U.S. Mission to the United Nations
New York, New York
September 26, 2018

ADMINISTRATOR GREEN: Good morning. It's a distinct honor to join so many champions of youth here this morning. I am grateful to First Lady Melania Trump for inviting me to join her here today.

As some of you may have heard me say before, we believe the purpose of foreign assistance must be ending its need to exist. Not because we want to walk away, retreat from our friends, but because we believe in our friends. We believe in human dignity, in the innate desire of every person, every community, and every country to craft and lead their own bright future. We believe in supporting them in their journey to self-reliance.

Now, simply put, there is no greater priority in fostering self-reliance than helping young people to achieve their God-given potential. Right now, there are 1.8 billion young people in the world -- the largest youth population in all of recorded history. Ninety percent of those young people live in developing nations. Some see this as a challenge to be met, a problem to be solved -- not us. We see this as a great opportunity. With each motivated, active, and engaged young mind, we see the seeds of solution, innovation. We see the seeds of hope. Educated and healthy young people who are involved in their community are incredible drivers of democracy and economic growth.

I'm proud of the role that USAID, under the Trump administration, has played to improve the lives and opportunities of young people throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Since 2008, through our maternal and child health programs, we have helped save the lives of 4.6 million children globally, the majority of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa. Our work also strengthens health systems within countries, so that the work will continue in the years ahead, led by our partner countries themselves.

We are working to ensure that children have access to education programs. Through our work with local communities around the world, we improve youth reading skills, strengthen higher education, and reinforce workforce development. In a little more than a decade, from 2000 to 2014, we've seen African primary school enrollment rates increase from 61 percent to 79 percent. That excites the recovering teacher in me very, very much.

I'm so pleased that the First Lady has decided to embark on her first solo trip to Africa to see how the administration's investments in young people is changing lives for the better. Mrs. Trump has been a tireless advocate for children of the United States and around the world. She's served as the Honorary Chairwoman of the Boys' Club of New York and has been an active participant in the National Love Our Children Day and National Child Abuse Prevention Month. And in May of this year, she launched her "Be Best" campaign, devoted to raising awareness of child welfare. USAID and Mrs. Trump's "Be Best" campaign share a common vision: by investing in the wellbeing of children, we can help craft brighter futures all around the world.