About the Author: Jeffrey Feltman serves as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs.
When I served as Political-Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Tunisia in the late 1990s, noisy and crowded diplomatic events -- dinners, receptions, national day parties -- were the best place to meet with Tunisians who assumed that President Ben Ali's mukhabarat had bugged all offices. They believed the safety of the noise and crowds at diplomatic events protected candid conversations. But sometimes, even diplomatic receptions didn't work out as planned: one night, my wife and I hosted a reception at our residence in Gammarth, where a large number of human rights and civil society activists showed up, probably to the horror of the few Tunisian government officials who dared attend. At the end of the reception, the mukhabarat arrested a number of guests whom we had gathered in one location, inadvertently facilitating a crackdown.
About the Author: Greg Shaw serves as Regional Refugee Coordinator for the Great Lakes in the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.
As one makes the final approach into Kiziba Refugee Camp, located at more than 2,000 meters above sea level in the verdant hills above Kibuye town in western Rwanda, you are treated to spectacular views of the shimmering waters of Lake Kivu several hundred meters below. The camp, home to 18,950 registered refugees who fled fighting in the eastern portion of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is divided into 10 neighborhoods, each divided into five villages which include approximately 70 houses. Refugees live in detached family houses of 4.5 x 3.5m built with wooden poles with the sides covered with mud and the roofs made from plastic sheeting. Kiziba is well managed by the Government of Rwanda (GoR) with technical and financial assistance from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and several non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including the American Refugee Committee (ARC). ARC has embarked… more »
About the Author: Ambassador Eric Goosby serves as the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator.
Frontline health workers are an essential component of health systems worldwide -- without them, there is no access to care for people living with HIV or anyone else. Yet in 2012, the World Health Organization estimates a shortage of at least one million frontline health workers worldwide, with Africa the region in greatest need. PEPFAR, in collaboration with partner countries, is pursuing a number of initiatives to respond.
Our efforts are being reinforced by many actors around the globe. A growing number of health organizations, recognizing the life-saving impact frontline health workers offer, are committed to employing innovative strategies to address the crisis. Tomorrow, 37 of these organizations from the public… more »
About the Author: Esperanza Tilghman serves as Assistant Cultural Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.
On December 20, the U.S. Embassy Kabul's Public Affairs Section completed a 10-day outreach and engagement program with prominent Muslim-American businesswoman and magazine owner, Ms. Tayyibah Taylor, on the theme of entrepreneurship. During this period, the program reached nearly 500 Afghan men and women -- in face-to-face engagements with audiences that ranged from uneducated merchants and artisans, university students and emerging entrepreneurs, to sophisticated, urban businesswomen, civil society organizations, community leaders, and provincial council members.
Ms. Taylor traveled to four provinces in support of this program: Kabul; Kapisa in the north; Nangarhar in the east; and Kandahar in the south. Ms. Taylor's program underscores the State Department's objectives of expanding women's economic empowerment, particularly in South Central Asia, where Ambassador… more »
About the Author: Jonathan Shrier serves as Special Representative for Global Food Security (Acting).
2011 saw many changes for the Secretary's Office of Global Food Security and several advances in our international agenda. I joined the growing team in June, and am proud of our progress over the year. I eagerly anticipate more accomplishments as we take the reins of the L'Aquila Food Security Initiative (AFSI) group and through U.S. leadership of the G-8 in 2012.
AFSI signatories' endorsement of the L'Aquila Joint Statement on Global Food Security at the 2009 G-8 Summit marked a turning point for international efforts to achieve sustainable global food security. Under the Joint Statement, the United States and other donors agreed to be accountable for delivering a comprehensive approach to improving food security, which entails effective coordination, support for country-owned processes and plans, and engagement of multilateral institutions to promote food security… more »
DipNote is the official blog of the U.S. Department of State —a place to share stories, discuss experiences, and inspire new ideas on the important foreign policy issues of the day. more »
Across the eastern Horn of Africa, more than 11 million people -- a number greater than the populations of Houston and New York City combined -- are now in need of emergency assistance to survive. Learn more about the current crisis, including how you can help.
Dear Mr. Ford, Thank you for your support to the Syrian people. As you well know, the Asad regime is intent on using all means of violence, including…
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Spokesperson Nuland (Feb. 10): "We will have more of this declassified U.S. national available both on Robert's site in coming days but also on our new site www.stateondemand.com, where news organizations can find all of our content to pull down around the world. more »
Secretary Clinton (Feb. 9): "I want to underscore how confident we are in Italy, in Italy's future, in the extraordinary commitment that Prime Minister Monti and his government are bringing to the challenges confronting the Italian people..." more »
![Children play in a narrow alley in Tunis, Tunisia, March 14, 2011. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0112_children_tunisia_m.jpg)
![Democratic Republic of Congo refugees at Kiziba camp volunteer their time to beautify the common area in their neighborhood, November 2011. [State Department photo by Greg Shaw/Public Domain]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0109_drc_refugees_m.jpg)
![Nurse takes blood samples to be sent away for testing in Pretoria, South Africa, Aug. 15, 2005. [AP]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2010_0527_saving_lives_m.jpg)
![Indian women harvest rice in a field at Raja Panichanda village, on the outskirts of Gauhati, India, on November 4, 2011. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0110_rice_women_m.jpg)
