of Power Africa, and its progress in bringing electricity to the over 600 million people living in sub-Saharan Africa without power.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to boost current efforts by the United States and the Government of the DRC to contain the outbreak of Ebola in Eastern DRC. The response to this Ebola outbreak is a priority for the U.S. Government since efforts to contain and prevent the disease from spreading to neighboring countries also keep it from coming to the United States.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Bureau of Economic Growth, Education, and Environment Michelle Bekkering will lead the U.S. Government Delegation to the 2018 Women 20 (W20) Summit. The Summit will take place in Buenos Aires, Argentina from October 2-3, 2018. Bekkering concurrently serves as the Agency's Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment.