Speeches Shim
As we continue our engagement with Guatemala, Haven will lead our Mission, and manage our partnerships to root out corruption, create greater economic opportunities, prevent crime and gender based violence, and curb irregular migration. Haven will also continue our crucial work with Guatemala’s youth, so they can one day shape a freer, and more prosperous, Guatemala.
Доброе утро, дамы и господа, работники СМИ Казахстана, Кыргызстана, Таджикистана, Туркменистана и Узбекистана, представляющие регион и не только.
От имени Агентства США по международному развитию я рад приветствовать вас на Центральноазиатском медиафестивале MediaCAMP Fest.
Мы в USAID гордимся тем, что поддерживаем медиасообщество и жителей Центральной Азии в их стремлении создать более сбалансированную информационную среду и улучшить доступ граждан к новостям, основанным на фактах.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, media professionals from Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, representing the region and beyond.
On behalf of the United States Agency for International Development, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the Central Asia Media Fest.
We at USAID are proud to support the media community and the people of Central Asia as they strive to create a more balanced information environment and improve access to fact-based news for citizens.
Well, I think most of your viewers have seen evidence of war crimes as well – just the images from both the places from which Russia has receded, where mass grave after mass grave with people with their hands tied – children, women, elderly, you know – left for dead, often having been tortured.
We are all gathered to swear in Jo as our Mission Director for our West Africa regional Mission in Accra. It’s a big assignment: Over 150 staff, a budget that is steadily growing, engaged in programming in 21 countries in the region.
We also are the Agency of the U.S. government that provides the direct budget support to the Ukrainian government. This is very unusual, actually, for USAID, but so far, we have provided about $8.5 billion directly to the government.
With great excitement, I am happy to hand over the revamped oxygen-generating plant to the Ministry of Health and Social Services. This plant provides a stable supply of medical oxygen to patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 and other conditions that require oxygen treatment.
We are also making an investment in Ukraine's democratic journey which has come a very long way since I was last here in 2015. We support anti-corruption institutions, civil society organizations, and independent media, who themselves also hold government officials accountable. And that's an incredibly important part of what Ukraine does.
I think what we are here to discuss with you today is, as you said, support away from the battlefield. The security assistance is flowing. It's incredibly important. We know that every day this war goes on is a day too long, because it is the people who are paying the price for every day, for every battle. And so, the shorter the war takes, the better. But, we at USAID, and across the U.S. government are investing in your economy and in your democracy, even as that war continues.
Thank you for inviting me to join you today! I recently arrived back in Washington, DC to assume the position of Office Director of the Office of Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition in USAID’s Bureau for Global Health. I look forward to working with all of you in this new role!
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Last updated: November 16, 2022
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