WASHINGTON, D.C. - Acting Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Ambassador Alfonso Lenhardt, will travel to New York to participate in the 70th UN General Assembly from September 26-29. This year's gathering is especially important as the UN will host the Sustainable Development Summit,September 25-27, where world leaders will adopt a new set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will stimulate action for the next 15 years.  

On September 27th, USAID will host world leaders and the international community for a Signature Event on "Ending Extreme Poverty and Achieving the SDGs through Partnership". The event will include a "call to action" for doers, entrepreneurs and inventors to join the fight against extreme poverty through our Development Innovation Ventures (DIV). Ambassador Lenhardt will deliver opening remarks. Other speakers include Unilever CEO Paul Polman, Australia Minister of Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop, and United Kingdom Secretary of State for International Development Justine Greening.

While in New York, Ambassador Lenhardt will participate in a host of events;

• A meeting of global health leaders chaired by World Bank President Jim Kim and World Health Organization Director-General Margaret Chan;
• United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Dialogue 5: Building Effective, Accountable, and Inclusive Institutions;
• A meeting on the humanitarian crisis in Yemen hosted by the United Kingdom Department for International Development;
• Innovation in a Post-2015 World: How New Approaches to Development can unleash the Power of Human Enterprise, an event hosted by the Rockefeller Foundation, USAID, and other development agencies and organizations;
• A breakfast on education in emergencies hosted by the Global Business Coalition for Education; and
• An event focusing on countering violent extremism organized by USAID and partners at the United Nations.

In addition, Ambassador Lenhardt will also host a series of bilateral meetings with government and business leaders.

Members of the media interested in attending the USAID Signature Event should contact the USAID Press Office at (202) 712-4320 or USAIDPressOfficers@usaid.gov