United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Mark Green participated in the Summit of the Americas in Lima, Perú from April 12-14. In Lima, the Administrator joined Vice President Mike Pence in announcing nearly $16 million in humanitarian assistance for Venezuelans who have fled their country. Also in Lima, the Administrator delivered a keynote address at the Young Americans Forum, met with leaders from Venezuelan and Cuban civil society, and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Peruvian Commission for Development and Life Without Drugs (DEVIDA) and the Peruvian Ministry of Economy and Finance. The Administrator also met with regional organizations to discuss the crisis in Venezuela, joined a Congressional delegation trip focused on coca eradication and promoting the cultivation of cacao as an alternative livelihood, and joined Acting Secretary of State John Sullivan for a meeting with leaders from the Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Today, the United States announced nearly $16 million in humanitarian assistance for Venezuelans who have fled their country due to the crisis there.

On behalf of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), I welcome President Trump's nomination of Bonnie Glick to serve as the next USAID Deputy Administrator. With her extensive leadership and overseas experience, both at the U.S. Department of State and more recently within the private sector, Bonnie will bring a wealth of knowledge to the Agency. We look forward to working with the Senate to support her confirmation.

Now, I know that among the world's political commentators, we have a number of pessimists these days, who see dark things. They seem to believe that progress is slowing down. They seem to believe that conflict and instability will dominate the world for some time to come, and some of them even suggest that democracy itself is in trouble. These same critics sometimes point to the number of young people today as a problem. There's a cause for concern.

After all, there are 1.8 billion young people in the world today. This is the largest youth population in history. They know that about 90 percent of young people live in developing countries. But you and I know, of course, that where the critics may see challenge, we see opportunity. With each motivated, active, and engaged young mind, we see the seeds of solution, innovation, and hope.

This is an important topic, and we appreciate your interest. Allow me to frame the challenge presented by this new pest in Africa, the Fall Armyworm. After a few opening remarks, I’m very eager to take your questions and have a conversation so we can understand more about the important impacts to food security in Africa.

The Fall Armyworm poses a great challenge to agriculture in Africa, threatening food security and livelihoods. It has been identified in over 35 countries in the past year, in most of sub-Saharan Africa. The pest has the potential to cause billions of dollars in damage and put hundreds of millions at risk for hunger.

In both Iraq and Syria, our role in stabilization is very carefully defined. And the specific activities -- naturally, as they should -- vary with the setting. There's no one-size-fits-all approach, at least not one that would accomplish the goals that we all want to see and that the President wants to see. Most importantly, our success -- USAID's success -- depends upon the success of the State Department in mobilizing international resources in their role, but also, of course, DOD helping us to have access and security. Without their success, we can't possibly do what it is that we seek to do.

Today, the United States announced nearly $87 million in additional humanitarian assistance to help the people of Yemen, who face the world's largest food-security emergency and worst cholera outbreak, driven by more than three years of war. This funding brings the total U.S. humanitarian assistance for the Yemen response since the beginning of Fiscal Year 2017 to more than $854 million.

On April 3, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Mark Green will participate in a conference sponsored by the U.S. Institute of Peace called "Views from the U.S. Administration, Iraq and Syria Military Leaders and the Region." Administrator Green will join U.S. Central Command Commander General Joseph Votel, and the Department of State's Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, Brett McGurk, for a panel discussion on the role of the United States in stabilizing Iraq and Syria after ISIS.

As World Tuberculosis Day approaches, the U.S. Agency for International Development celebrates the lives saved by the efforts to combat tuberculosis globally, and reflects on the work that lies ahead of us to eliminate this deadly disease. Led by USAID, the U.S. Government is the largest donor to the international fight against tuberculosis, and provides financial and technical support in countries with the highest burden of the disease.