[Remarks As Prepared]
Thank you all for being here today to launch the Economic Prosperity Initiative. I am pleased to be joined by the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Agriculture, U.S. Ambassador John Bass, and our USAID Acting Mission Director, Joakim Parker.
It's really wonderful to have you here at the National Press Club this morning for the first meeting in 2011 of the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid. We are thrilled that you could all join us... This morning we are going to have the opportunity to talk with you about a number of the reform initiatives that are currently ongoing under Dr. Shah's initiative. We really hope that this will be more than anything a dialogue with you. And hopefully, some of the comments that are made will cause you to think about questions you have. And clarifications you hope to obtain in the course of the morning.
[Remarks As Prepared]
MS. FULTON: Good afternoon, everybody. Thank you for joining us for our special press briefing today. We have with us Mark Bartolini, who is the director of the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance at USAID, and Reuben Brigety, who is a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. They're going to talk to you today about the current ongoing humanitarian assistance efforts pertaining to Libya.
It is my pleasure to join you today at this respected university, which is such an important part of Sudan's intellectual community. This is my third visit to Ahfad University, and I am always impressed, inspired and humbled by the dedication, wisdom and imagination of the scholars and students I meet here.
(en Español; no English translation was provided)
It is an honor to take part in the signing of this MOU between the U.S. Government and the World Bank, pledging us to work hand-in-hand in the water sector.
MR. TONER: Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the State Department. It's our good fortune today to have with Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees, and Migration, Eric Schwartz and the U.S. Agency for International Development, Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance Nancy Lindborg. They've just returned from a weeklong trip to Tunisia and Egypt and are here to brief you on U.S. assistance efforts to address the humanitarian situation resulting from the crisis in Libya.
As part of a government-wide effort, USAID is currently providing more support to address the illiteracy, poor health, extreme poverty, and political exclusion that still bedevil the lives of Afghan women than at any time in our agency's history. We have more than doubled spending on women and girls since 2008 to over $200 million, created and fully staffed a new gender unit in 2010, and required all programs to integrate gender in their project design and evaluation.
Comment
Make a general inquiry or suggest an improvement.