The following is attributable to USAID Spokesperson Jessica Jennings:
During her second day at the World Economic Forum, Administrator Samantha Power focused attention on urgently needed support for Ukraine in the face of Putin’s brutal full-scale invasion. Administrator Power joined Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska, and other dignitaries to discuss the importance of private sector support to address Ukraine’s urgent needs and how essential this support will be to winning the war. The Administrator emphasized the resilience of Ukraine’s economy, and announced the Administration's intent to work with Congress to provide an additional $125 million to support the resilience of Ukraine’s energy and utility infrastructure in the face of the Russian Federation’s relentless, systematic attacks.
Administrator Power then participated in the public panel discussion, Unlocking Investment, Not Aid, for Frontier Markets to discuss development finance in frontier markets. During the event, the Administrator launched the EDGE Fund (Enterprises for Development, Growth, and Empowerment), a new $50 million USAID fund that will support private sector partnerships that mobilize the comparative advantages, operations, and supply chains of businesses in service of development objectives.
Administrator Power met with Dr. Albert Bourla, Chief Executive Officer of Pfizer, to express appreciation for the strong partnership between Pfizer, the United States, and COVAX, resulting in the successful donation of hundreds of millions COVID-19 vaccine doses throughout the world, which accounts for the vast majority of the more than 680 million total COVID-19 vaccine doses the U.S. has donated globally. They also discussed opportunities to deepen the USAID-Pfizer collaboration around USAID’s Neglected Tropical Disease Program.
Administrator Power participated in the public panel discussion, Defending Transparency, with government and private sector leaders. The Administrator highlighted the Biden-Harris Administration’s prioritization of anti-corruption work, and stressed the need for private sector innovations to support anti-corruption progress, including through USAID’s Countering Transnational Corruption Grand Challenge.
Administrator Power also participated in a roundtable discussion with business leaders to discuss how to spur additional business investment in climate adaptation.
Administrator Power concluded the day at Ukraine House, where she met with Ukraine Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov to discuss the next phase of USAID’s long-term and ongoing support of Ukraine’s Diia application – a single digital platform used by millions of Ukrainian citizens to access 120 public services. The Administrator and VPM Fedorov then held a roundtable discussion with USAID partner countries interested in building similar e-government platforms, as well as private sector partners interested in supporting such efforts. The Administrator announced that USAID will provide at least $650,000 to help partner countries adopt e-government tools like Diia that enhance citizen engagement and transparency.
Administrator Samantha Power Travels to World Economic Forum
