A year has passed since Mohammed Bouazizi, a young Tunisian fruit seller, set himself on fire to protest the difficult economic conditions he faced and the humiliation he experienced at the hands of local police.
Ellen Boccuzzi and Jan Cartwright
For two decades, Mali has enjoyed remarkable political stability characterized by four rounds of peaceful presidential and legislative elections and the proliferation of civil society organizations and private media outlets.
Jamie Evans-Butler and Lee Cohen
In 1994, USAID provided the only press in East Timor to a local newspaper. Nearly two decades later, the Agency is continuing to help the fledgling nation build a free and independent media sector.
Lisa Rogers and Germano Boavida
For Paraguay, a small landlocked country in the heart of South America, a strong democracy with social justice was a dream held by many, but expressed only in hushed tones for decades.
Adriana Casati and Michael Eschleman
Reflecting on the past isn’t always easy, but sometimes it is the only way to move forward.
Roy Fenn
During the past year, the momentous uprisings of the Arab Spring have both transformed the social climate of the Middle East and North Africa and inspired activists far beyond that region to step up for their fundamental human rights. Ordinary people around the world have acted with extraordinary selflessness and courage, inspiring us all.
Nancy Lindborg
Well before the start of the second Gulf War in 2003, rural Iraqi villages like Bizayez Abu Hallan lacked accessible drinking water, paved streets, health-care facilities, and other types of basic services that residents expect.
Akeel Al-Khakani
The opportunity was too good to pass up. Shantos was 20 years old when a group of men came to his village in Bangladesh. They promised him a job in India, a little less than $100 for 50 days of work as a mason. He believed them.
Perched atop the Himalayas, Nepal faces multiple natural hazards, including annual floods, landslides, and avalanches, as well as periodic droughts, forest fires and disease epidemics.
Douglas Ebner
Where sexual violence and poverty form a crippling double punch, USAID and its partners are using two distinct but interconnected responses—one psychological, one economic—to help abused women in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Judith Bass, Sarah McIvor Murray, and Karin Wachter
Less than 10 years after a crippling civil war ended, Liberians cast their votes in presidential and general elections, remarkable not only for their modern, democratic procedures, but also for their modern tools like voting databases and real-time, web-based results reporting—supported by USAID.
Justin Prudhomme
After an 11-year struggle to pass the Freedom of Information bill, a quest to bring greater accountability and transparency in public service ends in a landmark law.
Ebun Aleshinloye
At a critical juncture in the country’s history, USAID–supported groups are helping stimulate an inclusive national dialogue to channel the Sudanese people’s aspirations for peace and good governance under a new constitution.
Warren Ryan
On Oct. 23, 2011, Tunisia held elections for its 218-member Constituent Assembly. Joseph Taggart, a USAID democracy officer, currently leads strategic planning in the Agency’s new Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance.
For decades, radio waves have been the primary vehicle to disseminate information in Sudan, as in many places where literacy is low, electricity is inconsistent or uneven, and media options are few. But until eight years ago, most people in South Sudan did not have access to radio or any type of independent media.
Angela Stephens
Worldwide, over 65 million people need wheelchairs. USAID works in several countries to ensure that people with disabilities receive proper devices that suit their needs and their environment, providing not just mobility, but independence.
With a new USAID-supported budget process, Ukraine is fighting corruption and providing better services to its citizens.
Erin Concors
USAID Knowledge Services Center provides wide array of Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance Resources.
Christine Pulfrey
In Afghanistan, USAID-sponsored activities seek to strengthen the linkages between the tribal and formal justice systems, while also serving to educate on and promote basic human rights.
Katharine Dow
