Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
June 10, 2024 On June 10, 2024, Assistant Secretary for Energy Resources Geoffrey R. Pyatt will travel to Berlin, Germany for the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC). On June 12, he will travel to Luanda, Angola for the third U.S.-Angola Energy Security Dialogue (ESD), a deliverable from President Biden's meeting with Angolan President Lourenco in the Oval Office last year. In Berlin, Assistant Secretary Pyatt will join Under Secretary Jose W. Fernandez on the U.S. delegation led by Special Representative for Ukraine's Economic Recovery Penny Pritzker. He will convene, with URC hosts, a G7+ Ukraine energy coordination group meeting and hold bilateral discussions with private sector and government partners focused on marshalling emergency assistance for Ukraine's energy sector following Russia's escalation of attacks beginning March 22. Alongside Ukrainian and other international partners, Assistant Secretary Pyatt will also join a panel on Ukraine's new national energy and climate plan and support American companies looking to develop Ukraine opportunities. On June 13 in Luanda, Assistant Secretary Pyatt will open the ESD with Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, Angola Diamantino Pedro Azevedo and Minister for Energy and Water João Baptista Borges, the heads of the Angolan delegation. Their conversations will cover Angola's energy security, energy transition, and decarbonization goals, including critical minerals, and supporting Angola's ambitions for increased energy access and power generation. This dialogue reflects the United States' and Angola's deep historical cooperation on energy issues, bolstered by $900 million in U.S. clean energy investment finalized at the U.S.-Africa Business Summit in Dallas, Texas, and builds on high-level travel to Angola by Secretary Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, USAID Administrator Samantha Power, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma, and EXIM Chair Reta Jo Lewis. For further media information, please contact ENR-PD-Clearances@state.gov. Ambassador Robert Wood
Alternative Representative for Special Political Affairs
New York, New York
June 10, 2024 AS DELIVERED Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, SRSG Abarry and Mr. Verissimo of ECAS for your informative briefings. The United States believes it is vital to support the democratic and peaceful aspirations of the people of Central Africa. The humanitarian impact of the Sudan conflict, building democratic institutions, encouraging free and fair elections, and countering the continuing threat from Boko Haram all remain important priorities. The United States is particularly concerned by the effect of the Sudan crisis on Chad and the Central African Republic, with both countries collectively hosting over 600,000 new Sudanese refugees. We express our appreciation to the governments of Chad and CAR, local communities, and NGOs for welcoming these refugees. The United States continues to provide robust humanitarian aid to help ensure the needs of refugees, host communities, and others are met. Last year, the United States was the largest provider of assistance to Sudan and neighboring countries. We will continue working with key partners, particularly those within the region, to press the warring parties to lay down their arms, ensure unhindered humanitarian assistance, and resume peace talks. In Chad, we welcome the largely peaceful conduct of the presidential election on May 6, culminating a three-year transition, though we regret the transitional government's full control over electoral institutions resulted in limits on transparency, and undermined public confidence in the results. As Chad prepares for legislative elections in late 2024, followed by local elections, we call on the government to increase inclusivity in and transparency of the electoral process. We encourage Gabon to continue to make progress on its timeline toward elections—and to include civil society in the process. U.S. assistance is highly dependent on Gabon moving toward free and fair elections with inclusive electoral processes and establishing in a timely manner a democratically elected government that represents the Gabonese people. Turning to the Central African Republic, the United States calls on the government and opposition to engage constructively and transparently ahead of the country's first local and regional elections since 1988. These elections are a critical element of decentralization and building local institutions responsive to citizens' needs. Additionally, the United States affirms MINUSCA's important role in facilitating local and regional elections and more broadly supporting the extension of state authority. It is essential that the government of the Central African Republic strengthens its coordination with MINUSCA and permits the mission to operate free of obstruction. Colleagues, we cannot let terrorist groups impede or degrade democratic progress. The United States condemns Boko Haram, ISIS-West Africa, and all groups that attack civilians and displace populations. The legacy of the LRA, which remains active, demonstrates how a lack of accountability can perpetuate violence. The United States supports efforts by regional states and the Multinational Joint Task Force to combat these terrorist groups and implement holistic strategies that address the underlying drivers of terrorism and ensure justice. In closing, the United States stands ready to continue our support for the democratic and peaceful aspirations of the people of Central Africa. And we remain in favor of a PRST that would put the Council on the record on these important issues, including acknowledging the threat climate change poses to the region. Thank you, Mr. President. ### United States Agency for International Development
