Hyderabad: Today, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director to India, Veena Reddy, will begin a multi-day visit to Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam to underscore USAID’s commitment to advance inclusive and equitable development in the region.
Speaking on her visit, Mission Director Reddy said, “USAID’s partnership with Telangana and Andhra Pradesh spans many decades. My visit to the region is to affirm USAID’s commitment to collaborate with the government and people of the region to help address critical local development challenges, from health systems strengthening to safe water and sanitation to sustainable forest management. As I was born in Andhra Pradesh, I am also personally impressed to see the progress the region continues to make and especially excited to help support, as the USAID Mission Director to India, its continued success.”
In Hyderabad, Mission Director Reddy will engage with local government officials, non-governmental organizations, community leaders, and local citizens. Among others, she will meet with community leaders who invest their time and talents as “TB Champions” to support tuberculosis patients by raising awareness of symptoms and promoting testing and stigma reduction. The trip also includes a visit to India’s first transgender clinic, which USAID helped launch in January of this year. The clinic serves as a one-stop center providing comprehensive services for members of the transgender community in a dignified environment. She will also meet with forestry officials to discuss ongoing cooperation to help strengthen climate-resilience and improve livelihoods for local communities.
In Visakhapatnam, Mission Director Reddy will join the U.S. Consul General Joel Reifman for the opening of the American Corner. Together, the two leaders will also visit the world’s first mobile “Water from Air” kiosk, which USAID and the Safe Water Network launched in March of this year. This new technology generates clean and mineral-enriched water by harvesting moisture in the air on a highly cost-effective and scalable basis, with the potential to provide water to 3,000 people each day.
With a development partnership spanning more than 70 years, USAID partners to improve health outcomes, spur clean energy and environmental reform, tackle the climate crisis, improve the lives and livelihoods of women and girls, encourage inclusive economic growth, and bolster the COVID-19 response in India and across the world.
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