The below is attributable to Spokesperson Rebecca Chalif:
Today, on International Women’s Day, Administrator Samantha Power met virtually with members of the U.S. House of Representatives Democratic Women’s Caucus. She began the conversation with an update on the United States’ humanitarian assistance to Ukranians in need, and shared how Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has disproportionately affected Ukrainian women and girls. She also provided an overview on the work of USAID’s Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART), who are leading the U.S. humanitarian response to the crisis.
Administrator Power provided an update on USAID’s continued global COVID-19 response efforts. She thanked the members of Congress for the funding provided through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and their support of the United States’ response to the global pandemic through USAID, the CDC, Department of State, and other partners throughout the government. She noted that thanks to ARPA, the U.S. is about to reach the milestone of donating half a billion vaccines around the world.
Administrator Power highlighted today’s historic announcement that the President’s Fiscal Year 2023 Budget will request approximately $2.6 billion for foreign assistance programs that promote gender equity and equality worldwide, more than doubling the amount requested for gender programs last year. This marks the largest-ever gender budget request and would fund programming led by USAID and the State Department to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls around the world.