In Malawi, poor sanitation, space limitations and inadequate provision for personal hygiene at schools, paired with societal norms and expectations, cause girls to abandon school far too prematurely. In result, girls are left uneducated which often leads to early pregnancy, marriage, and/or new HIV infection. To address these significant constraints to girls’ education, USAID is partnering with the Government of Malawi to build more schools and deliver education more equitably through the five-year Secondary Education Expansion for Development (SEED) project.

America’s diplomacy and development tools are on the front lines of the global COVID-19 response—and during today’s hearing on COVID-19 and the international response, both Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee agreed that U.S. global engagement is a critical component of our country’s own health and economic recovery.

Friday, April 30th marks the Biden Administration’s first 100 days in office. While the Administration’s next 100 days are likely to be as critical as the first, here’s a look back at how America’s development and diplomacy tools have been deployed to address many of the complex global challenges affecting the world’s most vulnerable and with impacts to America’s security, prosperity, and safety.

Yesterday, the Biden Administration announced that it would share over 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines to countries around the world—with India included as a potential recipient, since the country is an experiencing a sharp uptick in the number of COVID-related cases and deaths since March. As the COVID-19 crisis continues to devastate the country, there are real concerns that India’s health care system could collapse, and the outbreak could spread to other countries and destabilize the region—prompting the United States and others in the international community to step up to help India respond to this terrible outbreak.

While death and infection rates have drastically declined since 2000, thanks in part to integrated efforts by government, business and civil society, malaria is remarkably resilient. The mosquito-borne illness has been eliminated in many countries – like the U.S. – yet for millions of people around the world, it continues to be a daily challenge. Experts like Dr. Vicki Weldon, ExxonMobil’s Global Medical Director, have been part of a broad and sustained effort to combat this illness.

At this week’s Leaders Summit on Climate hosted at the White House, President Joe Biden underscored the need for international cooperation on the climate crisis, stating “No nation can solve this crisis on our own…all of us — and particularly those of us who represent the world’s largest economies — we have to step up.” This consensus was similarly reflected throughout the two-day Summit, as leaders from more than 40 countries alongside U.S. cabinet officials, business leaders, representatives from multilateral organizations, and even Pope Francis, discussed the immense challenge climate change poses and the cooperation needed to confront it.

The COVID-19 pandemic is the world’s most immediate health crisis, but another crisis is quietly threatening long-term global health. Climate change has worsened in recent decades and, if left unchecked, farmers and consumers will bear the brunt of the consequences. Syngenta is one of many organizations working to change the global agricultural industry for the better. Through its ‘Good Growth Plan,’ Syngenta promotes global sustainability and biodiversity—two major areas of concern for one of world’s largest agronomic developers and agricultural researchers.

Innovative ideas and technologies are driving the future of global development, and nowhere is this more evident than at Development Innovation Ventures (DIV), a flagship program at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) that is leveraging innovation to meet today’s most pressing development challenges. A recent analysis of DIV’s grants found an incredible rate of return of $5 in social benefits for every dollar spent on innovations. Now, policymakers on both sides of the aisle—and practitioners alike—are focused on the role of innovation and technology in scaling development progress.

When people think about U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF), they might envision romanticized scenes from television or the movies. But what they don’t see is what goes on behind the scenes. While SOF plays a lead role in defending our country, U.S. national security also relies on the strength and support of our civilian forces—particularly our diplomatic corps and development personnel—in countries around the world.

Indonesia is one of six countries whose waters lie within the Coral Triangle, an area in the western Pacific Ocean that is under threat from overfishing and illegal fishing as well as climate change, land-based pollution, and the wildlife trade—all of which is putting a strain on Indonesia’s economy and threatening the livelihoods and food security of Indonesians. That’s why the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) partnered with Tetra Tech, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), and others on the USAID SEA Project.