Remarks
June 10, 2024 Geneva, Switzerland, May 30, 2024 - World Health Assembly Thank you so much for the chance to speak here. Director General Tedros, Excellencies, Ministers, distinguished guests, and delegates. It's a great pleasure. I want to start by just saying, USAID is deploying AI tools with country partners now, and that has given us a deep understanding of the great opportunities and great risks and how we are beginning and just beginning to manage them. First thing to understand is that AI is not going to replace humans and health care in the near future. It is, right now, providing clear potential for augmenting human capabilities for health, so that human beings can do more and manage with less complexity and less cost. Many examples of human conditions that have required much higher levels of expertise. As a case in point, Director General Tedros referred to the deployment of chest X-rays, digital chest X-ray systems, for TB. In TB, a great difficulty is that it is often latent and unseen without symptoms. So screening with chest X-rays is very important, but the capacity with radiologists to have same day testing of chest X-rays and readout and diagnosis and action makes that very difficult to deploy. So we have seven countries around the world, including places like Vietnam and Nigeria, where we are now deploying AI-based, computer aided detection software systems that instantly read chest X-rays and give people diagnoses. Using it in high burden countries, we are seeing that these tools have increased, for example, in Nigeria, case detection of TB cases by more than one-third in the course of a single year when coupled with molecular diagnosis. Now, one of the critical things is there are many applications that are potentially coming down the pike. AI-based ultrasound for assessment in pregnancy, AI-based skin lesion detection. Those tools are out there and available. We went with this tool first for chest X-ray in TB. Why? Because WHO did an evaluation and provided an initial set of recommendations that could give us some normative guidance? Because, based on that guidance, countries we're working with had confidence that they could begin to have their regulatory systems drive these capabilities forward. And then further, we have a test in case the AI is wrong. We are not relying on this coupled with a molecular testing capability for TB that can diagnose at the same time, we can confirm whether someone has TB or not, and then proceed to treatment and not base it solely on an AI reading for a chest X-ray. It gives us either a test or a human assessment that helps us proceed to the next use. There are other uses besides diagnostic interpretation. We know it could help reduce the burden on health care workers in Eswatini. We are supporting partners to explore the use of generative AI in speech to text models to reduce their clinical documentation and monitoring and evaluation forms and reporting that they must do the types of systems we're actively deploying at the Mass General Brigham, where I used to be employed before I came into the government. And we're seeing these systems move around the world, potentially in equitable ways. There are many, many more applications. The critical components of being able to address these needs are where USAID investments in the digital health space are going. We have long had a set of work around how to enable better digital solution use in countries. The critical architecture of systems for digital health are the same architectures that are required for use of AI tools. They're not fundamentally different. You have to have ways to identify people and connect their data between different kinds of data sets. You have to enable clinicians to access that data and use it, and then you have to ensure security and privacy in the process. Same with the AI tools. And then you have to ensure accuracy along the way. That has required more and more that countries have a digital strategy at a country level, and that that strategy is overseen by a digital leader who can make sure that all of the components that have to be executed are being executed. And we're supporting training of country officials, people completing these plans, and enabling this to move out in the world. So my final point, I'll just say is I'm seeing how these tools are deploying in the real world. There is great opportunity and there are great risks, but health is the space where we can demonstrate that the good will outpace the bad. The U.S. Department of State French Language Spokesperson Johann Schmonsees is based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Please direct interview requests or questions to AFMediaHub@state.gov. | 
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