Topic: U.S. Agency for International Development

Featured

Opinion 4 ways to prevent natural disasters from becoming human tragedies

The catastrophic impact of climate change – especially on the developing world – is not inevitable. Here are four cutting-edge tools to anticipate and minimize the damage from natural disasters.

All Content

Did West ignore rape charges related to Ethiopia land grab?

USAID officials are accused of ignoring reports of profound human rights abuses by Ethiopia, a strategic ally in the Horn of Africa. They deny it.
Obama's big Africa push: Let there be light (+video)

President Obama pledged loan guarantees to help expand electrification in sub-Saharan Africa.
Opinion US intervention in Syria must be legitimate in eyes of international law (+video)

Israeli air strikes on Damascus and the conflicting reports on the use of chemical weapons (sarin gas) may complicate President Obama's decision on intervention in Syria. The US must consider the international laws of war before taking any action.
Change Agent Protecting land rights using Wikipedia-style maps

Building data bases of land ownership, Wikipedia-style, would be a cheap and easy way for poor, rural communities to compile a record of property rights and land use, reducing corruption and helping to lessen illegal land grabs.
Bolivia's Evo Morales says 'adiós' to USAID

Morales has made other important policy announcements on May Day in the past, like nationalizing Bolivia's oil and gas industry. This is not the first time tensions have run high with the US.
Difference Maker Paul Giniès turned a failing African university into a world-class problem-solver

Today 2iE is recognized as a 'center of excellence' producing top-notch home-grown African engineers ready to address the continent's problems.
Backchannels With aid to Afghanistan, past performance is a predictor of future returns

A lot of aid to Afghanistan has been squandered. The latest project indicates that the US still doesn't seem to understand the country's basic needs.
With Chávez gone, what do his young opponents want now? (+video)

A vibrant youth movement played a major role in Venezuela's beleaguered opposition during the rule of Hugo Chávez.
Opinion Advice for Secretary Kerry on International Women's Day

As he marks his first International Women's Day as America's secretary of State, here are three areas where John Kerry can advance Hillary Rodham Clinton's work over the past four years on behalf of women and girls.
USAID to put $300 million into women's rights in Afghanistan

Can aid agencies and other foreign actors, even with $300 million, truly influence attitudes in a society that has so long treated women as second-class citizens?
Global News Blog Attack highlights how a corner of Afghanistan is falling apart

The ambush and killing of 16 Afghan soldiers last weekend is one of the worst setbacks for the country's military in years.
Ethiopia makes help difficult for world donors advocating civil society, rights

A well-known German foundation decamps from Ethiopia. Other long-time donors find new official agency and law restrictive and confusing.
Syrians are receiving US aid - they just don't know it

The widespread perception among Syrians that the US has abandoned them is untrue, but US aid is rarely branded as such and it is still far short of what is needed.
A Cuba beyond the Castros? (+video)

News from Cuba this week that Raul Castro will step down in 2018 is offering fodder for critics of US policy towards Cuba who say Washington is stuck in the Cold War.
Anti-drug pact latest casualty of souring US-Russia relations

Russian experts say the downturn is a result of Putin's determination to do away with international pacts that he sees as demeaning or forcing Russia into a 'junior partner' role.
Opinion Lessons from Rwanda: Talking about genocide in church

From my time in Rwanda, I saw that people don't like to talk about the genocide in their recent past. Then I heard a church sermon there whose universal message of 'life after mass death' seemed perfectly fitted for a country full of one-time perpetrators and families of the murdered.
France gets deeper in Mali war: Are they ready? (+video)

The recent rebel capture of the village of Diabaly renewed concerns that French air power in tandem with Malian ground forces would not be enough. Now French troops are headed north.
Opinion Obama must remind Vladimir Putin of human rights, religious freedom concerns

Under Vladimir Putin, Russia has passed a succession of anti-human rights laws curtailing freedom of expression, association, and assembly. Parliament might even pass a proposed blasphemy law that clearly would violate religious freedom. President Obama must speak out.
Latin America Monitor Would the US free the 'Cuban Five' in exchange for Alan Gross?

Three years ago, Alan Gross was arrested and found guilty of crimes against the 'sovereignty and territorial integrity' of Cuba. Now, he wants the US and Cuba to sit down together and negotiate his release.
What has the US already tried in Mali?

The US and the international community are debating how to intervene in war-torn Mali. But over the past decade, the US has already been heavily involved.
Obama's visit to Myanmar marks 'new chapter' in US-Myanmar relations

As Myanmar tiptoes toward democracy, Obama - the first US president to visit the former pariah state - denied he was endorsing the government amid criticism that his visit came too soon.
Focus How water could bring Israelis, Palestinians together

A sole joint committee between Israelis and Palestinians survives 17 years after the Oslo Accords: the one on water.
In Election Day Olympics, US gets an F from the Russian judge

In what may be tit-for-tat recriminations for US expressions of concern regarding Russian democracy, the Russian elections chief ranks the US election system 'the worst in the world.'
Progress Watch Neither heat nor gloom ... Afghan post office delivers

As the Afghan government struggles to develop, the post office has quietly managed to become one of the nation's most efficient institutions - and with extremely limited international assistance.
US outspends Islamabad on flood relief in Pakistan

But instead of helping repair US-Pakistan relations, the flood aid looks as if it is feeding into old patterns of distrust between the two countries.