About the Author: Hannah Johnson serves as DipNote's Assistant Editor.
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 »
Held on-site at the Stanford Graduate School of Business in Palo Alto, California, the three-day conference energized the global discussion about connection technologies and how they can foster the global sustainable development agenda. The interactive event also explored the issues… more »
About the Author: Robert S. Ford serves as U.S. Ambassador to Syria.
Editor's Note: This entry appeared first on the U.S. Embassy Syria Facebook page. You can find additional satellite imagery of Syrian military movements here.
First, like people around the world, my colleagues and friends are watching the video coming out of Homs and some of the other Syrian cities in the last days with horror and revulsion. I hear the devastating stories about newborns in Homs dying in hospitals where electricity has been cut and when we see disturbing photos offering proof that the regime is using mortars and artillery against residential neighborhoods,… more »
About the Author: Barbara Shailor serves as Special Representative for International Labor Affairs.
Recent events at the start of 2012 offer a glimpse of the struggles that lay ahead, both in the United States and abroad. From the Occupy Wall Street movement, to young people airing their grievances throughout the Middle East and beyond, all these events are indicative of a larger and more fundamental issue. The issue is one that President Obama framed for Americans clearly in his State of the Union Address:
"The basic American promise that if you worked hard, you could do well enough to raise a family, own a home, send your kids to college, and put a little away for retirement...[is] the defining issue of our time...how to keep the promise alive... No challenge is more urgent. No debate is more important...we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair… more »
About the Authors: Maura O'Neill serves as Chief Innovation Officer at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and Dr. Alex Dehgan serves as the Science and Technology Adviser to the USAID Administrator.
We are proud to announce the Higher Education Solutions Network Request for Applications (RFA), which invites higher education institutions to compete to join USAID as new strategic, long-term partners to have a greater impact on development through creative partnerships. From USAID's start 50 years ago, partnering with universities and research organizations has been part of the Agency's vision. Over the years we have worked with partners on sector-specific projects, but today we are pursuing an unprecedented relationship with… 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.
I am a proud citizen and i respect the people's sense of moral responsibility on this matter. but i fear it is way to ethnocentric for direct backing from…
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Spokesperson Nuland (Feb. 14): "We remain deeply concerned about multiple allegations of human rights abuses by security forces, including illegal and arbitrary detentions throughout the electoral process." more »
![Women in Ethiopia collect clean drinking water at a local well. [USAID/Morgana Wingard]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0210_ethiopia_water_m.jpg)
![Satellite image taken of Syria on February 6, 2012. [Copyright Digital Globe]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0210_syria_homs_m.jpg)
![A young boy on a garbage heap in Mumbai, India, Oct. 3, 2011. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0209_inequality_generation_m.jpg)
![University of Wisconsin Superior students practice counting rotifer cysts, eggs of an invasive freshwater zooplankton on June 9, 2009, in the wet lab of UWS' Lake Superior Research Institute. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0209_usaid_universities_m.jpg)
