10 years ago, 189 nations, including the United States, signed onto the Millennium

Declaration, which laid out 8 goals that when achieved, would end extreme poverty and
improve the health and well-being of the world's poor. MelanneVerveer, U.S.
Ambassador-at-large for Global Women's Issues, has stated that Millennium
Development Goal 3 on gender equality is the linchpin to achieving all other Millennium
Development Goals.

"It is a simple fact," said Ambassador Verveer, "no country can get ahead if half of its
citizens are left behind." The United States' strategy for meeting the Millennium
Development Goals has been to invest in women and girls through many of its major
policy initiatives. The first is the Global Health Initiative a $63 billion program to
improve health and strengthen health systems worldwide, with a focus on maternal and
child heath, family planning and nutrition.

Women are also a key pillar of the Feed the Future program which is a $3.5 billion
commitment by the U.S. to sustainably reduce poverty and hunger through agricultural
development and food security, so farmers can support their families and food can be
available more broadly. Women farmers in particular need training, access to financial
services, markets and to be included in decision-making if they are to become more
agriculturally productive.

In order to alleviate poverty, economic growth is essential. Because women-run small

and medium size businesses are key accelerators of economic growth, the U.S. has
focused efforts on increasing women's economic opportunities. In conjunction with the
African Growth and Opportunity Act, the U.S. has created the African Women's
Entrepreneurship Program to provide women with the tools and skills they need to gain
access to financing and markets.

CLEAN WATER - A GLOBAL CHALLENGE

More than 2,500,000,000 people lack access to adequate sanitation. Each year, poor
sanitation causes the deaths of some 1,400,000 children around the world. Michael
McClain is the director of the Global Water for Sustainability, or GLOWS, program at
the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID. He said the
conference in Stockholm sought to draw attention to the gap between sanitation delivery
and safe water delivery. "Twice as many people in the world lack access to adequate
sanitation as lack access to safe drinking water," he said.

Mr. McClain said inadequate sanitation is a life-and-death issue for millions of people
and demands concerted, international action. "The U.S. government," said Dr. McClain,
"is committed each year to investing hundreds of millions of dollars in a very strategic
manner in water supply and sanitation around the world, carried out primarily through
USAID programs. U.S. aid targets investments in facilities, technical capacity building,
community hygiene education and strengthening governance structures."

To improve water supply and sanitation in Asia, USAID recently signed an agreement
with the International Water Association, a non-governmental organization made up
leading water professionals around the world, and the Asian Development Bank. The pact
established a partnership to improve access to sanitation and clean drinking water by
providing training and mentoring to water operators throughout Asia.

ERADICATING POLIO EVERYWHERE

In 1988, at the World Health Assembly, the United States, joined by all nations, pledged
to eradicate polio. In his speech at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New
York, President Barack Obama reiterated the US commitment to work with global
partners to rid the world of a virus responsible for the majority of paralysis and disability
in children. His statement of support built on his 2009 speech in Cairo, where he
announced a global effort, in partnership with the Organization of the Islamic
Conference, or OIC, to eradicate polio.

Together, the US and OIC have worked diligently to support affected countries to
vaccinate children and establish robust disease surveillance systems, to increase
community awareness about the safety and importance of immunization and to identify
new sources of funding to close the resource gap, especially among OIC member
countries.

The global drive to eradicate the disease the Global Polio Eradication Initiative - began
in 1988. At that time, about three hundred fifty thousand cases were diagnosed annually,
mostly in children under the age of three. Since then, the Initiative has succeeded in
reducing annual reported cases by 99%; so far this year, just 682 cases of polio have been
reported worldwide.

MEASLES MAKE A COMEBACK IN AFRICA

Measles, one of the leading causes of death in young children, is making a comeback in
Africa. More than 1,100 measles-related deaths have been reported among 64,000 known
cases over the last year, threatening to undo significant progress made there in fighting
the viral disease over the last two decades.
The largest outbreaks have been seen in Zimbabwe, Burundi, Chad and Nigeria, but 30
African nations in all are reporting a spike in the number of cases. The highly contagious
virus is spread by coughing, sneezing or close personal contact. If untreated, its
complications include blindness, encephalitis, pneumonia, diarrhea and severe
dehydration. At the highest risk are unvaccinated children, a preventable tragedy since at
roughly one dollar a dose, preventing the disease is relatively inexpensive.

THE GLOBAL AGRICULTURE PROGRAM

November 20, 2010

Significant and lasting reduction in global poverty cannot be achieved without economic
growth that is sustainable and global in nature. So, at their meeting in South Korea in
early November, G20 leaders set a development agenda which calls for the group's
members to mobilize foreign investment and domestic capital to developing countries,
thus helping to foster sustained economic growth.

With this in mind, and in support of G20 goals, the World Bank launched the Global
Agriculture And Food Security Program, or GAFSP, earlier this year. Supported by the
United States, Australia, Canada, South Korea, Spain, Ireland, and the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation, the program is aimed specifically at reducing poverty and improving
global food security by increasing agricultural productivity

WATER FOR THE POOR

August 19, 2010

Today, more than 800 million people do not have clean water and even more lack basic
sanitation, causing the deaths of more than 1.5 million children each year. And by the
year 2025, nearly two-thirds of the worlds population will be living under water-stressed
conditions, causing an increase in hunger, disease and strife.

