USAID Press Releases
Recent Press Releases from the U.S. Agency for International Development.



Statement from USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah on the Occasion of International Women's Day (Mar 8)
Today we commemorate International Women's Day and honor the courageous women who endeavor to build a better world for their children, families, societies, and themselves. This is a day to celebrate and acknowledge the essential role women play in the economic, political, and social advancement of their countries.


U.S. Government and Blue Nile State Government Dedicate Granville-Abbas Girls' Secondary School, Kurmuk (Mar 8)
The U.S. Government, acting through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), today officially presented to the Blue Nile State Ministry of Education the new Granville-Abbas Girls' Secondary School in Kurmuk. The school is designed as a model of girls' education for the region.


USAID Sends Assistance in Response to Chile Earthquake (Mar 4)
In response to the earthquake in Chile the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided $1 million to the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), to help with emergency assistance needs. In addition to the $1 million to IFRC, USAID is providing shelter material and mobile water treatment units to assist the people of Chile.


USAID Responds to Chile Earthquake (Mar 1)
In response to the earthquake in Chile and a request from the Chilean government, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is sending 18 satellite phones and a technician to assist with the dire need for communications equipment. In addition, USAID is sending disaster experts to assist the U.S. Embassy in coordinating the U.S. response and it has put its partners, the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Team and the Los Angeles County Search and Rescue Team on stand-by, should their assistance be requested.


USAID Donates Medical Station to St. Damien Hospital of Port-au-Prince (Feb 24)
Yesterday the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) donated a Federal Medical Station, valued at approximately $577,000, to St. Damien Hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The pediatric hospital survived the 7.0 magnitude January 12 earthquake relatively unscathed, but was quickly overwhelmed by patients of all ages and unprepared for the numbers of adults requiring urgent care.


USAID Administrator Shah Attends EU Development Ministers Informal Meeting in Spain (Feb 24)
USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah met with European Union (EU) Development Ministers during the EU Development Ministers Informal Meeting in La Granja, Spain from February 17-18. Topics discussed included the Transatlantic Development Dialogue and Haiti.


USAID Helps Supply Haitian Orphanage in Need (Feb 3)
An orphanage here in Haiti, which we will not name in order to protect the children living there, was already providing a home to more than 150 orphans prior to the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12th. Now the number of children has expanded to include those who have recently been orphaned or temporarily separated from their families due to the earthquake, and that number far exceeds the facility's capacity to care for them.


HHS Activates Additional Components of National Disaster Medical System to Help U.S. Hospitals Treat Survivors of Earthquake in Haiti (Feb 2)
As part of the ongoing medical response to the Haiti earthquake, USAID, the agency coordinating the US Government response, announced today that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has activated additional components of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) to help U.S. hospitals provide care to critically ill survivors.


U.S. Team Assesses Haiti's Communications Needs (Jan 28)
A U.S. team is on-the-ground in Haiti evaluating the status of the country's communications infrastructure and services following the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12th. The team was deployed in response to a request from Director General Montàigne Marcelin of Conseil National des Télécommunications (Conatel), the communications agency in Haiti, in coordination with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).


U.S. Helps Haitians Keep Earthquake Survivors Informed (Jan 27)
Haitian police and civilian volunteers, assisted by the U.S. military distributed more than 43,800 hand-held radios to survivors of the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake. In a collaborative effort, the team handed out self-powered radios at major distribution centers in Cite Soleil, the Presidential Palace, the Petionville Club and other affected areas throughout the city.