Speeches Shim
It is my great pleasure to join you here today to celebrate the many achievements of the Ministry of Public Health on malaria control and elimination, and to join in the announcement that 35 provinces in Thailand have achieved malaria elimination.
There has been important progress made in fighting TB in the last two decades, both globally and here in Cambodia, and I want to congratulate the Ministry and the National TB Program on that success.
- សូមគោរព ឯកឧត្តមវេជ្ជបណ្ឌិត ម៉ម ប៊ុនហេង រដ្ឋមន្ត្រីក្រសួងសុខាភិបាល
- សូមគោរព ឯកឧត្តមវេជ្ជបណ្ឌិត ម៉ៅ តាន់អៀង នាយកមជ្ឈមណ្ឌលជាតិកំចាត់រោគរបេង និងហង់សិន និងជាទីប្រឹក្សាក្រសួងសុខាភិបាល
- សូមគោរពលោកវេជ្ជបណ្ឌិត លូ យ៉ុងយូ អ្នកតំណាងរបស់អង្គការសុខភាពពិភពលោក
- សូមគោរពភ្ញៀវកិត្តិយស លោក លោកស្រីជាទីមេត្រី!
តាងនាមឱ្យទីភ្នាក់ងារសហរដ្ឋអាមេរិកសម្រាប់ការអភិវឌ្ឍអន្តរជាតិ USAID ខ្ញុំពិតជាមានសេចក្តីរីករាយណាស់ដែលបានមកចូលរួមជាមួយអ្នកទាំងអស់គ្នានៅថ្ងៃនេះ។
Well, we're living in interesting times. We have the largest youth population in history. So, it depends on how you talk. We say it's the glass half full or the glass half empty. There are pessimists out there who look around the world, and they talk about all the challenge that we have, the conflict that we have, and it's real. But they look at the number of young people and they see that as a challenge, as a problem to be managed.
Others of us, at USAID, we see the opposite. We see, with the largest youth community in history, the greatest opportunity in history, because with each young person, we have an open mind. With each young person, we have new ideas and new energy. And so, what we hope to do with USAID is play a small role. We're modest. It's all you. We do a small role, but we hope we can unlock. We can hope that we can, in some small way, amplify opportunities for young people.
Thank you, Mr. Vice President. You said it very well, so I'll just add a few brief thoughts. To be clear, the humanitarian assistance that we are announcing today is not about politics. It is about helping the victims of a massive crisis. This aid is based upon need and need alone, because America will always stand with the hungry and the displaced. That's simply who we are as Americans.
However, we cannot pretend that this situation falls into the same category as the natural disasters that we have seen over the last year - hurricanes and earthquakes. Let's be honest, in some ways, this is more tragic because it is entirely man-made and regime-made. Now, we have all heard stories of the terrible suffering and the hunger among Venezuelans. What I think many people don't realize, especially those of us in the U.S., is that this crisis is also causing the largest displacement in Latin American history. Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans are fleeing their homeland to escape the brutality and the corruption of the Maduro regime - 1.6 million, in fact. They're fleeing not only to their immediate neighbors but to something like 20 other countries as well.
The journey to self-reliance also means that we should help countries look forward to the day when we can transition to a new kind of relationship, not turning off the lights, but a new kind of relationship, a relationship that moves beyond traditional assistance, one that embraces opportunities for enterprise-driven development, one that celebrates how much we've accomplished together, but also symbolizes a forward-looking, enduring relationship; a relationship that captures how a country is ruled, usually in part because of our support, from recipient to partner to fellow donor. I mean, that, to me, is the path that we should walk with every country that is willing to take on the journey.
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.
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.
Thank you very much, Your Excellency Mr. Maurer, and to Your Excellency Ms. Lövin, and to the United Nations for hosting this important event.
As has been stated by several speakers today, Yemen is suffering, probably, the world's largest and most urgent humanitarian crisis. That is why today, the United States is announcing nearly $87 million in additional humanitarian assistance. This will help provide food and enable continued support for safe drinking water, shelter, protection, and medical care for Yemenis in need.
USAID remains committed to supporting Cambodia’s healthcare systems through capacity development and system strengthening, as they move toward achieving Universal Health Coverage goals. We will also continue to support the RGC in expanding social health protection coverage to include priority services such as maternal and child health, reproductive health, infectious diseases and nutrition.
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