September 27, 2012, could be the day that forever changed the lives of a group of teenagers from the low-income township of Chitungwiza (population one million) outside of Harare. I hope that date does prove fateful. I'll know it was auspicious if I see Zimbabwean names on the list of the 2017 Berkeley graduating class. If the names are there, I can say I saw the students get their first taste of northern California in a cramped, hot classroom off a dusty road near some of Zimbabwe's stunning balancing rocks and minibus taxi ranks.
At 9:00 a.m. on the 27th, I stood before 250 of the best students from five Chitungwiza public high schools. Next to me was Lin Larson, Senior International Specialist in the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) Undergraduate Admissions Office. It was Lin's first visit to Africa, and Zimbabwe was the last stop on her four-country… more »
This week, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and officials from the State Department and other U.S. government agencies are attending meetings at the 67th meeting of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
On Wednesday, September 26, Secretary Clinton and senior U.S. government officials participated in the UNAIDS Shared Responsibility event; the UN Secretary-General Meeting on the Sahel; and the UN Secretary-General Meeting on Somalia. Secretary Clinton represented the United States at the UN Security Council Session on Middle East Peace and Security and continued to hold bilateral meetings throughout the day. A list of Secretary Clinton's meetings can be found on the Department of State's public schedule.
Watch the above video to hear USAID Administrator… more »
Today at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, Secretary Clinton spoke of the shared responsibility of the world to defeat HIV/AIDS. At an event organized by African Union President Yayi of Benin, she highlighted growing African leadership against the disease -- an encouraging development as we pursue the goal of an AIDS-free generation.
Secretary Clinton saluted African countries that are leading the way in meeting this shared responsibility. Some examples:
· Namibia now funds 50 percent of its national AIDS response, and is paying and overseeing a growing number of health workers formerly supported by the United States through our PEPFAR program.
· Under the Partnership Framework Implementation Plan it recently signed with the United… more »
In May 2012, we answered a few of the most common questions about the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in the blog post Five Questions about the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition. This blog post follows with additional answers to other common questions about the New Alliance and progress.
1. What has happened with the New Alliance since the G8 announced it at the Camp David Summit in May 2012?
Frequently we can learn a lot from seeing what other nations are doing to improve the lives of their citizens. I did, on a recent visit to Namibia.
Namibia has pioneered significant innovations in community engagement designed to protect its spectacular natural resources -- particularly its wildlife -- and provide a new source of income for its people. Its practices also give its people an opportunity to became more engaged in the decisions that affect their lives and their communities.
During my visit to Namibia, I met with the leaders of the King Nehale Conservancy, bordering on the magnificent Etosha National Park, to learn how Namibia's system of conservancies is benefiting local community members and encouraging those same members to play a greater role in both the management of wildlife and the development of sustainable tourism enterprises. These… more »
Ambassador Johnnie Carson, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs, will hold a conversation with Jennifer Cooke, Director of the Africa Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies, and John Norris, Executive Director of the Sustainable Security and Peacebuilding Initiative, Center for American Progress, on "Building Americans' Engagement with Sub-Saharan Africa." The discussion will be moderated by Cheryl Benton, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, and will be available… more »
I have just returned from a thought-provoking visit to Niger, one of the largest countries in the Sahel -- a region of Africa where close to 19 million people are at risk of severe food shortages.
Before I flew to Niger, I had expected the trip would leave me feeling depressed and hopeless. More than 3 million people in the country do not have access to sufficient food, and suffer -- especially the children -- from moderate to severe malnutrition. And for Niger, this is nothing new. For the third time in a decade, Niger is reeling from the repercussions of massive drought, this time compounded by high food and fuel costs, locust infestations, and conflict in bordering Mali.
But despite those dire statistics, I saw a more hopeful picture when I toured the country. Indeed, by the time I left Niger, I was filled with optimism and confidence in the multilateral… more »
Summer is a serious, hard-working time of year in southern Africa. Chilly mornings and bright, clear days define this hemisphere's winter months when school is in session and young minds are focused. That made it a perfect time for U.S. Embassy Harare and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to bring five American writers from the University of Iowa's prestigious International Writing Program to workshop and discuss the power of books with Zimbabwean youth.
