A new Women’s Livelihood Bond will enable over half a million Southeast Asian women to access credit to improve their livelihoods. As the world's first bond that focuses on both financial and social returns, the Women's Livelihood Bond is backed by a loan guarantee from the U.S Agency for International Development's (USAID), in partnership with Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The bond, structured and managed by Impact Investment Exchange Asia (IIX), launched in September 2016.
Although substantial gains have been made in improving access to clean drinking water and sanitation facilities, Malawi still faces health issues in terms of water, sanitation, and hygiene. Poor practices surrounding transportation and storage of the water make waterborne illnesses, including cholera, common occurrences in Malawi.
Malaria is endemic in 95 percent of the country, with 98 percent of cases caused by the most severe form of the parasite. As a result, malaria is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children under five in Malawi, and the Ministry of Health (MoH) estimates that malaria accounts for 34 percent of all outpatient visits and 40 percent of all hospital admissions among children under five. Overall, one out of every four hospital deaths is attributed to malaria.
Over the last two decades, Malawi has made gains in most health indicators and it is one of only a few countries to have achieved Millennium Development Goal 4 for child survival ahead of the target year.
Recent national and regional literacy tests have shown that Malawian students rank among the lowest in the sub-Saharan African region. In fact, in Malawi, 83% of Standard 1 students cannot read a single syllable and 92% cannot read a single word. Additionally, Standard 3 students on average can only read 11 words per minute and 67% cannot identify the first sound, or phoneme, in a word. This poses a major development challenge.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Engineering Support Program (ESP) provides architectural, engineering and construction management services for infrastructure projects related to energy, transportation, drinking water, sanitation, health, education, and agriculture.
Through increased dialogue and engagement in recent years, the United States and Laos have worked to overcome a painful historical legacy to forge a new partnership based on cooperation and mutual respect. Through the newly-established Comprehensive Partnership, the United States and Laos are opening a new era of bilateral relations based on common interests as well as a shared desire to heal the wounds of the past and build a foundation for the future.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) supports Libya’s transition to a democratic and peaceful nation. USAID works with civil society, municipal councils, national government, entrepreneurs, and a range of civil society groups, including those representing women and marginalized communities, in their efforts to improve Libyan lives. These partnerships help improve citizen confidence in Libya’s government, both national and local, and support the ongoing democratic transition.
The Congo Basin is the world’s second largest contiguous rainforest. It is unequalled in its biodiversity, with a rich array of wildlife often found nowhere else in the world. It is also the second largest global “sink” for carbon, the most important gas implicated in global warming.
The Congo Basin is the world’s second largest contiguous rainforest. It is unequalled in its biodiversity, with a rich array of wildlife often found nowhere else in the world. It is also the second largest global “sink” for carbon, the most important gas implicated in global warming.The forests are also an important source of food, materials and medicine for more than 80 million people who live in the region. The lack of economic alternatives for the local inhabitants and the expected doubling of the population in Central Africa over the next 20 years are increasing pressures to clear forests.
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