http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/index/ en U.S. Department of State 2012-05-21T19:01:06+00:00 World Economic Forum on Africa, I was struck by the thought: Africa is emerging.

Buoyed by a decade of growth and bullish predictions for the future, Africa is on track to become the next big investment destination. The Economist indicates that six of the world's ten fastest-growing economies over the past decade were in sub-Saharan Africa. McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, and the Center for Global Development have all recently released their own reports or surveys supporting the case for Africa's emergence into the global economic landscape.

Information technology in particular seems to be taking off. In today's hyper-connected society, it is hard to believe that only 11 percent of Africans have access to the Internet through a computer or mobile phone. But this is changing too: Internet usage in Africa has grown faster than on any other continent over the past decade. Africa's information technology sector is ripe for development and ready for growth.

The awakening of the African economy provides an opportunity for global and African entrepreneurs and enterprises to forge partnerships for mutual economic benefits. At the World Economic Forum on Africa today, I had the pleasure of launching a new partnership -- Liberalizing Innovation Opportunity Nations -- or LIONS@FRICA, alongside the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Microsoft, Nokia, DEMO, the World Bank Group's infoDev, African Development Bank, and Global Entrepreneurship Week.

LIONS@FRICA is a new public-private partnership platform aimed to enhance and deepen the startup and innovation ecosystems of targeted fast growing African economies. Modeled after the Startup America Partnership, LIONS@FRICA seeks to bring together key private and public institutions to support and amplify Africa's budding startup and innovation ecosystem.

Across the continent, startups such as Cobi Interactive, a leading South African mobile software development company that provides mobile technology and strategy consulting for top African corporations; and PesaPal, a payment platform that enables Kenyans to buy and sell on the Internet using M-Pesa, Zap, and credit cards, are making waves. What's more, we are seeing these startups develop from local businesses into multinational entities. Tanzania's TechnoBrain, and award-winning software development firm, has expanded to 13 countries around the world and has plans to continue its expansion into new markets. We need more success stories like these. That is why we launched the LIONS@FRICA partnership.

LIONS@FRICA seeks to capitalize on this growth and create new opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa by providing a platform designed to inspire and challenge African innovators and entrepreneurs. This partnership will provide African startups with capacity building and training in business development, provide connectivity to global innovation grids, promote access to capital, create opportunities for partnership, and showcase best practices and successes in African-led innovation solutions.

Planned activities for the partnership include a series of programs across the continent featuring promising African startups and entrepreneurs as well as venture capital roundtables and innovation bootcamps, and Startup Weekend events in over 20 African cities. Qualifying startups can join Microsoft BizSpark with access to a range of Microsoft technology for three years at no cost, to the community of BizSpark Network Partners in Africa, and to programs at Nokia's mLabs in the region.

LIONS@FRICA will also launch the first-ever DEMO Africa, a global platform to connect African startups to the global ecosystem, where the most innovative companies from African countries come to launch their products and announce to Africa and the world what they have developed.

We are very excited about this partnership, and I look forward to meeting the real lions of innovations and we invite more partners to join us in this noble endeavor. Visit the LIONS@FRICA website at www.meetthelions.org for more information. For partnership opportunities, please contact Thomas Debass, and follow @lionsafrica and #meetthelions on Twitter.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/emerging_africa_innovation_potential/ 2012-05-10T16:28:39+00:00 International Visitor Leadership Program, arrived in Washington. In conversations with U.S. government officials -- including Grant Harris, Senior Director for African Affairs at the White House, and Ronan Farrow, the State Department's Special Adviser for Global Youth Issues -- the participants shared their experiences, gained a better understanding of U.S. policy, and discussed ways to keep the dialogue going after their program is over. Just as importantly, they talked about how their efforts are contributing to the changing impressions the world has about Africa.

Hindou Oumarou of Chad talked about her organization's use of GPS technology to better understand where and how to reach communities. Several participants mentioned how mobile technologies allow them to share immediate impacts of their work with thousands. Gilberto Macuacua of Mozambique, a spokesperson for women's rights, told me how Facebook and his television program provide a means to "build a new man in Mozambique." Joannie Bewa of Benin said she sees hope when girls in Benin organize and give their pocket money to help other girls become entrepreneurs.

While they come from different countries, focus on different issues, and serve in a variety of roles, the participants repeatedly shared excitement about the new ideas that this visit to the United States, which includes places like Albuquerque and New Orleans, will provide them. They plan to take information from their meetings and professional exchanges and turn their ideas into responses when they return home. Bewa, who is a doctor and social activities coordinator for the Young Beninese Leaders Association, said it best: "We don't have to wait for every solution to come from Europe or the U.S. They have to be our solutions. After this meeting I think we have to become a strong Young African Leaders network that can impact other young leaders in our communities."]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/young_african_leaders_ivlp/ 2012-05-06T03:43:58+00:00 PEPFAR and UNAIDS joined with other partners to launch the Global Plan, an initiative to eliminate new HIV infections among children and keep their mothers alive. Last week I was proud to take part in a two-day mission to Nigeria with Michel Sidibe, UNAIDS Executive Director. (As I described in this post last week, our visit was interrupted by the tragic bombings.)

Each year, nearly 400,000 children are born with HIV globally, and prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) is a particular challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, an area characterized by weak health systems. Incredibly, Nigeria alone bears about one-third of the global burden of new HIV infections among children. It is thus one of 22 priority countries of the Global Plan, which collectively account for nearly 90 percent of all new HIV infections among children annually. The Plan's central goal is to reduce the number of new pediatric infections in these countries by 90 percent.

We know what to do to prevent vertical transmission -- the science is long-established, and many countries (including Botswana) have achieved virtual elimination. PMTCT is a top priority for PEPFAR, and in 2011 alone, we supported programs that tested nearly 10 million pregnant women. Of these, more than 660,000 pregnant women were found to be living with HIV, and antiretrovirals (ARVs) for these women allowed more than 200,000 infants to be born HIV-free. These are the highest PMTCT results of any year in PEPFAR's eight-year history.

During our mission, we met with Nigeria's First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, who personally leads the country's PMTCT strategy. We also met with the Nigerian Minister of Health and Governors and Health Commissioners from PMTCT focus states, who play key roles in expanding PMTCT services in the country. We also had dialogue with Nigerian business, faith-based, and community leaders about the critical contributions they can make to achieving the elimination goal. Throughout these interactions, we focused on the main barriers to PMTCT progress at both the national level and in priority states, and began to identify the most effective strategies to address these challenges collectively. We also discussed Nigeria's plans to optimize and increase all available resources in the country, in order to achieve a generation born HIV-free.

As we have learned from the 30-year history and struggle of AIDS, extraordinary things happen when we work together. By uniting around our common humanity in a spirit of shared responsibility, we can give a chance at a full life to children and mothers around the world. Preventing new HIV infections in children is a smart investment that saves lives, and the United States is proud to partner with Nigeria and other countries in this cause.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/nigeria_mother_child_transmission_hiv/ 2012-04-30T22:31:56+00:00
I can't help but reflect on the juxtapositions life sometimes presents after experiencing this tragic event. It not only occurred while we were having a ceremony for our fallen UN colleagues, but during a mission to strengthen the Nigerian plan to reduce the 72,000 pediatric HIV cases born each year. To have such a senseless loss of life, in one brief moment, made me reflect on how fragile and precious life is. And it sharpens my resolve to ensure that children born to HIV-positive mothers -- and all children here -- have every opportunity to reach their full potential.