The United States is committed to reducing water-related diseases and to increasing

access to safe drinking water and sanitation in countries with critical needs. One of the
most effective ways to improve access to clean water and sanitation is to work in
partnership with developing country governments, private businesses and civil societies.
So, U.S. aid experts work closely with experts and leaders in host countries to design and
implement programs that best fit local needs.

In 2009, the U.S. invested 774 million $ in the international water sector. Of that amount,
514 million $ went directly for drinking water, sanitation and hygiene. Above the 744
million, the U.S. Government funded 41 million $ in water sector aid through our support
to 10 UN development and environment organizations, and was the single largest
bilateral donor to multiple international humanitarian organizations. In addition, the U.S.
government also made financial contributions to seven multilateral development banks
which obligated 9.2 billion $ for water related projects in 2009.

WORLD AIDS DAY 2015

December 01, 2015

When the Millennium Development Goals, or MDGs, were set by the UN fifteen years ago, one
of the goals was to halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV by 2015. Back then, a diagnosis
of HIV/AIDS was a death sentence in most developing countries.

But the MDGs shined a light on the problem, and galvanized the global community into action.
Numerous programs were initiated for expanding treatment to those in need, including the U.S.
Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, the largest commitment by any nation
to combat a single disease internationally. Since then, new HIV infections have fallen from 2.6
million per year to 1.8 million, and AIDS-related deaths have decreased from 1.6 million to 1.2
million. According to UNAIDS, since the Millennium Development Goals were set by the UN,
30 million new HIV infections and almost 8 million AIDS-related deaths were averted.

WORLD FOOD DAY 2010

October 14, 2010

October 16th is United Nations World Food Day, observed annually on the occasion of
the founding in 1945 of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, or FAO. This year's
theme is "United Against Hunger."

New numbers from a joint report by the FAO and the UN World Food Program indicate
that the number of chronically hungry people has fallen for the first time in fifteen years,
dropping from just over one billion to nine hundred twenty five million. Nonetheless, this
still means that nearly one of every six people goes to bed hungry every night.

The hungry are mostly the rural poor living in developing countries, mostly subsistence
farmers, mostly women and children. And most of them live in Asia or South America,
and especially Africa.
Hunger is a consequence of poverty, and also one of its causes. Hunger exists because
many countries lack social safety nets; because in many countries women, although they
do most of the farming, do not have as much access as men to training, credit or land.
Conflict, governance systems that do not encourage investment in agriculture; poor
management of land and natural resources, lack of educational opportunity, displacement
of small farmers by natural disasters; and financial and economic crises that eliminate
jobs at the lowest levels, all contribute toward creating conditions that push the poorest
into hunger.

WORLD HUNGER ON THE RISE AGAIN

April 17, 2011

Three years after the 2007-2008 global food crisis, food prices are rising again.
Increasing demand for food in developing countries and weather-related production
losses are the primary reasons for the increase in food prices. Fortunately, good harvests
of staples in Africa and Latin America have kept local prices there low, and record world
rice production has kept rice prices stable.

We are concerned about the impact that rising prices have on vulnerable people. We are
watching food prices closely and working with the international community to respond
appropriately to achieve long-term sustainable solutions to food insecurity.

In response to the global food price spike in 2007-2008, President Obama pledged $3.5
billion to help poor countries fight hunger by investing in agricultural development. His
Feed the Future Initiative utilizes innovation, research, and development to improve
agricultural productivity, link farmers to local and regional markets, enhance nutrition,
and build safety nets.

The international community also learned key lessons from the 2007-2008 food crisis on
the importance of having the right policies in place. We are working bilaterally and
within multilateral institutions, such as the UN food agencies, the G-20, and APEC, to
encourage nations to pursue policies that facilitate agricultural growth and reliable trade
flows.

We learned that it is vital to maintain transparent, functioning markets, and to avoid

export barriers, panic buying and unnecessarily large increases in food stocks, as these
actions tend to drive prices higher. Governments understandably need to ensure
affordable food supplies. They can best do this through targeted safety nets for their most
vulnerable and by reducing import tariffs and taxes.
As demand for food continues to increase in the long run, we need to increase
productivity and improve markets. This requires conditions that foster investment in
agriculture, particularly in the developing world, so innovative technologies can raise
agricultural productivity.

WORLD WATER DAY 2017

March 21, 2017

Safe drinking water is fundamental to healthy lives and prosperous communities. To

focus attention on the importance of clean water and to advocate for the sustainable
management of fresh water resources, on March 22nd of every year we observe
International World Water Day.

Every person needs at least twenty liters of water per day for drinking, cooking,
sanitation, and hygiene needs alone. Yet some 2 billion people world-wide do not have
access to safe drinking water, and more than 2.4 billion people do not have access to
improved sanitation for adequate disposal of human waste. People who do not have
access to clean water and sanitation are at greatly increased risk of infectious diseases,
which can lead to physical and cognitive impairments and premature death.

Contaminated water and poor sanitation are among the main causes of severe diarrheal
diseases in the very young, the second leading cause of death in children under five years
old. According to the World Health Organization, or W-H-O, some 760,000 young
children die of diarrheal diseases across the world every year. It is further estimated that
as few as five incidences of diarrhea in children under the age of two can lead to lifelong
effects, such as developmental delays and stunting.