Special Briefing
David M. Robinson
Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
Bruce Wharton
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy , Bureau of African Affairs
Nancy Lindborg, Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance at USAID
Via Teleconference
Washington, DC
January 24, 2012
MR. TONER: Thank you, and thanks so much to all of you for joining us. Just a reminder at the outset that this call is on the record.
As you all know, on July 20th, 2011, some six months ago, famine was declared in parts of the Horn of Africa. So today, we have invited senior members from the State Department to provide an update on continued U.S. efforts to respond to the humanitarian crisis in the region as well as some of the ongoing security challenges that exist.
So joining us today are Bruce Wharton, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy for the Bureau of African Affairs; David Robinson, who is the Acting Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees, and Migration; and Nancy Lindborg, who is the Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance at the U.S. Agency for International Development. They’ll each speak briefly at the top here and then we’ll open it up to your questions.
So without further ado, I’ll hand the mike, as it were, over to Bruce. Bruce, go ahead.