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U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia Brock Bierman will travel to Los Angeles, California for the National Conference of State Legislatures 2018 Summit on July 31. He will deliver the keynote address at the International Delegates Program.
Now, ever since I joined USAID, we've tried to reorient our development work around two very simple principles. First, the purpose of our foreign assistance must be ending its need to exist, not because America wants to withdraw from the world, and certainly not because we wish to help -- we don't wish to help our friends. Instead, we say this because we believe in our friends. We believe in the inherent desire of every individual, every community, and every country to lead their own bright future.
On July 30, USAID Administrator Mark Green will give remarks at 10:15 a.m. at the Indo-Pacific Business Forum, hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The Administrator will highlight USAID's efforts in support of the President's Indo-Pacific Strategy.
At USAID, we see freedom of worship as an essential element in our pursuit of government that is citizen-centered and citizen-responsive. It is inseparable from freedoms of expression, assembly, association, and freedom from discrimination; yet a third reason why USAID believes this topic is so timely and important is a much more practical one. In order for us as an agency to be able to accomplish our core purposes, our core mission, whether it be in development assistance or in humanitarian relief, we need to reach corners in communities where governments cannot effectively go or where they have chosen not to go. We must be able to touch people who have been left behind, people who have been forgotten. In many settings, being able to partner with the community of faith, with faith-based organizations, enables us to do just that.
This week, USAID announced the launch of the 2018 Progress Snapshot for Feed the Future, America's initiative to combat global hunger. The report shows that in Feed the Future partner countries, an estimated 23.4 million more people live above the poverty line, and 3.4 million more children have escaped the devastating, life-long consequences of poor nutrition early in life since the initiative began.
Today the United States announced an additional $170 million in humanitarian assistance to support the people of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, many of whom left their homes because of escalating conflict or natural disaster, and who are facing severe food insecurity as a result. This additional funding brings the total U.S. humanitarian contribution for Ethiopia to more than $802 million since October 2016.
Well. And, again, our money doesn't-- in most cases, flow through those governments. And we work with trusted voices and we're constantly testing and auditing what it is that we do. So I think we are making a difference. And, there's clearly more that can be done, I think more that needs to be done. But, you know, I think it's an important crossroads moment for many of these countries. There's some important decisions that need to be made. So, I think you have -- as you look at the Western hemisphere -- you have what Vice President Pence referred to as the "Hemisphere of Freedom." And you have countries like Colombia, and you have countries like Brazil, which are trying to create -- to crack down on corruption, in the case of a country like Brazil -- in the case of Colombia, trying to crack down on the problem of coca.
USAID Administrator Mark Green will deliver the closing remarks at the second day of the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom on Wednesday, July 25.
And so, that's why today I'm announcing the United States intends to provide an additional $6.5 million in assistance to support a prosperous, safe, and free Western Hemisphere, and this is in addition to the money that we announced just days ago, when I was in Colombia. This new funding includes $5 million in U.S. assistance we intend to provide to help Venezuelans in Colombia. This new funding brings the total of U.S. humanitarian and development assistance to help Venezuelans in the region to more than $60 million since Fiscal Year 2017.
This assistance is providing urgent food and medical assistance to Venezuelans and also helping communities in Colombia, Brazil, and Ecuador respond to the influx of migrants going into those countries, crossing the border. This assistance will also include $1.5 million to continue to support freedom and democracy in Nicaragua. The United States is the only remaining donor working on democracy and human rights in Nicaragua, and so we know and take seriously our responsibility as a lifeline for civil society organizations, human rights defenders, emerging leaders, and independent media who are currently under threat by the Ortega government.
During a meeting with members of the local Nicaraguan, Venezuelan, and Cuban communities in Miami today, USAID Administrator Mark Green announced that the U.S. Government intends to provide an additional $6.5 million in development assistance to support a more prosperous, safe, and free Western Hemisphere.
Well, I think President Trump and Vice President Pence have been very clear in their support for freedom in the hemisphere, the importance of human rights, the importance of democracy. So, we've simply been taking their message everywhere that we go. You know, I'm a believer. This is what I believe in. This is natural to me. This is, I think, is core to our mission. Among other things, we believe in citizen-responsive, citizen-centered governance is the key to be able to rise, is the key to being able to grow economically.
First off, the relationship, as I see it, between the U.S. and Colombia, as you just heard and the Chargé is absolutely right, there is no more important relationship in this hemisphere. I think the U.S.-Colombia relationship is historic. I think it is vitally important today, and I think it will be just as important in the years ahead. It will change and evolve, and that's good. I think that obviously there is work to be done here, but there is also work to be done here that we can do with Colombia elsewhere. I like to refer to it as "force projection in development." And I just got done speaking to a number of new members of Congress, and that's part of what I talked to them about, was to challenge them that we need to partner more closely for the work that needs to be done throughout the hemisphere. The U.S. and USAID can talk about things all we want to; Colombia is proof of model. They can show what can be done with tough reforms, tough choices, and the kinds of things that they have been doing.
My friends, though I come from the United States, as I look around me, I see so much that is friendly and familiar. Our countries may sit more than 4,200 kilometers apart border to border, but in every important way you are so very close, joined together in heritage, values, and most importantly their hopes for the future. Colombians have helped shape the very fabric of American society. When U.S. students study literature, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Gabo, is assigned reading. The generation of my countrymen has grown up watching John Leguizamo on stage, listening to Shakira on the radio, and seeing Sofia Vergara on T.V.
USAID Administrator Mark Green will travel to Miami July 19 - 20. On Thursday, the Administrator will tour the headquarters of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting. He will also visit a USAID relief-supply warehouse to review U.S. disaster-preparedness efforts in the region.
Today, U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Mark Green met with Colombian President-elect Ivan Duque in Bogota. Administrator Green congratulated the President-elect on his recent election victory, and reaffirmed USAID's commitment to its strong partnership with Colombia.
We're going to move on to the next discussion and what I think will be an incredibly important conversation. We are honored today to be joined by the administrator of USAID, Mark Green.
On Monday, United States Agency for International Development Administrator Mark Green met with President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos in Bogota. The Administrator thanked President Santos for his enduring commitment to strengthening the strong partnership between the United States and Colombia during his term in office. Administrator Green highlighted Colombia as a key partner, whose development success is a model for the region. In recognition of the enduring partnership between USAID and Colombia, President Santos awarded USAID the Order of the Boyaca, the highest honor the Colombian government grants to foreign governments.
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia Brock Bierman will travel to Tbilisi, Georgia for the 5th Global Summit of the Open Government Partnership July 16-19, 2018, as head of the U.S. delegation.
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Mark Green today announced that the United States is providing more than $6 million in additional humanitarian assistance to support Colombia's efforts to respond to an influx of people who are fleeing the man-made crisis in Venezuela. With this new funding, U.S. humanitarian and development assistance for displaced Venezuelans now totals nearly $56 million, since Fiscal Year 2017.
I am here because the United States is committed to helping Venezuelans. I am here because we are committed to supporting the Government of Colombia and our partners to respond to this man-made humanitarian crisis. And as I think we know, it is a crisis that is affecting the entire region.
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