With particular sadness, I join my U.S. government colleagues in extending my deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones in the bombings, and to all the people of Nigeria.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/in_nigeria_remembering_lives_lost/ 2012-04-27T16:53:27+00:00
President Obama is gravely concerned by the situation in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, especially as the violent clashes continue along the shared border with South Sudan. He continues to urge all sides to exercise maximum restraint and to emphasize the importance of finding peaceful solutions for Sudan and South Sudan. The President is deeply committed to seeing Sudan and South Sudan become two economically prosperous states living side-by-side in peace.

The people of Sudan and South Sudan have endured extraordinary hardship over years of war. But in recent years, against great odds, they have made tremendous progress toward a future of peace. The future of Sudan and South Sudan belongs to them and, as President Obama makes clear in his remarks, those who have the courage to walk the path of peace will have a strong and steady partner in the United States of America.

Editor's Note: This entry appeared first on the White House Blog.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/obama_message_sudan_south_sudan/ 2012-04-21T14:12:53+00:00 About the Authors: Victoria Holt serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, and Annie Pforzheimer serves as Director for UN Peacekeeping in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs.

In countries recovering from war, it is normal to see UN blue helmeted military units -- they're big, obvious, and a reassuring presence.

But in Liberia, where President Johnson-Sirleaf was re-elected to a second term, that reassuring presence should be the uniform of a Liberian police officer -- with a blue helmet backing them up.

A long-term peace, I was reminded during my visit to Liberia in mid-March, doesn't come from soldiers, but rather from a functioning criminal justice system. The Liberian National Police are central to the future of the country's security when the peacekeepers leave. That said, there are obstacles that stand between the security that Liberians need and where it is today. The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) has to help address this.

Top UN officials -- civilian, police, and military -- told us of the challenges in supporting the rule of law, from the basic traffic cop to ambitious courts to handling sexual violence. It is a work in progress. A foremost police concern is what is known as the "lost generation" -- those who could not go to school during the two-decade-long civil war. "We should start police training in nursery school," one Western government official told me, because so many people are illiterate.

The police seem to need more of just about everything: recruitment, training, equipment, and education. A wartime culture of impunity and a habit of not obeying rules can extend to those in uniform, so officers must be thoroughly vetted to force out corrupt officers. UNMIL helps them with all of this, as do other donors -- especially the United States.

Furthermore, police must plug into a functioning justice system, which does not yet exist. If those they arrest go free because the courts are unequipped to process them, and the alleged criminal is back on the streets, the police are blamed -- unfairly. Judges and prosecutors are often untrained, understaffed, and in some cases don't show up at all. "The judiciary is the rotten part," a local journalist told me, "clerks, judges all expect a payoff, and they are untouchable."

In other cases, many of those who are arrested and don't go free actually should -- the vast majority of those in Liberian jails have never had a trial. Again, UNMIL is trying to lend expertise.

At the top of the judicial pyramid is Minister of Justice Christiana Tah, a former professor of sociology, anthropology, and criminal justice at Montgomery College, Maryland, who oversees the jails and prosecutors. Minister Tah does what she can with a small budget and big problems. "I have like 100 priorities," she told us. Chief among them is to make sure all the parts of the legal system talk to each other.

"I was away on a trip and the police chief called me, very proud, to say he'd arrested 130 delinquents. I asked him if he'd made sure there was a grand jury for indictments, prosecutors ready to take the case, and even room in the jail. He hadn't," she continued, "so everyone was released." Beyond these problems of coordination, there is the problem of crime in a post-conflict environment, including a terribly high rate of violence against women and children.

The United Nations has targeted Liberia for help bringing justice to the people. The UN's Peacebuilding Fund supports the building of regional hubs to bring police and judicial services out to the underserved countryside. For the all-female formed police unit from India, its about community work and setting an example. For the U.S. police advisors, it's mentoring and building a cadre of professional police. For the senior team in UNMIL, it's about working with the government to set priorities and build Liberian capacity. And for Liberians, justice and rule of law is needed to fully move on from its former state of war.

Editor's Note: This is the third in a three part series about the authors' recent travel to Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire, where they visited UN operations in both countries.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/supporting_rule_of_law_liberia/ 2012-04-11T13:52:50+00:00
Little of this was imaginable a year ago, when the country faced a dramatic crisis of leadership -- and a questionable future -- after its November 2010 elections. For months, the UN peacekeepers, backed by the international community and French Licorne forces, held the line against a defiant former leader who refused to step down despite losing the Presidential elections to his rival. Yet today, with former President Gbagbo in the Hague for war crimes, President Ouattara is moving forward to put the past behind and build a united nation.

Beyond the bright lights, much work remains. The UN mission, UNOCI, helps the government address urgent and long-term needs, from the thousands displaced by war and returning refugees, to support for police training and the protection of human rights. The government's security sector (military, police, courts, justice system) badly need capacity and reform.

Beyond Abidjan the country faces lack of governance and economic development. The second largest town, Bouke, got its first traffic light three days before we arrived; the police are unarmed and often unresponsive. In the West, refugees returning also face uncertainty -- and often strangers on their land.

Certainly Cote d'Ivoire has wealth. Over 40 percent of the world's cacao comes from here, along with other desired commodities. Yet this agricultural richness is also the source of land disputes that date back to its independence in 1960, and before.

A country focused on developing its economy, and emerging from conflict, needs a working system of law to assure security and effective development. So this is job one for UNOCI and Cote d'Ivoire -- to set up the rule of law to prosper and to take care of its people.

Thus, UN peacekeeping mission's efforts in Cote d'Ivoire, are key to the country's success. Going forward, the mission should concentrate on the security sector, rule of law, and needed reconciliation.

Why? Without security, forget investment. Without the international community to support it, forget political reconciliation and plans that the Ouattara government has begun to put in motion. Without UN peacekeepers -- Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Ghanaian, Nigerian -- small acts of impulsive violence can spiral into community-on-community clashes, reenacting the unresolved issues that brought civil war in the first place.

Reform to professionalize a military comprised of former enemies and rag-tag youth is the number one task at hand. We learned that the President is just now rolling up his sleeves. This aspect of getting back to business is the really hard part, but it will be the key to his success and to keep Cote d'Ivoire moving forward. And U.S. support to UNOCI during that transition can also make a critical difference to getting it right.

Editor's Note: This is the second in a three part series about the author's recent travel to Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire, where she visited UN operations in both countries.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/un_peacekeeping_cote_divoire/ 2012-04-06T18:50:35+00:00 Seychelles 15 suspected Somali pirates for prosecution in connection with an attempted January 5 attack on the M/V Sunshine in the northern Arabian Sea and the abduction of 13 Iranian mariners rescued by the U.S. Navy aboard their captured fishing vessel Al Molai. The successful resolution of this incident marks another step forward in working with our international partners to see that pirates are brought to justice and underscores our ongoing commitment to promoting freedom of navigation worldwide.

As part of the United States' commitment to working with the international community in countering piracy, I traveled last week to New York City to lead the U.S. delegation at a meeting of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia. In January 2009, following UN Security Resolution 1851, the United States helped establish the Contact Group, an ad hoc, voluntary group of close to 70 nations and international organizations that meets three times a year to coordinate national and international counter-piracy actions.