The writers, representing a wide variety of literary styles, including poetry, journalism, novels, and short stories, started their program by speaking about their craft and inspirations at writing workshops and literary readings in the capital of Harare. To liven up one evening, they turned a reception at the Deputy… more »
In Kenya, a group of young women are working collaboratively to put to use their knowledge of food and nutrition. The group is turning a profit while feeding themselves and their children by cultivating a shared urban farm in Mombasa.
The young mothers who make up the group knew from the staff at the local health clinic that consuming vegetables and legumes would improve their health and that of their infants. These foods, along with fruits, nuts, fish, dairy products, and whole grains are all excellent sources of key nutrients for breastfeeding mothers.
"You must eat nutritious foods if you want your child to have enough milk, the doctor would always say," says Mary Were.
However, like so many young urban Kenyans, Mary and these mothers lacked both the money to purchase such nutritious foods and the land to grow it themselves.
August 12 is International Youth Day, and this year's theme is "Building a Better World by Partnering with Youth." As an intern with USAID's Outreach Program in Ethiopia, I recently spent a week working with 560 young people between ages 13 and 20 doing just that. I helped the U.S. Embassy's Cultural Affairs Team run a weeklong soccer camp co-sponsored by Sports United and featuring two sports envoys from Major League Soccer: Tony Sanneh and Kate Markgraf.
Thank you, Jonathan, for this insightful post on World Food Day and the importance of strengthening our efforts as an international community to end world hunger…
more »
Spokesperson Nuland (Oct. 17): "Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Michael Posner, led a 22-member interagency delegation from the U.S. to discuss the full range of human rights issues affecting the country." more »
Oct. 16: Judith Heumann, Special Advisor for International Disability Rights, held a conversation with Ann Cody, Director of Policy and Global Outreach, BlazeSports; and Kirk Bauer, Executive Director of Disabled Sports USA. more »
![Lin Larson, center, of UC Berkeley, the Deputy School Director at Zengeza High School, and U.S. Embassy Harare Public Affairs Officer Sharon Hudson Dean discuss a scholarship program in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe, September 27, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](https://cybercemetery.unt.edu/archive/oilspill/20121018234537im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_1009_zimbabwe_education_m.jpg)
![U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers remarks at the UNAIDS Shared Responsibility Event at the United Nations in New York, New York on September 26, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](https://cybercemetery.unt.edu/archive/oilspill/20121018234537im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0926_clinton_unaids_m.jpg)
![Women and children pick green beans at the Dodicha Vegetable Cooperative in Ethiopia. The beans will be sold to a local exporter, who will sell them to supermarkets in Europe. [USAID photo by K. Stefanova/ Used by Permission]](https://cybercemetery.unt.edu/archive/oilspill/20121018234537im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0927_feedthefutureprogram_m.jpg)
![Zebras, as seen on Under Secretary of State Robert Hormats' travel to Namibia [State Department photo]](https://cybercemetery.unt.edu/archive/oilspill/20121018234537im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0920_zebras_hormats_m.jpg)
![Ambassador David Lane visits the a dry land farming and seed distribution site in Tolkobeye Niger, August 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](https://cybercemetery.unt.edu/archive/oilspill/20121018234537im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0905_lane_usunrome_m.jpg)
![Iowa Writers hold a workshop at the Chiedza Childcare Center in a township of Harare, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](https://cybercemetery.unt.edu/archive/oilspill/20121018234537im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0830_zimbabwe_workshop_m.jpg)
![Balcony gardening, done on a health clinic compound, provides urban young mothers the opportunity to grow nutrious vegetables and beans in Mombasa, Kenya, 2012. [USAID photo]](https://cybercemetery.unt.edu/archive/oilspill/20121018234537im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0827_usaid_kenya_women_m.jpg)
