USAID

11 Stories

Watchdog: We Warned Biden on Gaza Pier, He Did It Anyway

USAID staffers had concerns that pier would undermine convincing Israel on other aid methods

(Newser) - President Biden ordered the construction of a temporary pier to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza earlier this year, even as some staffers for the US Agency for International Development expressed concerns that the effort would be difficult to pull off and undercut the effort to persuade Israel to open "...

In Places Scrubbed of Ebola, Virus Rears Its Head

Health officials warn Ebola's erratic spread is out of control

(Newser) - Just months ago, Doctors Without Borders was packing up its bags and leaving an Ebola-free region in Guinea; that site, Macenta, is now the hotbed site of 30 new cases, in what the AP reports is a sign of the virus' resurgence. Health officials are declaring, once again , that the...

American on Hunger Strike in Cuban Jail

Alan Gross has been jailed for 4 years, wants out

(Newser) - After four years cooling his heels in a Cuban prison, American Alan Gross has begun a hunger strike he says is a protest against his treatment by both Havana and Washington. Gross, 64, was arrested in 2009 while working for USAID as a sub-contractor to get Internet access to Cuba'...

US Starts Scrubbing Agent Orange From Vietnam

First direct contribution 'a little late': activist

(Newser) - For the first time since the Vietnam War ended, the US is getting its hands dirty in the effort to clear Agent Orange out of Vietnam. Washington is forking over $41 million to support the removal of the herbicide that caused, by Vietnam's count, 150,000 kids to be...

Obama's 'Boring' Aid Is Saving Lives in Africa
Obama's 'Boring' Aid
Is Saving Lives in Africa
nicholas kristof
Jul 12, 2012 2:02 PM CDT

Obama's 'Boring' Aid Is Saving Lives in Africa

Nicholas Kristof: US emphasis on agriculture isn't sexy, but it's effective

(Newser) - President Obama deserves credit for a great foreign aid success, writes Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times , but it's a safe bet you haven't heard of it. That's because it's happening not in a war zone or some sexy locale but on small farms in...

We're Wasting Billions in Afghanistan Aid
 We're Wasting Billions 
 in Afghanistan Aid 
OPINION
Jan 11, 2012 11:50 AM CST

We're Wasting Billions in Afghanistan Aid

US has spent $73B since 9/11, but accounting is too lax: James R. Petersen

(Newser) - The US has poured $73 billion in reconstruction aid into Afghanistan since 9/11, but only a small fraction of that has reached the intended recipients, writes a former government auditor. "Where has all the money gone?" asks James R. Petersen, who worked in Afghanistan and later with the US...

US Report Questions Haiti Death Toll

True count may be 250K less than Haitian estimate

(Newser) - The number of people killed or made homeless by the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti last year is well below the Haitian government's figures, according to a report commissioned by the US government. The researchers estimate that between 46,000 and 85,000 people were killed in the quake,...

US Spends $20M on Sesame Street Redo for Pakistan
US Spends $20M to Redo Sesame Street for Pakistan
but big bird's not invited
Apr 8, 2011 2:23 AM CDT

US Spends $20M to Redo Sesame Street for Pakistan

Makeover aimed at boosting education, tolerance, fighting extremism

(Newser) - Out of the $1.5 billion in civilian aid the US is sending to Pakistan this year, $20 million is being used to enlist Elmo in the fight against Islamic extremism. USAid is funding a Pakistani remake of Sesame Street in an effort to educate children in deprived areas, the...

GOP Budget Would Kill 70K Kids: USAID Chief

Foreign aid vital for economy's future, Rajiv Shah argues

(Newser) - House Republicans' version of the budget deal to keep the government running would cause the deaths of at least 70,000 children around the world who depend on America aid, USAID chief Rajiv Shah testified yesterday. The agency predicts that 30,000 will die because of the scaling back of...

Liz Cheney: I May Seek Office
 Liz Cheney: 
 I May Seek Office 
Jul 13, 2009 12:53 PM CDT

Liz Cheney: I May Seek Office

(Newser) - DIck Cheney's daughter Liz is considering a run for public office. “It's something I very well may do,” the lawyer and Bush-era State Department deputy secretary tells the Washington Times. Cheney says she's particularly worried about Congressional Democrats' attempts to hang charges of CIA meddling on her father....

US Condom Maker in Peril as Feds Buy Chinese

(Newser) - The sole supplier of condoms to Washington's overseas AIDS campaign is likely going out of business thanks to Asian competition, the Kansas City Star reports. The feds are close to signing contracts with companies in South Korea and China, which charge 2 cents per condom; Alabama-based Alatech charges five. Three...

11 Stories