The below is attributable to Acting Spokesperson Shejal Pulivarti:
Today, USAID Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman met with Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South and Central Asia, North Africa, the United Nations and the Commonwealth, House of Lords of the United Kingdom. They discussed ways to address gender-based violence (GBV); humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan; the Horn of Africa; and Putin’s war in Ukraine, as well as the international response to the global food security crisis.
Deputy Administrator Coleman expressed the United States’ commitment to helping the world’s most vulnerable populations and mitigating the impacts of Russia’s war in Ukraine—including increased food insecurity and malnutrition. She discussed the need for increased coordination with the U.K. to prevent the food-security crisis from escalating into a humanitarian disaster. Deputy Administrator Coleman also provided updates on how USAID continues to lead in addressing gender-based violence globally.
Deputy Administrator Coleman provided an update on USAID’s ongoing humanitarian and development assistance in the Horn of Africa, which is facing one of the most severe food security crises in the world, and acknowledged the U.K.’s key role in previous food security crises in the Horn.