Press Releases

COVID-19

COVID-19: Learn how USAID is responding to the coronavirus.

Speeches Shim

August 19, 2020
Remarks

MR. BARKER: Hello. I'm Jermy Barker, director of the Religious Freedom Institute's Middle East Action Team. And it's my privilege to welcome you to today's online event. We're looking forward to a great conversation on the United States Agency for International Development's role in advancing religious liberty.

August 19, 2020

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.

August 18, 2020

Today, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) joined the U.S. Departments of State, Defense, and Health and Human Services to release the second Review of the Implementation of the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance (PLGHA) Policy. The Policy aims to ensure that U.S. taxpayer funding does not support foreign non-governmental organizations that perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning.

August 17, 2020

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.

Acting USAID Administrator John Barsa in Beirut
August 12, 2020
Readout

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Acting Administrator John Barsa visited the Lebanese Republic from August 10-12, 2020, to assess the situation on the ground following the catastrophic explosion at the Port of Beirut and observe the efforts to respond to the disaster.

August 12, 2020

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.

August 11, 2020

Today, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced approximately $1.8 million for awards under the BetterTogether/JuntosEsMejor Challenge to benefit Venezuelans and their host communities in the Federative Republic of Brazil; the Republics of Colombia, Perú, and Trinidad and Tobago; and the Boliviarian Republic of Venezuela.  The awards will fund solutions that will increase access to jobs, education, and financial services, and combat exploitation and xenophobia.

August 10, 2020
Statement by USAID Acting Administrator Barsa

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.

August 9, 2020
Media Advisory

This week U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Acting Administrator John Barsa will travel to Beirut, Lebanon, where catastrophic explosions at the Port of Beirut killed nearly 150 people and injured thousands more and devastated the city center.

August 7, 2020
Press Release

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.

August 7, 2020
Readout

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Deputy Administrator Bonnie Glick visited the State of Rhode Island and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on August 6 and 7, 2020.

August 7, 2020

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.

August 5, 2020
Statement

We are pleased to announce today that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) earned its fourth "A" rating on the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) 10.0 Scorecard issued by the Oversight and Reform Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, corrected from an initial "B" rating earlier this week. 

USAID is honored to be the only Federal Agency to receive four "A" ratings since the Committee published the first FITARA Scorecard in November 2015.   

August 5, 2020
STATEMENT BY SECRETARY MICHAEL R. POMPEO

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.

August 4, 2020
Media Advisory

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Deputy Administrator Bonnie Glick will travel to the State of Rhode Island and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on August 6 and 7, 2020.

July 30, 2020
Statement

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.

July 29, 2020
Readout

On July 29, 2020, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Deputy Administrator Bonnie Glick hosted a virtual roundtable with senior government officials from like-minded countries today to coordinate efforts to promote the deployment of secure, open, reliable 5G infrastructure for digital development in emerging economies.

July 28, 2020

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.

Ambassador Haymond joined Government of Laos officials at Handover Ceremony of the Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets
July 27, 2020
U.S. Provides 88,000 Additional Mosquito Nets to Prevent Malaria in Laos

Continuing the United States’ longstanding support of the Lao health sector, U.S. Ambassador to Laos Dr. Peter M. Haymond presented 88,000 specially-treated mosquito nets funded by the United States to Vice Minister of Health Dr. Phouthone Muangpak at a ceremony in Vientiane on July 17. These mosquito nets, provided through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will be distributed to Lao families in areas where the number of malaria cases remains particularly high. 

July 23, 2020
Statement

In 2019, the U.S. Government released our Global Health Security Strategy (GHSS).  The Strategy guides the work of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and other interagency partners-including the U.S. Departments of State, Defense, and Health and Human Services-to increase the capacity in partner countries to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious-disease outbreaks whenever they occur.  As we know all too well, infectious-disease outbreaks do not respect national boundaries and can spread rapidly to jeopardize the health, security, and prosperity of every country-including the United States. 

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