Lesotho’s HIV/AIDs prevalence of approximately 23 percent is one of the highest in the world. In 2003, the epidemic caused life expectancy for the average Basotho to drop to 44 years. Lesotho has made slow but steady progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS; according to the World Bank, life expectancy has been on the rise, now reaching 48 years.

Every child should grow up to be healthy, but that is not the reality for many children in Guatemala.

As a result of food insecurity and chronic undernutrition, too many children throughout Guatemala suffer from physical and mental disabilities that can last a lifetime.

But in Alta Verapaz, where food insecurity conditions are most severe, families in the region are eating a greater variety of more nutritious foods. With this more diverse diet, not only has the rate of child stunting decreased, but so has the rate of underweight children.

In the heart of the Rwenzori ‘Mountain of the Moon’ valley in Western Uganda, rural coffee farmers now export organic, fair trade certified Arabica coffee overseas. In 2011, the United States African Development Foundation (USADF) awarded Bukonzo Joint Cooperative Society (Bukonzo) an expansion grant to guarantee that local premium coffee from 3,500 producer members reached international markets.

Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC January 9, 2013

WASHINGTON, D.C. – December 4, 2012 – Today, the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) announced an additional $11 million to provide up to 150 Xpert® MTB/RIF instruments and 450,000 test cartridges in 14 high-burden countries across sub-Saharan Africa and in Burma.

On July 25, U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala Arnold Chacon joined President Otto Pérez Molina and private sector and youth leaders to officially join the “Pacto Hambre Cero” (“Zero Hunger Plan”), which President Pérez launched in February 2012.

The plan is the first long-term national food security strategy in Guatemala to commit to measurable objectives. It calls for active and sustained involvement from all sectors of society and includes measures to significantly reduce mal- and undernutrition in six departments of Guatemala’s Western Highlands.

By Donna Miles American Forces Press Service

THEBEPHATSHWA AIR BASE, Botswana, Aug. 14, 2012 – A U.S. military medical team here for the Southern Accord 12 exercise is helping the Botswana Defense Force confront its country’s most pressing health crisis one circumcision surgery at a time.

Press Statement Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State Washington, DC July 11, 2012

This year as we mark World Population Day, leaders from around the globe are meeting in London for the Family Planning Summit hosted by the Government of the United Kingdom and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. They are working to find new ways to support the rights of women and young people to decide whether, when, and how many children to have.

The White House Blog

The Future of America’s Partnership with Sub-Saharan Africa

Grant T. Harris
June 14, 2012
10:05 AM EDT

Today, President Obama took another step in deepening our partnerships with the nations and peoples of sub-Saharan Africa. In signing a new Presidential Policy Directive on the region, President Obama has committed the United States to a forward-looking strategy in which we will work closely with our African partners to advance the prosperity, security, and dignity that citizens deserve.