Through the Contact Group, the United States has focused on five key counter-piracy challenges:

• Coordinating multinational naval patrols off the Horn of Africa, in partnership with more than 20 nations, including naval ships from Combined Task Force 151, EU Counter Piracy Naval Forces' (EUNAVFOR) Operation Atalanta, and NATO's Operation Ocean Shield, as well as naval ships on national tasking from several nations, including Japan, India, China, and Russia;

• Developing and promoting effective self-protection measures to discourage pirates from boarding vessels, with support from the shipping industry and the International Maritime Organization;

• Bringing pirates to justice by prosecuting suspected pirates and incarcerating those convicted, and encouraging other nations to do so as well;

• Discouraging the payment of ransoms, which encourages further pirate attacks; and

• Developing ways to disrupt the pirates' financial networks, using tools similar to those used effectively against other forms of transnational organized crime.

In a communique following the meeting, the Contact Group:

• Recognized steps taken toward the development of counter-piracy messaging guidelines and continued efforts to develop effective strategic communications, including the use of social media;

• Placed a priority on prosecutions and imprisonment as a deterrent to piracy;

• Reiterated the importance of bringing suspected pirates to trial, including high-level suspects, and detaining those convicted, in Somalia as well as other nations in the region;

• Called on the international community, including the global maritime industry, to make continued efforts to facilitate more effective prosecutions of pirates; and

• Attributed the low success rate of attacks to many factors, including the application of best management practices by the shipping industry, the continuing naval presence, and the use of military vessel protection detachments and privately contracted armed security personnel.

While it is essential that nations bring pirates and their financiers and facilitators to justice, we recognize that continued long-term diplomatic engagement in Somalia will be essential to further progress in countering piracy. Ultimately, the problem of piracy will not be resolved until stability is restored in Somalia. To that end, the United States is committed to supporting the Djibouti Peace Process, the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), and other local and regional organizations who also want to discourage this criminal enterprise, which interferes with political reconciliation and economic recovery from decades of civil war in Somalia.

As Secretary Clinton noted at the February 23 London Conference on Somalia, the United States supports programs that strengthen the Somali judicial system so it can tackle piracy domestically. We will continue to deliver support of all kinds and to help build a broad and durable partnership with both the Somali Government and people.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/counter_piracy_action/ 2012-04-06T14:11:34+00:00 Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (PM/WRA) in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Burundi has embarked on a new initiative to build on these gains by improving security of its military and police forces' inventories of small arms and light weapons, such as assault rifles and pistols.

Since 2006, the United States has invested approximately $2.7 million in assistance for weapons stockpile security training, the destruction of 9,000 of its excess weapons, and destruction of 75 tons of its obsolete and excess ammunition in Burundi. This also included the safe destruction of 312 Man-Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS) determined by its government to be no longer necessary for its national defense. Their destruction ensured that those highly lethal, shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles will never be used by terrorists to attack a civilian airliner.

PM/WRA is funding the Regional Center on Small Arms (RECSA), based in Nairobi, Kenya, to mark weapons using marking machines. As a result, 47 percent of the firearms owned by the Burundian National Police have already been marked with individual serial numbers and country of origin and entered into an electronic database. Once marked and registered, these arms will be better accounted for and stored more securely to better prevent illicit pilferage and trafficking.

PM/WRA support for weapons marking is a key component to identifying arms trafficking routes in the central African region and increasing accountability within Burundi itself. Efforts to trace trafficked weapons back to owners have already led to arrests. In fiscal years 2009 and 2010, PM/WRA also funded the construction of 38 police micro-armories in Burundi, where newly marked weapons are now safely stored. This project successfully employed local builders and helped to reassure communities of sustained police protection in restive areas of Bujumbura, the capital.

In addition, Burundi's stockpile reduction efforts continue and also contribute to efforts to prevent illicit use of these stockpiles and to mitigate the risk to civilians from accidental detonations. MAG (Mines Advisory Group), a non-governmental organization funded by a grant from PM/WRA, is currently on track to safely dispose of 7,000 more excess Burundian small arms and 70 tons of additional obsolete ammunition. In doing so, this project will also ensure that thousands of Burundians living near ammunition depots will directly benefit from the reduced risk of a catastrophic depot explosion. The recent disaster at a munitions depot in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo earlier this month, which killed and injured so many people and devastated parts of the capital, is the latest tragic example of the threat posed by “dangerous depots.” Burundi is to be commended for proactively dealing with this emerging threat.

The Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement continues to provide a wide range of Conventional Weapons Destruction assistance (humanitarian mine action assistance, battle area clearance, UXO remediation at depots that blew up, physical security and stockpile management, and small arms/light weapons mitigation including MANPADS destruction) to other countries in Africa too, as well as in Central and South America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and throughout Asia and the Pacific. To learn more, check out our annual report, To Walk the Earth in Safety, or visit www.state.gov/t/pm/wra.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/burundi_small_arms_landmines/ 2012-04-05T20:53:18+00:00 UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) he oversees over 1,300 police advisers and officers serving as peacekeepers, from over 40 countries. Jack is from Albany, New York, where he had a law enforcement career that spanned over 30 years. He had seen and done it all.

A specialist in both community policing and the administrative functions of a major police department, Jack is one of those great public servants who have taken their skills overseas. After retiring he offered his talent to UN missions and U.S. assistance projects in Haiti and in Liberia, where he has toiled since 2007.

Jack believes in the good work he is doing but there are frustrations as well. There are only about 4,000 police officers in Liberia, a nation with three and a half million people. Last year he asked for ten more positions to oversee police transition. He received six. Ten months later the first new person will finally arrive.

I actually hired Jack for this Liberia job, back when I directed the State Department's Bureau for International Narcotic and Law Enforcement's civilian police program. So it was great to see him in action. He gives advice to the leader of the UN mission on how the Liberian police are really doing and how far away they are from managing missions completely on their own.

He traveled with us to the border town of Harper, where the UN police contingent looked a bit nervous to see their boss. He was briefed on the waves of minor crime which can threaten to spiral into larger conflicts.

For all peacekeepers, the challenge is real. I heard from a civilian staffer in UNMIL that one day, on his way to work, he was engulfed by a crowd that was beating a man to death for stealing. He was alone, and unarmed, but couldn't drive past. He told me, "I would have thought about it every day from then." So he stopped the car, faced the crowd, and pulled the bleeding man into his back seat. The man lived.

When incidents occur, Jack notes, the Liberian National Police have to be the first responders. The public must get used to dealing with them. But if they are overwhelmed, UN "formed" police units that deal with riot control, and then UN military forces, are available to keep things under control.

Jack is in his early 60's, with a serious look while on duty and a creased white shirt with a police badge pinned to the front, a U.S. flag on his left sleeve and a UN flag on his right. The transition from a highly military peacekeeping mission to one that is more focused on policing is on his shoulders. Jack says that for now, the UN's military presence, at least in certain parts of the country, is essential.

Editor's Note: This entry is the first in a three part series. The author and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Tori Holt recently returned from travel to Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire. In the photograph above, Holt, center, speaks with Deputy Police Commissioner Jack Nielson on board an airplane in Liberia.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/civilian_police_peacekeeping_liberia/ 2012-04-05T03:41:02+00:00 official U.S. delegation attending his inauguration. Ambassador Johnnie Carson, the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, and General Carter Ham, Commander of U.S. Africa Command, joined me on the delegation, which was rounded out on the ground by our U.S. Ambassador to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau, Lewis Lukens.

