50 MAY 2024 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL The Foreign Service Responds to COVID-19 2020 Onset of COVID19 pandemic; Foreign Service manages repatriation of more than 100,000 Americans from 137 countries. Energy Diplomacy and Development Though the U.S. government has advised countries on electricity access for years, Power Africa’s approach is different. … The program is field-driven and has a broad geographic scope. Led by USAID, the 12 U.S. government agencies that implement Power Africa activities have provided financing and technical assistance to support the power sector in 40 countries over the past six years. We maintain a robust “boots on the ground” presence with hundreds of dedicated power experts situated around the continent. —Andrew Herscowitz, USAID Senior FSO and Power Africa coordinator, from “Energy Diplomacy Works: How Power Africa Redefines Development Partnerships,” March 2020 FSJ. AFSA offices closed, staff work remotely, from March 2020 to May 2021. Evacuating Afghanistan In contrast to its hesitation in the 1990s, AFSA’s Governing Board and staff moved aggressively to address issues of diversity and inclusion across the foreign affairs agencies. —Harry Kopp, The Voice of the Foreign Service (2024). Members of the U.S. Foreign Service stood up to assist in the critical hour and played a vital role in evacuating more than 120,000 people from Afghanistan in the largest air evacuation ever and in an ongoing resettlement effort of unprecedented scale. We invited members to share their experience working on any aspect of this crisis, including the successes as well as the adversity and tragedy. Their essays offer a unique inside look. —From the introduction to the March 2022 FSJ focus. 2020 2021 —July-August 2020 FSJ.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODIyMDU=