Speeches Shim
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March, 2009
Below are highlights of USAID activities conducted in 2008 that support women and girls in the areas of economic opportunities and entrepreneurship; political participation and leadership; education; gender-based violence; legal rights; trafficking in persons; and HIV and AIDS.
Economic Opportunities and Entrepreneurship
Women make a significant contribution to the global economy and empowering women economically can lift entire families and communities out of poverty.
The MV Maersk Alabama is transporting nearly 8,150 MT of USAID P.L. 480 Title II food aid commodities.
USAID's objective is to improve global health, including child, maternal, and reproductive health, reduce the incidence of abortion and infectious disease, particularly HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. To achieve the greatest impact, our programs are focused on reaching the most vulnerable: women and children. By integrating and improving access, we are making it easier for a woman to obtain all of the health services she and her children need in one location so she doesn't have to choose between prenatal care for herself and pediatric care for her children. Our efforts are also working to increase skilled attendance at birth; provide lifesaving vaccines and proper nutrition for children; prevent the transmission of HIV; and end gender-based violence, stigma and discrimination.
Partnership for Growth (PFG) is a partnership between the United States and a select group of countries to accelerate and sustain broad-based economic growth by putting into practice the principles of President Obama’s September 2010 Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development. It involves rigorous joint analysis of constraints to growth, the development of joint action plans to address these constraints, and high-level mutual accountability for implementation.
I have great expectations for the work of USAID. I expect us to succeed in some of our efforts, and to fall short in others. I expect a strong evaluation function and feedback loop that enables us to be accountable in both cases, and to learn from each so that we can make continuous improvements. We can do this only with evidence and data to inform our decisions, and with unprecedented transparency about what we have learned and where.
On his first-full day in office, President Obama signed the Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government, committing his Administration to making the federal government more efficient and effective. Since then, federal agencies have done much to make information about how government works more accessible to the public, to solicit citizens’ participation in government decision-making, and to collaborate with all sectors of the economy on new and innovative solutions.
Achieving our internationally agreed development goals requires accelerated progress on gender equality and women’s empowerment. A growing body of evidence shows that empowering women and reducing gender gaps in health, education, labor markets, and other areas is associated with lower poverty, higher economic growth, greater agricultural productivity, better nutrition and education of children, and a variety of other outcomes.
The illegal wildlife trade is a multi-billion dollar business, threatening the Lower Mekong region's unique ecosystems and robbing people of the benefits they provide. Wildlife trafficking undermines law enforcement, strengthens criminal syndicates, and raises the risk that diseases can be transmitted from animals to humans. The traffickers are well-organized; they prey on endangered species, move them across borders, and sell them around the world. Addressing these challenges means targeting each aspect of wildlife crime.
For more than a decade, USAID has been a global leader in microbicide research and development. Since 2000, USAID has collaborated with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Food and Drug Administration to develop and implement the U.S. Government Strategic Plan for Microbicides. Guided by this plan, USAID is committed to supporting the development of safe, effective, acceptable, and affordable microbicide products that are suitable for use in developing-country public sector programs.
As we enter our 50th year as the principal U.S. development agency providing assistance to improve the lives of millions worldwide, USAID is pleased to play a leading role in implementing President Obama’s vision for global development.
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