On Friday, January 8, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s gave a major speech on the 15th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD+15). She said, “ if we believe that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights, then we cannot accept the ongoing marginalization of half the world’s population. We cannot accept it morally, politically, socially, or economically.” Further she discussed the US’s support to the Millennium Development Goals, in particular its new funding, new programs, and a renewed commitment to achieve Millennium Development Goal Five, a [three-fourths] reduction in global maternal mortality, and universal access to reproductive healthcare. You can watch the speech and read the text at http://www.icpd2015.org/

Her remarks on ICPD+15 followed another major speech on development, given by her at the Center for Global Development. During the same week, Rajiv Shah was sworn in as the new Administrator for the US Agency for International Development, making it quite the week for development issues in Washington, DC.