Speeches Shim
Every day, all over the world, USAID brings peace to those who endure violence, health to those who struggle with sickness, and prosperity to those who live in poverty. It is these individuals — these uncounted thousands of lives — that are the true measure of USAID’s successes and the true face of USAID's programs.
Marie Sylla has been a midwife for more than 15 years now at the maternity center of the regional hospital in Kindia, in the northeast of Conakry. As the head midwife, she has always been on the front line of efforts to protect the lives of children and women whose mortality rates are some of the highest in the world.
In Zambia, women hold a small minority of official leadership positions. While many desire to occupy leadership roles within their communities, workplaces, and on the national stage, they collectively do not have the skills and opportunities to ascend to these positions in significant numbers.
In Guinea, a country that has some of the lowest health indicators in the world, strengthening the Ministry of Health is important to improving health outcomes. And so is increasing the involvement of the National Assembly in health care budgeting as it represents the needs of the populace.
Without a labor ward at the local health center, expectant mothers in Kibaigwa village had to be rushed 45 kilometers over dirt roads and harsh terrain to the neighboring district to give birth. All that changed, however, when locals teamed up with USAID and a local non-governmental organization to learn how to push for change at the grassroots level. Read how this humble group of villagers were able to petition their local government for a women's labor ward of their own after getting a feel for civic engagement.
As the Islamic holy month of Ramadan approaches, Khadija Abdallah Aboh prepares to observe the holiday with her family in Zam Zam Camp in North Darfur, Sudan. Aboh first moved to the camp over 12 years ago, fleeing violence in her village elsewhere in Darfur. While she intended to stay in the camp temporarily, ongoing violence and insecurity have prevented her return for more than a decade.
Momodu Fanndi Bukar had been attending the sada’a in his northeast Nigeria community of Nganzai for as long as he can remember—more than 50 years. A sada’a is a village-wide, town hall-type meeting where friends, family and neighbors gather for Islamic prayer and discourse on the issues of the day.
In Maguindanao and North Cotabato, two provinces in the Philippines’ southern Mindanao region, pervasive instability due to violent extremism, poverty and underdevelopment prevents many children from obtaining a basic education.
Non-transparent public procurement awards are common in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). More than 75 percent of all public procurements were conducted behind closed doors, through direct negotiations, in 2015. This year, however, one company that fought the corrupt process finally won damages from a local government.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), violence against women and girls is widespread and underreported—an all-too-common dirty little secret. The issue does not get the attention and time it deserves, and neither do the perpetrators. But a nationwide campaign—that included petitions, billboards and a special postage stamp—recently stirred unprecedented civil society and political will to better prevent and properly punish such acts.
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