Today, we celebrate the 59th anniversary of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Since the Agency’s inception, USAID has been proud to exhibit the best of American values abroad, by helping people around the world make progress on their Journey to Self-Reliance while creating a safer and more prosperous world for Americans at home. Since our founding in 1961, USAID has promoted social and economic development with the ultimate goal of ending the need for foreign assistance.

USAID also has been the most generous funder of leading international humanitarian organizations that deliver life-saving aid around the world. For example, the U.S. Government, through USAID, is the largest donor to the World Food Programme (WFP), this year’s winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. USAID is responsible for more than 40 percent of the total annual voluntary contributions to the WFP, including more than $3.5 billion in Fiscal Year 2020. We are honored to continue this meaningful work every day.

We are extraordinarily proud of the progress USAID has made over the past 59 years, and we are grateful for our partnerships with individuals, communities, governments, and companies that have made this possible. I also want to thank the almost 12,000 employees of USAID around the world for their service and dedication, along with the thousands of our alumni who have worked for the Agency over the last six decades. As we look to the future of global development, we are excited to continue helping people everywhere achieve their full potential over the next 59 years and beyond.