Emerging Africa: Unleashing Africa’s Innovation Potential

Posted by Kris Balderston / May 10, 2012

In this photo taken, Nov. 8, 2011, a woman poses with her Blackberry mobile phone in Johannesburg. The woman says she cherishes her phone as a link to family and friends, and also sees it as a radio, a library, a mini cinema, a bank teller, and more. [AP File Photo]

In the last week, I've travelled from Johannesburg to Cape Town to Addis Ababa. Along the way, I've been struck over and over again by the ingenuity, entrepreneurship, and innovation of the people I have met -- from townships to capital cities, from villages to major metropolises. Innovation parks are taking a place next to factories, investment banks next to mobile phone banking kiosks, and internet startups next to mom-and-pop store fronts. As I touched down in Ethiopia for the 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… more »

Posted under: Africa

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Photo of the Week: Innovation and Global Development

Posted by Hannah Johnson / February 10, 2012

Women in Ethiopia collect clean drinking water at a local well. [USAID/Morgana Wingard]

Our "Photo of the Week" comes to us from USAID photographer Morgana Wingard and depicts women collecting clean drinking water. Abebow Gesesse, the owner of a poultry farm in Mojo, Ethiopia, received a loan from Dashen Bank thanks to a USAID guarantee through their Development Credit Authority program. The loan allowed him to buy his own truck, construct an additional barn, and build a well and water pump for his farm. Abebow invited the 200 households in his town to access the water at no cost. One of the women said, "Before we had access to this water pump we would have to walk 6 kilometers to be able to purchase clean water. Abebow lets the community access his… more »

Posted under: Photo of the Week

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U.S. Supports Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation

Posted by Melanne Verveer and David M. Robinson / February 06, 2012

A Masai girl holds a protest sign during the anti-Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) run in Kilgoris, Kenya, in 2007. [AP File Photo]

Today, on the Ninth Annual International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation, we stand in solidarity with men and women who are working to address and prevent this practice that takes place in many countries around the world. Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) occurs across cultures and religions, although no religion mandates the procedure. It is a practice rooted in beliefs about the “dangers” of women's sexuality, and involves a rite of passage into adulthood that has extremely detrimental consequences on the health and overall well-being of women and girls subjected to it.

It is estimated that 100 to 140 million women globally have undergone this procedure and three million girls are at risk every year. Cutting is often performed by untrained practitioners, employing no anesthesia and often using such instruments as broken glass,… more »

Posted under: Policy

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Ambassador Cousin To Lead World Food Programme

Posted by Jonathan Shrier / January 20, 2012

Amb. Cousin walks through a marketplace in Bangladesh, Sept. 29, 2010. [Public Domain]

We congratulate Ambassador Ertharin Cousin on her appointment this week as the next Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP). We look forward to continuing our strong relationship with WFP and the other the UN food agencies based in Rome. The WFP has a long and illustrious history of responding to the world's most pressing food and hunger crises, and under the energetic leadership of Ambassador Cousin, we are confident that it will continue its remarkable work as a leader of global efforts to eradicate hunger.

As the Ambassador to the UN food agencies in Rome, Ambassador Cousin has already worked closely with WFP, FAO, IFAD and other Rome-based international organizations and diplomatic missions to ensure… more »

Posted under: Behind the Scenes

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Ensuring Food Security Remains a High-Level Priority

Posted by Jonathan Shrier / January 10, 2012

Indian women harvest rice in a field at Raja Panichanda village, on the outskirts of Gauhati, India, on November 4, 2011. [AP File Photo]

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 »

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