The delegation represented agencies which carry out the three "D"s of U.S. foreign policy: diplomacy, defense, and development. We share these interests with Senegal, our longstanding ally. Our delegation joined world leaders from across Africa, Europe and beyond to witness the historic inauguration of Senegal's fourth president. Pride, promise and peace -- and a celebratory mood -- pervaded the historic transfer of power from former President Wade to President Sall. It was an important moment to witness, and our delegation's presence affirmed the strong ties of cooperation and friendship between Senegal and the United States.

The inauguration ceremony uptown was well-attended; the chairs and aisles were full. Spectators filled the streets afterward as President Sall met former President Wade at the presidential palace, bringing downtown traffic to a halt. While the delegation presented congratulations on behalf of President Obama, the Senegalese were congratulating each other. One Senegalese would greet another with "felicitations," French for "congratulations," to which the other would respond "no ko bokk," which means "it [this peaceful democratic transition] is ours collectively to share." Several Senegalese shared with me their disappointment that this election was viewed as unusually calm, because they think peaceful elections should be the norm, and until they are, much work needs to be done.

In fact, Senegal's festive occasion unfortunately did not garner as much press attention as the crisis unfolding in neighboring Mali. What a sharp contrast between the march toward democracy and the regression from it. On the one hand, thousands had gathered to celebrate Senegal's commitment to a strong and mature democracy and to a peaceful and orderly transfer of power, where the needs of the nation and its citizens trump the agenda of individual politicians. On the other hand, the seizure of power by elements of the military in Mali was an unconstitutional, anti-democratic action, which the U.S. government and the international community have condemned and which prompted MCC to halt operations in the country.

Both in his public speeches and our bilateral meeting, President Sall reiterated Senegal's commitment to good governance, transparency, economic opportunity, and food security, which align with the country's MCC compact. These are the same priorities I heard from the Senegalese people as I met with small groups of private sector and civil society representatives.

Although a short trip, Assistant Secretary Carson and Ambassador Lukens joined me to meet briefly with the team implementing our compact. We commended the team's ongoing work and congratulated them for launching the first work tenders, signaling the end of the design phase and the beginning of the works phase. We reminded the team to stay on top of its game as so many people in the regions of Casamance and St. Louis are counting on the construction of the MCC-financed roads and irrigation infrastructure to unlock agricultural productivity and deliver greater access to markets and services.

Our partnerships thrive with countries committed to democratic governance and the rule of law, and what I saw unfold in Senegal is proof of this commitment. We are encouraged that the Sall administration has prioritized the full implementation of Senegal's MCC compact. The people of Senegal deserve and expect nothing less. Let's continue this work that transcends politics and personalities and belongs to the people of Senegal, eager to replace poverty with prosperity and continue forward on a path to greater economic progress.

Related Content: Statement by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Senegal National Day

Editor's Note: This entry also appears on the MCC Blog.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/senegal_the_path_to_promise/ 2012-04-04T21:49:30+00:00 Office of Global Intergovernmental Affairs, in partnership with the Bureau of African Affairs and Sister Cities International, recently hosted a "Smart Partnership Dialogue: Global Engagement Series" entitled, "Leveraging Sister City Relationships as a Driver of Economic Development." U.S. and South African state and local officials discussed the economic advantages and benefits to building strong city-to-city relationships and how best to utilize these relationships for mutual benefit.

The program, which was held on Tuesday, March 13, 2012, began with welcoming remarks by Ambassador Stephen Nolan, Director, South African Affairs, Bureau of African Affairs, U.S. Department of State. Adam Kaplan, Sister Cities International, moderated a panel discussion which featured Wanda Felton, First President and Vice Chair, Export-Import Bank; Scott Eisner, Executive Director, International Division and Africa Business Initiative, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; and Alicia Robinson-Morgan, Deputy Director for the Office Africa, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. We were grateful that U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Donald Gips and South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool addressed the local leaders, emphasizing the importance of transforming city-to-city partnerships into concrete revenue producing projects. In addition, Ebrajo Councillor Mpho Nawa, Deputy Chairperson, South African Local Government Association (SALGA), delivered remarks. SALGA is South Africa's national association for municipalities dedicated to transforming local governance.

This event highlighted the opportunities and resources offered through the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Export-Import Bank, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to facilitate business and trade relationships at the national, state/provincial, or city level. Speakers and panelists urged cities and states to make concrete plans for new business opportunities through city-to-city and state-to-state relationships. Cities and states that come to the table with proposals and ideas for strategic partnerships can then leverage the resources these organizations offer to determine who might be interested in partnering with them.

The Smart Partnership Dialogue event also recognized South African subnational officials who were visiting Washington, D.C. to attend the National League of Cities' (NLC) Congressional City Conference, March 10-14, and to participate in the NLC Leadership Training Institute. The NLC is a U.S. non-profit organization dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities, and advocating for more than 19,000 U.S. cities, town, and villages.

At the August 2011 SALGA National Conference in Durban, South Africa, SALGA and the NLC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote subnational collaboration. I attended the SALGA conference to witness and support the signing of this historic MOU which is geared around capacity building with a focus on governance, sustainability, social housing, municipal finance, and economic and community development.
Our office continues to work with the NLC and SALGA to identify additional partners and to arrange meetings as the MOU is implemented. We coordinated with the NLC to host this delegation of South African state and local leaders at the Congressional City Conference in order to promote best practice sharing and to discuss a number of policy topics of mutual concern in the areas of governance and sustainability.

There are numerous opportunities for subnational partnerships between the United States and South Africa. Cities, municipalities, and universities in the United States are interested in working with their counterparts in South Africa. In addition, many U.S. cities and states hope to develop and expand new and existing sister city and sister state relationships. Approximately 15 of these partnerships already exist between the United States and South Africa.

I was delighted to see the cooperation between SALGA and NLC representatives at the Global Engagement Series event and at the NLC International Council Meeting on March 12. Promoting collaboration between U.S. state and local leaders and their counterparts abroad is an important element of meeting our foreign policy objectives. The NLC-SALGA MOU and the ongoing collaboration is the true essence of our work -- the promotion of state-to-state, city-to-city, and association-to-association global relationships.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/sister_city_relationships_economic_development_south_africa/ 2012-04-03T16:51:49+00:00
Due to poor harvests, high food prices, and a number of conflicts in the region, a dire humanitarian situation is looming for chronically vulnerable populations across the Sahel region of western Africa.

The food we are shipping this week should arrive by late April, just four to five weeks from now. USAID's speedy contribution complements efforts of the UN World Food Program and other agencies to procure food for the hungry regionally. Because markets in the Sahel are currently stretched to meet the demand for food, internationally sourced assistance is vital to ensure that food prices don't rise even higher. With 7 to 12 million people in need of assistance, time is of the essence, particularly with the next rainy season to begin in June, when roads will be impassable and populations will be difficult to reach.

This sorghum is destined to feed individuals in two areas of Chad: children and moderately malnourished mothers affected by the drought in the western and central Sahelian regions of Chad, and in eastern Chad Sudanese refugees -- mainly pregnant and nursing women and malnourished children -- as well as internally displaced people, returnees, and school children in eastern Chad. USAID is providing additional food aid and emergency cash resources to support both UN agencies and other organizations working across the Sahel to combat the effects of drought and high food prices.

