On August 19, World Humanitarian Day, we recognize the aid workers who put their lives on the line to help people affected by crises around the world. Since the deaths of 22 humanitarians in a Baghdad bombing 17 years ago, every year on this date, we pause to honor the brave women and men who risk everything to help those in need.

Women’s economic empowerment has long been a priority at USAID. We believe that in order for societies to be more peaceful and prosperous, women must be able to fully participate in the global economy. Some of the biggest returns on investment on behalf of the American people result from investments in women’s economic empowerment. Empowering women spurs broader economic growth, stymies extreme poverty, and ultimately contributes to global peace and stability. Similarly, USAID recognizes that private enterprise is the most powerful engine for lifting people out of poverty. That’s why engaging the private sector is so important. Bringing private capital to the table is the best solution to achieve sustained impact long after USAID’s support has ended.

Today, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced the Global Leadership and Education Advancing Development (Global LEAD) Initiative, which supports the capacity and commitment of emerging young leaders to become partners in building self-reliant communities.

The launch of the Policy on Promoting the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (PRO-IP) is a historic step for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). This groundbreaking policy represents the first time the Agency has laid out specific guidance for how we globally engage, work with, and empower Indigenous Peoples in a systematic way. Efforts are already under way to build institutional capacities in the Amazon Basin and in Nicaragua, support the Batwa from the Congo Basin to reduce the threat of deforestation and commercial bushmeat trade, improve livelihoods and food security across 237 Indigenous Peoples communities in Paraguay, and promote rights awareness at the government level in Uganda.

The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing more than $7.5 million in additional humanitarian assistance to help end the 11th outbreak of Ebola in Équateur Province in Northwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).  The funding also will support Ebola survivors and maintain a rapid-response capacity in Eastern DRC, where the DRC's 10th outbreak, also the second-largest outbreak of the disease in history was declared over in June 2020.  The U.S.

The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing more than $15 million in humanitarian assistance to aid the people of Lebanon following catastrophic explosions at the Port of Beirut. These funds bring the humanitarian aid provided by the American people in Lebanon since September 2019 to a total of $403 million.

The United States continues to lead the world in the fight against COVID-19, with $20.5 billion now allocated from across the U.S. Government to benefit the global response. This incredible effort, made possible by the generous American taxpayers, includes funding for vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics; preparedness efforts; and State Department and USAID foreign assistance funding.

July 30 is the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. The evil of modern slavery affects an estimated 25 million people around the world: adults and children subjected to sexual exploitation or bound in domestic servitude; children forced to support armed groups; and victims trapped in forced labor in sectors such as fishing, construction, and agriculture. On this day, at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), we honor the resilience of survivors of trafficking who are courageously rebuilding their lives; we reaffirm our commitment to prevent criminals from exploiting people for profit; and we invite all to join the challenge to help end modern slavery.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), represented by Acting Administrator John Barsa, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia, represented by Secretary Frances Adamson, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Tuesday, July 28, 2020. The signing of the MOU occurred on the margins of the 2020 Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) in Washington, D.C., which underscored the two countries' shared efforts to advance an open, inclusive, prosperous, and secure Indo-Pacific region, with an immediate focus on health security and economic recovery from the pandemic of COVID-19.