New Humanitarian and Health Assistance Bolsters U.S. Leadership in Response to COVID-19

The Department of State and USAID are providing an additional $208 million in new humanitarian and health assistance to bolster our ongoing response efforts, helping the world’s most vulnerable overcome the devastation inflicted by this deadly virus. With today’s announcement, the State Department and USAID alone have committed more than $1.5 billion for the global COVID-19 response since the outbreak began.

On July 14, 2020, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced $15 million to support a partnership between Arizona State University and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in the Republic of Ghana to create an innovative research and training center to improve African supply-chains.

This July 5, Venezuelans commemorated the 209th anniversary of their independence. The United States stands in unwavering solidarity with all those who are seeking a truly free and democratic Venezuela.

Today, the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) declared an end to the Ebola epidemic that has affected the Eastern part of the country since August 2018. The epidemic was the second-largest outbreak of Ebola in history: it caused more than 3,460 total confirmed and probable cases and 2,280 deaths. This declaration comes after 42 days-double the 21-day incubation period of the disease without a new confirmed or probable Ebola case in DRC's North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri Provinces.

At the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a set of core values informs how we behave towards colleagues, partners, and those we serve. Each is indispensable to our approach. Collectively, they represent USAID’s culture.

José Daniel Ferrer's reception of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation's prestigious Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom award is well-deserved.  On behalf of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), I offer him sincere congratulations. 

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) recently announced the selection of five winners of the Resilient, Inclusive, and Sustainable Environments (RISE) Challenge. All five activities are designed to address gender-based violence (GBV) in environmental programs and generate evidence on promising interventions. The winners will receive a total of $1.2 million in grants from USAID to implement and test solutions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Republics of Colombia, Fiji, and Uganda.

The U.S. Strategy on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS Strategy) guides our efforts to advance women's leadership in preventing and resolving conflict, countering violent extremism, and supporting post-conflict recovery around the world. Today, I am pleased to release USAID's Women, Peace, and Security Implementation Plan, which describes concrete actions the Agency will take to support the empowerment of women and girls in countries affected by crisis and conflict. These efforts are critical for the success of USAID's mission to support communities in our partner nations on their own Journey to Self-Reliance.

Political appointees are appointed at the discretion of the White House to carry out the President’s foreign policy agenda at USAID. I have full confidence that each political appointee at USAID has and will continue to implement the President’s policies and agenda to the best of his or her ability.