Food aid is just one aspect of the overall USAID response to the crisis in the Sahel. USAID is also focusing on improving nutrition, increasing agricultural production, linking individuals to local markets through voucher programs, rehabilitating public infrastructure through cash-for-work schemes, and mitigating conflict, among other activities. In addition to providing life-saving assistance, these efforts aim to alleviate poverty and build community resilience to withstand future shocks. With an announcement yesterday of an additional $120 million in emergency assistance, the U.S. government is providing nearly $200 million in humanitarian assistance this fiscal year to the Sahel region.

Editor's Note: This entry first appeared on USAID's Impact Blog.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/moving_food_faster_sahel/ 2012-03-30T20:38:06+00:00 panel discussion of gender equity, or the lack thereof, in Zimbabwean media.

The first panelist gave a brief history of the Quill Club and set the stage for how urgent it is to break down the anti-women discriminatory practices now in place in Zimbabwe's media. The press club was founded in the 1960s as an all-male, all-white bastion of journalists supportive of the colonial government and later Ian Smith's rogue Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) government. Originally run by the Rhodesian Guild of Journalists, it met at the same location as today -- in the Ambassador Hotel's wood-paneled bar, under a low ceiling with mismatched chairs crowded around small tables and a busy snooker area. The location is conveniently located in downtown Harare across the street from the Parliament and near executive offices. Government officials and state-promoting newspaper reporters easily shared drinks and collaborated on stories aimed at shoring up confidence and official racist policies among the white minority that controlled the country until 1980.

In the 1970s, the Club began admitting black journalists, one of the first colonial institutions to do so prior to independence. But those were very dangerous times -- in 1975, lawyer and liberation activist Edson Sithole and his secretary Miriam Mhlanga were abducted when leaving the Quill Club after an interview and never seen again. Finally, in 1985, the Rhodesian Guild of Journalists became the modern-day Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ).

Today, journalist members pay $5 monthly dues and meet up daily for drinks, gossip, and a chance to share breaking news. They come from all media outlets, hold panel discussions fortnightly with political and business representatives, and are almost all men.

My office helped sponsor this Ladies Night as part of Women's History Month and our Zimbabwean Women Journalists Mentoring (WJM) program. We are about half way through our one-year WJM program, which is an intensive initiative designed to address the fact that there is only one woman in a senior leadership position in the entire Zimbabwean media. Women entering journalism here are usually sent directly to the health, entertainment, religion, and women's pages. Their bylines are rarely seen on editorial pages unless addressing those "female" topic areas. The WJM program pairs students and young reporters with more senior women to share survival tricks and professional development tips. We also meet several times a month for roundtables with leading Zimbabwean and American journalists; skills seminars on writing, online research and political science; and trips.

The panel discussion was intense and energizing. Grace Mutandwa, formerly with the Herald newspaper and now a media consultant, was bold and unforgiving. She spoke directly to the women in the room, calling on the memories of Rosa Parks, Miriam Makeba, and Mother Theresa, saying, "You have to tell yourself that you own this space.... The next Chair of the Quill Club must be a woman, not just because she is woman, but because she deserves it."

Participants were unflinching in bringing out the issues that have held women back in recent decades, including reports of rampant sexual harassment in the newsrooms. ZUJ president Foster Dongozi bluntly stated, "The ratio of men and women studying journalism at colleges and universities is 50/50, but by the time the women finish their attachments (mandatory internships), many have made up their minds. They think, 'I'm not going back there.' That is the issue we need to tackle and you all know it."

Other women in the room called on their peers to provide real support for their gender in the newsrooms to push back against discrimination, harassment, and the glass ceiling. And senior women emphasized that success in the media means hard work at odd hours -- women have to be ready to cover stories when they happen and not in-between demands from husbands and children.

Panel moderator Virginia Muwangiwa of the Humanitarian Information Facilitation Center (HIFC) and recently elected chair of the Zimbabwe Women's Coalition wrapped up the session by saying, "We have come into this male bastion, and we are feeling good. We will be here tomorrow, and after that."]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/zimbabwe_women_quill_club/ 2012-03-27T20:05:35+00:00
Since last June, Senegal's democracy has seemed more fragile than ever before during its 52-year history. Yet today, Senegal has a new President-elect, Macky Sall, after current President Abdoulaye Wade graciously conceded defeat last night. Senegal's strong tradition of democracy and vibrant civil society shone through again.

On February 26, I had the honor and privilege of accompanying Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Johnnie Carson, as he led a delegation of American observers during the first round of Senegal's presidential election.

As was the case on February 26, it was a true pleasure to watch the Senegalese people peacefully exercise their democratic rights once again on March 25 for the ultimate round. I visited dozens of polling stations, and every one of them was calm, orderly, and well organized. Our observers across the country all reported the same -- Senegalese people proudly and peacefully lining up to vote. Other international and domestic observers have also praised the conduct of this second round.

Yesterday's election confirms Senegal's status as one of Africa's leading democracies. The Senegalese people are rightfully proud of the election results. All Senegalese, and the government institutions that made the election possible, deserve congratulations and praise.

Related Content: Statements by President Obama and Secretary Clinton]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/senegal_elections/ 2012-03-26T22:10:46+00:00
It was a time when people spoke of "going home to Africa." Now, I want to be absolutely clear about this: I am intensely proud of that part of my heritage that sprang from the continent that is the cradle of humankind. But, I must also be honest; as someone who for the past fifty years has lived on four continents and worked in or visited nearly fifty countries, I think of home as the place where I came from, not the place where my ancestors -- known and unknown -- came from. That statement will, no doubt, not go down well with many, including many hyphenated Americans who mistake pride in the culture of their forebears for "belonging" to that culture.

I have a rather strict view of culture -- I believe that you cannot be "of" a culture unless you grew up "in" that culture. You can like it; you can even have a surface understanding of it; but, you cannot be of it in the way a person can who grew up in it and who takes its norms and practices for granted. Imagine if you will an Asian child, adopted at birth and raised in the U.S. Midwest. Even if that child is taught his or her native language while growing up, the first visit back "home" will show that he or she is an outsider. I've seen this many times in Asia, and I know that the same holds true in other cultures as well.

Often, I'm asked if, as a U.S. diplomat of African-American descent, I feel that I am at home in Africa. Well, I've done two official tours of duty in Africa -- one in West Africa and one in southern Africa -- and have visited six or seven other African countries. While I thoroughly enjoyed each visit, at no time have I felt a sense of home coming. Why is that, you might ask? Consider this: unless an African-American is from the Gullah community of the Sea Islands off Georgia and South Carolina, or a recent immigrant from Africa, or, like our President, the child of a mixed marriage who knows where the African parent came from, he or she has no way of knowing from what specific place in Africa his or her ancestors came from. In cultures where tribal and clan identity is well established, if all one has in common is skin color, the sense of difference -- of being an alien -- can be profound. An African, upon meeting an African-American who doesn't know the language or culture, and whose tribe or clan cannot be identified, must feel the same.

So, the sense of "coming home" is just not there. What I do have is a pride in knowing that my ancestors came from somewhere here. In that way, I am truly Pan-African; not of any particular place on the continent, but of the entire continent. I can't speak for other ethnic groups, but I believe that deep down inside it must be much the same. Maybe not so emotional for those who have not been oppressed or discriminated against, but there nonetheless. Something like "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court," who speaks the language, but who is not understood.

