Posted by Gaddi Vasquez on Apr 07, 2008 - 01:33 PM
Today our group visited programs that generate hope and income for people in southwestern Bangladesh. In Khulna, we observed an avian influenza outbreak management training workshop for local veterinarians and health workers. As you can tell by the picture, one Bangladeshi reporter and I tested a few chickens ourselves and found out that it is as hot as an oven in the protective gear.
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Posted by Gaddi Vasquez on Apr 03, 2008 - 09:27 AM
![USAID-supported theatrical group Rupantar perform song and dance against corruption. [State Dept.]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/UNGA/field/2008_0401_vasquez2_bh_m.jpg)
We loaded into four-wheel drive vehicles early this morning for a ride through Cyclone Sidr-affected rice fields and across many streams and rivers to the village of Morelganj. Today we witnessed the access to food and the access to education for a community struggling to get back on its feet. I talked with men waiting in line to receive food baskets from WFP, a group of elderly women still emotional…
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Posted by Gaddi Vasquez on Apr 01, 2008 - 12:09 PM
![Ambassador Vasquez (left) and AID Director learn about biscuits in Bangladesh. [State Dept.]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/UNGA/field/2008_0401_vasquez_bh_m.jpg)
Rice made the headlines across Asia as I arrived in Bangladesh over the weekend. Not Secretary of State Rice that is, but the staple food. The rising price of rice is setting off alarms. Everyone is talking about food. Perfect timing for me to stop here for a few days and take a look at the work of the United Nations food and agriculture agencies. A group of journalists from Morocco, Italy, India,…
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Posted by Mark Lagon on Apr 01, 2008 - 11:55 AM
![Ambassador Lagon Visits BICE School in Cote d’Ivoire. [State Dept. photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/UNGA/field/2008_0401_trafficking_bh_m.jpg)
Every day, all over the world, people are coerced into bonded labor, exploited in domestic servitude, and enslaved in agricultural work and in factories. The majority of transnational victims are females trafficked into prostitution.
We estimate that approximately 800,000 people are trafficked internationally each year; millions more are enslaved in their own countries. Approximately eighty percent are women and girls, and up to half are minors.
In 2000, the U.S. Congress passed, and the President signed, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), which created the office I now head. This legislation legally defines ‘severe forms of human trafficking in persons' as involving…
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