About the Author: Ambassador Eric Goosby serves as U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and leads the Office of Global Health Diplomacy.

“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” — Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa

The impact of HIV and AIDS on children is devastating. To date, an estimated 16 million children have lost one or both parents due to AIDS, 90 percent of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa. And despite dramatic advances in treatment this number is not yet declining . In addition, an estimated 3.4 million children under the age of 15 are living with HIV, and millions more children are made vulnerable due to chronically ill parents or the social and economic effects of living in communities with high HIV prevalence.

These numbers clearly demonstrate how vulnerable children are to the social, emotional, economic, and environmental effects that… more »

About the Author: Chris LaTondrese serves in the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Center for Faith Based and Community Initiatives.

Anglican Bishop Dinis Sengulane’s message isn’t exactly what one might expect from a typical religious leader. Then again, Bishop Sengulane, who has presided over Mozambique’s Lebombo Diocese since 1976, is not a typical leader, religious or otherwise. The large cross that hangs from a chain around his neck is fashioned from components of disassembled weapons surrendered by combatants after the Mozambique civil war, a prolonged conflict that he and other religious leaders played an integral role in bringing to an end in the mid-1990s.

Today, Bishop Sengulane is fighting to bring an end to another destructive force in his nation: malaria. The disease steals 650,000 lives around the world each year, devastating entire communities and undermining opportunities for prosperity and growth — and disproportionately affecting the African continent.

At a gathering… more »

About the Author: Rebecca Gustafson serves on USAID’s Syria Response Management Team.

As part of the $385 million in U.S. government humanitarian assistance for the people of Syria, USAID is supporting more than 110 field hospitals, medical clinics and medical points across Syria that have saved countless lives.

Hajji Rajaa is a 69-year old grandmother who lives on her own in Rif Damascus. As she was traveling to buy groceries for her family, she was hit in the knee by sniper fire.

Once the scene was deemed safe, bystanders transported Hajji Rajaa to a nearby USAID-funded field hospital. The medical team quickly determined the extent of the damage, thankful the bullet had not hit the femoral artery.

Doctors removed the bullet and treated her wound, but Hajji Rajaa required daily care to ensure her wound was healing properly. Though she wanted to recover at home with her family nearby, she was unable to travel to the field hospital… more »

About the Authors: Connie Tzioumis serves as Senior Adviser with the U.S. Secretary of State’s Global Partnerships Initiative, and Romi Bhatia serves as a Program Analyst at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

In Kingston, Jamaica on February 25-26, 12 finalists of the inaugural Caribbean IdEA Marketplace (CIM) showcased innovative business plans to policymakers, business leaders, investors and media and competed for $400,000 in grant funding. During the two-day event, entrepreneurs had the chance to participate in high-level policy roundtables,… more »

About the Author: Rebecca Gustafson serves on USAID’s Syria Response Management Team.

In January 2013, a mortar shell struck an apartment in Dar’a Governorate. A mother in an adjoining apartment grabbed her 7-month old son Dia’a* and ran to check for survivors.

Just as she discovered her brother was killed in the attack, another mortar shell hit the building — this time killing one of her other sons. The explosion also ruptured a water heater, blasting scalding water on Dia’a’s face and right arm.

Dia’a was rushed to a nearby Syrian government-run medical clinic, where many believe that women and children can safely receive care. After Dia’a received basic aid, a worker at the clinic discreetly warned the mother that they should leave before she and her son were both killed.

The family fled to the Jordanian border and were received by Jordanian border guards, who transported them to Za’atri refugee camp. During the trip, Dia’a… more »

About the Author: Rebecca Gustafson serves on USAID’s Syria Response Management Team.

Basic personal hygiene is critical to help prevent the spread of illness and disease among displaced Syrians.

After nearly two years of ongoing brutal conflict, more than 4 million people in Syria are in need of humanitarian assistance, including some 2.5 million who are displaced from their homes.

In Atmeh’s Olive Tree Camp, near the Reyhanli border crossing in Turkey’s Hatay Province, many of the residents left their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

Good basic personal hygiene and hand washing are critical to help prevent the spread of illness and disease, and providing basic hygiene supplies and education was identified as a priority… more »

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks with U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employees at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C., February 15, 2013. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

About the Author: Caroline Raclin is a Special Assistant in the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) at the U.S. Department of State. She traveled with a joint State Department-USAID delegation to Turkey, Jordan, and Kuwait January 22-31, 2013.

It was near midnight. We were driving in the desert with no headlights, and Syria was 20 feet to my left. To the right was a mass of shapes — it took me a minute to realize I was looking at 850 Syrians who had just crossed safely into Jordan. One man was carrying designer luggage normally seen in airplane cabins; one girl had no shoes. I walked amongst these scared, war-numbed people, and it hit me that this was only a tiny portion of those leaving Syria.

Roughly 763,000 people have fled Syria — 240,000 to Jordan — and an estimated 2.5 million are displaced internally. Before that night, those numbers seemed horrific, but had little real meaning to me. They are round statistics, indicators of an escalating war. But after hearing a woman recall her husband’s death and a family describe their village being leveled by barrels of explosives, I better understood the scale… more »

Syrians Transition to Safety in Jordan

More: Responding in Times of Crisis — Syria

On January 27 and 28, 2013, Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration Anne C. Richard, and USAID Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance Nancy Lindborg visited Syrian refugees in Jordan. They visited the Zaatari refugee camp, a refugee processing center at a Syria-Jordan border crossing, and a food voucher distribution center.

The United States is committed to helping the innocent children, women, and… more »