I am a number of things, but culturally I am an American. More specifically, I am an American from the state of Texas, with all that it implies. You can, if you wish, hyphenate me, but you cannot make me something I am not. I'm comfortable in that skin. I know who I am, and if those who meet me take the time to get to know me, that will be apparent. It might not make them comfortable that I don't conform to the stereotype they have in their minds, but I only ask that they exercise patience and take me for what I am, rather than bemoaning that I am not what they first take me to be. I think if we all accepted who we really are, and did the same for everyone we encounter, the world would be a less hostile and more welcoming place.

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of State or the U.S. Government. In honor of Black History Month, the Zimbabwe-U.S. Alumni Association hosted Ambassador Charles A. Ray on February16 for a discussion on “Being an African-American Ambassador in Africa.” Ambassador Ray was inspired to write this blog following a lively discussion of cultural differences, preconceived beliefs and what it means to be an American.

Charles A. Ray has been the Ambassador of the United States of America to the Republic of Zimbabwe since November 2009. Ambassador Ray's prior diplomatic assignments include U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia from 2002-2005, in addition to positions in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Freetown, Sierra Leone; and Guangzhou and Shenyang, China. During his 29 year career as a diplomat, Ambassador Ray has worked with kings, presidents, soldiers and human rights activists on a variety of issues. He is also a 20-year veteran of the United States Army, retiring in 1982 with the rank of Major. Ambassador Ray is a native of Center, Texas, and the author of 12 novels and two non-fiction books on leadership. He and his wife, Myung Wook, have two sons and two daughters.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/african_american_ambassador_zimbabwe/ 2012-03-20T13:44:24+00:00
I recently had the opportunity to visit Kenya, and view a couple of projects run by the World Food Program (WFP) and its cooperating partner, the Kenya Child Fund, near Lodwar in the northeastern district of Turkana. The WFP, which has been working in Kenya for a long time, began a program in 2009 aimed at rebuilding the livelihoods of populations living in the arid and semi-arid lands of Kenya, of which Turkana is one, that have been severely affected by recurring droughts. With this program, the UN's food aid arm has gone beyond just feeding hungry mouths to implementing Food-for-Assets projects intended to rebuild community assets as a means of protecting households from future droughts. In the development world, this is increasingly being called building resilience. I was keen to see the projects also because U.S. support for them is so substantial: U.S. funding comprises 40 percent of total resources the WFP has received to-date for the overall operation which encompasses these projects.

The local Kenyan population benefiting from the projects comes from the Turkana tribe, whose normal line of work is pastoralist -- raising livestock. As a result of the WFP programs, these pastoralists have learned to construct water catchment facilities which collect and preserve rainwater for human and livestock consumption and crop irrigation.

The first water catchment facility I visited was what is known as a water pan, which looks like a big crater in the sand. It was constructed by 330 locals who dug three days a week for four months. In exchange for their work, these men and women received an amount of food and cooking oil equivalent to 75 percent of one month's requirement for a family. This type of catchment facility is normally able to hold water for up to six months and thus appears to be a good solution for Kenya's climate, which includes two rainy seasons annually in most parts of the country. When the rains do come, that is.

According to the latest census, 5,000 households reside in the area and are able to benefit from the water pan which will last up to 20 years. When full, the water pan should serve 4,000 livestock including cows, goats, sheep, camels and donkeys. The construction of this water pan has also cut almost in half the 6 mile trek Turkana men, women and children used to travel to gather water. The simple water catchment scheme has, in effect, changed the life of this pastoral community. With family members no longer needing to travel long distances in search of water, children can continue their education without interruption, and parents can tend to their herds, thereby benefiting the local economy in the long run.

The Trapezoidal Bund is another method being used in the Turkana district to trap rainwater. I saw one in the process of being built. A Trapezoidal Bund consists of long ridges (bunds) of earth constructed on a hill in the shape of a trapezoid. The rain flowing down the hill is channeled and caught by these ridges, providing water for crops.

In this case the community had planted sorghum, which is drought resistant. When I arrived the Turkana were busy finalizing one of the bunds, patting down the soil on the ridge that makes up one of the sides of the trapezoid. Apparently happy to be working and contributing to future successful crops, the workers, mainly women, turned their chore into a marching dance, all the while singing and whooping. And although the program requires that they modify their livelihoods , i.e., grow crops as well as raise livestock, the women didn't seem to mind, most likely because they know what the outcome will be: more food for their families (career change is not a feature only of the western world!).

As with the water pan, the bund enables families to stay put and keep their children in school. The bund construction is also a nice example of cooperation between government (the government of Kenya is responsible for the selection and measurement of the land and for training the community on bund construction and crop cultivation), the UN (WFP handles project management), the local NGO (in addition to training, the Kenya Child Fund organizes the community to undertake the project and ensures that project committees supervise the work) and the local community.

In training the communities, the aim is to enable them to continue this work with less external support over time. At the end of the Phase I of the project, whereby 20 bunds were constructed, the people involved divided the harvest, each receiving an amount of food equivalent to a few days consumption. Under Phase II 30 more trapezoidal bunds were constructed, and currently there are plans to build 50 more. With good maintenance, bunds can be productive for up to 10 years, which is why they fit into the category of "Asset Creation."

The humanitarian and development community's current operational focus goes well beyond simply providing food aid. It is about building resilience into programs, linking relief to development, building sustainable solutions, and ensuring cooperation between partners. It was great to see these key programmatic pieces in action in Turkana. WFP indicated that plans are to move from general food distribution to more Food-for-Assets programs in other parts of Kenya as well, and I think this is probably something the Turkana women can dance about!]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/water_pans_and_trapezoidal_bunds_kenya/ 2012-03-16T23:52:20+00:00 Dr. Michael Battle, U.S. Ambassador to the African Union, held a conversation with Steve McDonald, Africa Program Director, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars on U.S. Engagement with the African Union. The discussion was moderated by Cheryl Benton, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, and is now available for on demand viewing above or here. Videos are also available on iTunes as podcasts.

Members of the public were invited to participate by submitting questions via DipNote and Twitter, and some of those questions were selected for response during the broadcast.

Through Conversations with America, leaders of national nongovernmental organizations have the opportunity to discuss foreign policy and global issues with senior State Department officials. These conversations aim to provide candid views of the ways in which leaders from the foreign affairs community are engaging the Department on pressing foreign policy issues.

View other Conversations with America here and by accessing the Conversations with America video podcasts on iTunes.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/cwa_us_engagement_with_african_union/ 2012-03-12T14:47:55+00:00
On Saturday, February 25, I was pleased to come back to Senegal, where I had the pleasure of leading a delegation of more than 50 American observers who traveled throughout Senegal, visiting many of the more than 10,000 polling stations, to watch as Senegalese citizens exercised their democratic rights.

This was definitely an important election to observe. In Washington, I had followed developments in Senegal with interest; watching as this traditionally peaceful model of stability had begun to erupt with protests, eventually leading to more than 10 deaths. I knew that I had to come and do my part to ensure that peace continued; that Senegal's vote was free, fair, transparent, and respected; and that ordinary Senegalese citizens saw their aspirations realized.

