USAID [to 11 October 2014]
http://www.usaid.gov/

USAID Announces Initial Funding of $29 Million for Girls’ Economic Empowerment
October 9, 2014
Today the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced the SPRING initiative, a partnership aiming to accelerate economic empowerment for girls. The project, with initial funding of $29 million, will help businesses bring products to market that enable girls to learn, earn, invest and save. The announcement commemorates International Day of the Girl, celebrated each year on October 11 to promote the rights of girls and address the unique challenges they face.

USAID and UNICEF Partner to End Gender-based Violence in Schools
October 8, 2014
Today, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced it will partner with the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) to support the newly formed Global Partners’ Working Group on School-related Gender-based Violence. Through this $400,000, two-year grant, USAID will work with UNICEF to combat school-related gender-based violence at all levels. By working to defeat this barrier to girls’ education, the program will enable more girls to contribute to their families and societies, a critical step toward ending extreme poverty.

USAID Announces Grand Challenge to Fight Ebola
October 7, 2014
Call for ideas opens today; focus on solutions in protective gear and frontline tools
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah today launched the Fighting Ebola: A Grand Challenge for Development with a call to innovators around the world to submit ideas focused on improving the tools used by frontline healthcare workers in the fight against Ebola in West Africa. The initial focus of the Challenge, as announced by President Obama on Sept. 26, is to generate pioneering solutions to improve the personal protective equipment (PPE) and tools used by healthcare workers battling Ebola. Shah detailed the initiative today at the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting in Seattle, Wash.

USAID Partners with Six Universities to Support Cutting Edge Graduate Research in Developing Countries
October 6, 2014
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced today more than $3 million in new fellowships to support graduate students at six leading U.S. universities. Through the U.S. Global Development Lab’s Expand the Research and Innovation (RI) Fellowship Program, USAID and Arizona State University, Rutgers University, The University of Notre Dame, University of California-Berkeley, University of Chicago, and the University of California-Davis will work to support cutting edge science and technology research that addresses development challenges.