Speeches Shim
More than five years ago, the United States Agency for International Development formed a partnership with the DENR to protect the Philippine forests. Today’s event celebrates the many milestones that we have achieved together through the B+WISER project.
The U.S. Embassy in the Philippines, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), announced a Php250 million, three-year extension of USAID’s Science, Technology, Research, and Innovation for Development (STRIDE) project. The additional assistance, which brings the total USAID investment in the innovation sector to nearly Php2 billion since 2013, will expand collaboration between government, industry, and academia on initiatives that promote innovation and support inclusive growth.
I am here today to reaffirm the U.S. government’s commitment to our shared vision of advancing and sustaining inclusive and resilient growth in the Philippines.
To attain this goal, USAID is a close partner of the Philippine government in joint strategies that support the government’s 10-point socioeconomic agenda. Together, we invest in human capital development and use science, technology and innovation to bolster growth. The Inclusive Filipinnovation and Entrepreneurship Roadmap, earlier unveiled by Dr. Fita Aldaba, further specifies how these strategies can be used to transform this vision into a reality.
Indeed, water is and will always be a vital natural resource that lives depend on, as well as a key input to economic growth. This is why USAID works to save lives and advance development through improvements in water supply, sanitation and hygiene, and through sound management and use of water for food security.
While the Philippines continues to make significant gains in expanding water access, more work remains to address the country’s vulnerability to extreme weather variations — such as prolonged droughts, sea level rise and intensifying typhoons.
Super Typhoon Ompong triggered flooding and landslides in the northern Philippines, killing at least 81 people, destroying crops and livelihoods, and damaging homes throughout northern Luzon. More than 180,000 found safety in government evacuation centers.
Comment
Make a general inquiry or suggest an improvement.