I spent Sunday, Election Day, in Dakar and its suburbs, observing the vote at several polling stations, most located in school buildings. We crossed the schoolyards through several inches of sand, and were struck by how extremely calm and quiet everyone was. Long lines of voters in brightly colored African dress waited patiently for a chance to cast their vote. Having been prepared for potential demonstrations and a rowdy electorate, we were all surprised at the organized, well-ordered lines.

During the first stop, at Parcelles Assainies, Ambassador Lewis Luken's driver cast his vote. As the observation team watched, he picked up ballots with photos of each of the fourteen candidates; stepped behind the black curtain; placed his choice in the official envelope; tossed the remaining ballots in the trash receptacle; dropped his official ballot in the ballot box; and dipped his little finger in a bottle of pink fluorescent ink. It was a great way to kick-off our observation of this process that was being repeated across Senegal by approximately 50 percent of the country's eligible voters.

As the observation team left the polling station, a middle-aged Senegalese gentleman, followed by his three tiny children, stopped me. "Sir," he said, "thank you for coming. Enjoy your visit. May it be peaceful." As the team drove through town to visit more polling stations in the Dakar's suburbs, it was, not due to me or my colleagues but due to the spirit of the Senegalese. It was evident that despite the turbulence of the past few weeks, the intemperate rhetoric, and unfortunate violence, the people of this country have a deep and abiding respect for democracy. I certainly hope this never changes, because I am confident that Americans will always stand shoulder to shoulder with the Senegalese in defense of these most basic principles.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/observing_elections_in_senegal/ 2012-02-29T03:39:01+00:00
We know this as a result of our investments into early warning systems that monitor rainfall, harvests, market prices, climatic conditions and nutritional status.

As a result, on February 15, 2012, I attended an unprecedented event in with Rome that brought together assembled leaders from the United Nations agencies, European Union, and USAID, as well as representatives of affected governments and non-governmental organization.

It was a heartening and remarkable convergence on the need to mobilize for early integrated action in response to the early warnings in the Sahel, with an emphasis on a smart, targeted response that builds resilience and links to longer term development. We committed to working across the relief to development divide and across agencies.

Our commitment is already in action. U.S. assistance to the Sahel region supports national and regional structures that promote food security and nutrition, while also providing short-term assistance to vulnerable families. Our focus is on treatment for acute malnutrition and cash-based programs that help families, especially women, restore livelihoods and enable them to purchase what they need -- usually food or medical
services.

We are especially concerned with reaching malnourished children under two, when it is vital for them to receive the nutrients needed for proper development.

While at the event, I announced that USAID is providing an additional $33 million in humanitarian funding in the coming weeks to help meet needs in the Sahel. This contribution will bring the total USAID humanitarian assistance to the Sahel food insecurity crisis to more than $270 million in fiscal years 2011 and 2012. And our emergency assistance is in addition to U.S. longer-term programs to alleviate poverty, improve health and economic opportunity, and mitigate and resolve conflict in the region.

I left the meeting to travel to Niger and Burkina Faso in order to talk directly with local communities, partners and government officials about their perspectives on the drought as we approach the lean season in the Sahel.

Editor's Note: This entry also appears on USAID's Impact Blog.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/early_action_sahel/ 2012-02-20T13:48:14+00:00
You might think that's quite a jump. But cocoa in West Africa contributes considerably to farmer livelihoods and national economies. Collectively, this region's 2 million smallholder cocoa farmers produce approximately 70 percent of the world's supply. With a projected strong, long-term demand, cocoa has great potential to increase these farmers' incomes. To do so significantly requires improving productivity to make cocoa farming more economically attractive and environmentally sustainable.

The U.S. government is supporting precisely these efforts with Feed the Future, President Obama's global hunger and food security initiative. Through a partnership between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Cocoa Foundation and the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH), Feed the Future has embarked upon an alliance that will help alleviate poverty and increase farmer incomes in West Africa while strengthening government and regional institutions, advancing food security throughout the region.

Over its five-year lifespan, Feed the Future's Africa Cocoa Initiative (ACI) will leverage a total of $11 million in investments from its principal partners. It also includes private sector participation from key chocolate-producing companies, including ADM Cocoa, Barry Callebaut, Blommer Chocolate Company, Cargill, Continaf BV, Ferrero, Guittard Chocolate Company, The Hershey Company, Kraft Foods, Lindt & Sprungli, Nestle, Olam International Ltd., and Mars.

To create an environment where increased productivity is possible, the ACI is providing farmer productivity training, including disease and pest control, harvesting, drying, pruning and worker safety; introducing higher-yielding tree stock; and working with agro-dealer networks to improve access to fertilizer, inputs and extension support. The project also supports propagation of new clones and seed gardens adapted to West African soils. Ultimately, the ACI aims to double cocoa productivity and train 100,000 farmers.

So it's nice to keep in mind that, as you enjoy your chocolate treats today and all year long, there are long-term efforts in place to help those who made its production possible. And that's an idea we can all fall in love with.

Feed the Future is the U.S. government's global hunger and food security initiative. To learn more or to get involved, visit www.feedthefuture.gov.

Editor's Note: This entry also appears on the USAID Impact Blog.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/usaid_chocolate_production/ 2012-02-14T16:04:03+00:00 Champions of Change. These leaders are helping to build stronger neighborhoods in communities across the United States, and are working to mobilize networks across borders to address global challenges.

Prior to the event, I had the pleasure of hosting these remarkable individuals for lunch at the State Department, with support from the International diaspora Engagement Alliance (IdEA). Throughout our lunchtime conversation, I was continually struck by the passion, expertise, insight, and personal commitment of each and every Champion, who traveled from California, Ohio, Minneapolis, Boston, and elsewhere to share their stories with us.

Later, as I listened to their powerful narratives, I was once again reminded of the power of diaspora communities, and of the dynamic partnership role they must play in our diplomacy and development efforts. They truly are some of our best ambassadors and partners in diplomacy.

As Secretary Clinton has said, diaspora communities are often the "first-movers" beating institutions to local challenges -- whether via humanitarian response, or investment opportunities, or even non-traditional means of engagement such as arts or sports.

Through IdEA, we are committed to celebrating and supporting the efforts of changemakers like these outstanding individuals, who are innovating, investing, and promoting development and diplomacy in their American communities and their communities of origin.

If you missed the event live stream, I encourage you to watch the video, and to read the biographies and blog posts highlighting these extraordinary individuals.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/american_diaspora_leaders_horn_of_africa/ 2012-02-03T23:10:51+00:00 More: Interactive Travel Map | Photos

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled to Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, Togo, and Cape Verde on January 16-17, 2012, to demonstrate U.S. commitment to post-conflict return to peace, good governance, and economic development as well as to emphasize U.S. focus on democratization.

In Liberia, Secretary Clinton attended President Sirleaf's inauguration and presided over the in-house dedication of the new U.S. embassy compound to demonstrate America's commitment to an enduring friendship with the people of Liberia, as well as the importance of our bilateral relationship with the Liberian Government. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Secretary Clinton was joined by U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Liberia Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and Liberian Foreign Affairs Minister Toga Gayewea McIntosh, among others. Secretary Clinton said, "This new compound is a testament to the work you do, and it is a symbol of America(tm)s lasting commitment to our partners today. We are committed to standing with the people of Liberia as you, as they, continue their important journey, reconciling political and ethnic differences, strengthening democracy, bringing prosperity and opportunity to people, particularly young people."

While in Cote d'Ivoire, Secretary Clinton met with Ivoirian President Alassane Ouattara to express admiration for the progress that your country is making -- a steady and hopeful return to peace and security, reconciliation among all the people of the nation, as well as economic and social development. Secretary Clinton said, "I am inspired by how quickly not only the government but the people have moved from the violence and conflict of last spring to successful legislative elections in December and to a commitment that is in the air to build a better future for all Ivoirians and particularly for the next generation." In Abidjan, Secretary Clinton also participated in a Youth and Community Leaders Reconciliation Roundtable.

In the first visit of a Secretary of State to Togo, Secretary Clinton met President Faure to demonstrate U.S. support for Togo's democratic progress and economic reforms and to congratulate Togo on its recent election to the United Nations Security Council, where it holds a non-permanent seat for 2012 and 2013.

In Cape Verde, Secretary Clinton met Prime Minister Neves to discuss cooperation on regional issues like counternarcotics, good governance, sound economic policies, and Cape Verde's second Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact.

You can read more about the Secretary's travel on www.state.gov.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/travel_diary_democratization_in_africa/ 2012-01-17T19:48:18+00:00 More: Trip Page | Background Briefing

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will travel to Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, Togo, and Cape Verde on January 16-17, 2012, to demonstrate U.S. commitment to post-conflict return to peace, good governance, and economic development as well as to emphasize U.S. focus on democratization.

While in Liberia, Secretary Clinton will attend President Sirleaf's inauguration and preside over the ribbon-cutting of the New U.S. Embassy Compound in Monrovia. In Cote d'Ivoire, she will meet with President Ouattara to showcase our support for national reconciliation and strengthening democratic institutions following successful legislative elections in December 2011. In the first visit of a Secretary of State to Togo, Secretary Clinton will meet President Faure to demonstrate U.S. support for Togo's democratic progress and economic reforms and to congratulate Togo on its recent election to the United Nations Security Council, where it holds a non-permanent seat for 2012 and 2013. In Cape Verde, Secretary Clinton will meet Prime Minister Neves to discuss cooperation on regional issues like counternarcotics, good governance, sound economic policies, and Cape Verde's second Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact.

You can follow the Secretary's travel on www.state.gov.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/clinton_liberia_cote_divoire_togo_cape_verde/ 2012-01-16T12:29:10+00:00 and solutions that touch on food insecurity. I usually find a somewhat despairing situation.

Recently, after travelling on the bumpy to non-existent "roads" of South Sudan, I came away impressed -- impressed with the hopeful vision of a country that has enormous potential to move quickly into a state of relative food self sufficiency, perhaps within less than a generation.

And the women of South Sudan are playing a big part in the country's drive towards recovery. According to Ofeni Ngota Amitai, the minister of agriculture for Morobo county, women are critical to helping the country move away from humanitarian interventions towards a more balanced foundation of recovery. While on my field visit to the Eastern and Central Equatoria states, I witnessed the collective efforts of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP), both of whom receive valuable financial support from USAID, to support the Republic of South Sudan's endeavors to tackle food insecurity through a wide range of recovery activities.

South Sudan remains a major recipient of food aid, much of it supplied by the U.S. government through the World Food Programme. The food security outlook for 2012 is worrisome for the 1.2 million people of South Sudan, a new country comprised of 10 states, with a wide range of agro-climatic conditions and a population that includes traditional farmers and agro-pastoralists (farmers who also raise livestock).

Livestock is key to the livelihoods of millions of South Sudanese, so keeping animals healthy to ensure availability of meat and milk products but also cash from the sale of cattle is a major concern of local officials with whom I spoke. Unfortunately, disease outbreaks are common and with very limited government capacity to handle such cases, treatment has been hard to come by.

With support from FAO, however, South Sudanese agro-pastoralists are being given initial supplies of vaccines and are being trained to vaccinate livestock. People will pay to have their animals vaccinated, so cost recovery is introduced to ensure vaccinators can replenish their supplies. I watched a group of semi-nomadic agro-pastoralists, including women herders in one cattle camp I visited in Torit, successfully vaccinate over 100 long-horn cattle in just one hour. And as one woman vaccinator walked me through her village, she explained how she was putting her three children through the local school "in town" with the increased income she had from selling healthy cattle.

Elsewhere, in Yei and Morobo in Central Equatoria, women were hand threshing just-harvested sorghum and pearl millet grown from seeds they had received as participants in an FAO-sponsored community-based Seed Production and Supply activity. This activity is implemented by the Kogbo Multipurpose Farmer Group and Equatoria Farmer Extension Advisory Association in collaboration with the Morobo Agriculture Department. Since Yei and Morobo are part of South Sudan's "green belt," improved availability and access to quality seeds is key to helping increase local production, thereby reducing dependence on imports from northern Uganda.

Everywhere I went I heard the same refrain from South Sudanese...we want to reduce our reliance on humanitarian assistance as we have the land and ability to produce enough ourselves. Farmers want to move away from subsistence to commercial farming and need assistance in getting increased production to the markets of South Sudan. With support from their partners at FAO and WFP and commitment from their government, the South Sudanese are on a good path, despite the many obstacles, towards their goal of becoming food self-sufficient.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/south_sudan_women_food_insecurity/ 2012-01-13T13:37:25+00:00
The U.S. government, through the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), is proud to partner with Rwanda's Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs, UNHCR Rwanda, the World Food Program (WFP), and ARC to support protection and assistance for refugees in Rwanda. Aside from its contributions through UNHCR, PRM has been providing significant direct funding (in FY11 the grant was $ 1.7 million) to ARC to facilitate the provision of water, hygiene, and construction services in Gihembe, Nyabiheke, and Kiziba refugee camps, as well as gender-based violence prevention and response, and health and nutrition services in Gihembe and Nyabiheke camps. The United States, through USAID's Food for Peace Program, is also a major contributor of food aid to WFP to ensure the adequate supply of food rations to refugees in Rwanda, and PRM made a cash contribution in 2011 to help rectify food pipeline breaks. Through a PRM Julia Taft Fund project via U.S. Embassy Kigali, funding was also provided to ARC to implement a poultry raising income generation project for widows and other vulnerable refugees in Gihembe Camp.

PRM looks forward to continued partnerships in 2012 and significant financial support in all three camps. During several PRM monitoring visits to Rwanda's refugee camps in 2011, certain pressing needs, such as improving the camp's water pumping station and dealing with the rapidly deepening ravines caused by erosion of the hillside, were highlighted and we look forward to working with the Rwandan government, UNHCR, ARC, and other partners to address these needs in 2012.

Finally, an exciting technology that we have been discussing with UNHCR and ARC involves the introduction of low cost "solar light" bulbs crafted from empty plastic soda bottles inserted into iron sheeted roofs. On any clear day, these solar light bulbs, which cost only a few dollars each to create, refract natural light and channel the equivalent of 55 watts of electrical light into a school, health center, or residential structure. ARC intends to initiate a pilot project to install these solar bulbs in the larger structures in Kiziba refugee camp that we hope will provide low-cost illumination for school children, doctors, and patients. Our continued support to these camps in Rwanda helps improve the lives of refugees until a durable solution to their displacement can be found.

You can follow the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration on Facebook.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/congolese_refugees_rwanda/ 2012-01-11T16:04:44+00:00