By Cynthia Taylor
Anne Gore, a Madison County native and the former director of operations in the Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), recently gave a presentation on her USAID experience with an emphasis on humanitarian principles applicable to local communities. The presentation, entitled “Lives at Risk: Shifting the Principled Approach,” took place at Blue Quartz Winery in Etlan on July 14 in front of a standing room only audience.
Gore described her experiences working with affected populations in disaster response situations around the world, including Afghanistan, Haiti, Ethiopia, Ukraine, and Sudan. She stated that USAID response efforts were guided by principles focusing on humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence. Rapid response programs guided by Gore addressed needs such as food security, shelter, water and sanitation, fuel delivery, and emergency medicine.
Gore’s experience also included risk and hazard assessment, scenario-based training and exercises, mitigation planning, and continuity of operations. As one example, Gore spoke of her experience in helping to lead a joint exercise involving the Israeli Defense Force and the Palestinian Authority to prepare for a potential earthquake in the Jordan River Valley. She stated that humanitarian principles were paramount in delivering successful solutions for the exercise.
Gore noted that with the demise of USAID and ongoing federal retrenchment, it will be important for state and local agencies, along with private organizations, to augment risk mitigation and emergency management expertise, and attempt to replicate institutionalized best practices in disaster response.
She pointed to the 1995 Madison County flooding as an example of the kind of event that communities will need to address effectively as federalized responses become more limited.
Gore also addressed the impact of federal retrenchment on Virginia’s economy, noting the massive loss of jobs and investment. In particular, she cited an estimated $2.2 billion lost in GDP in the state, including agricultural loss. USAID and other agencies have largely suspended purchases of food supplies intended for communities in need both nationally and internationally.
USAID was established in 1961 during the Kennedy Administration and provided support globally until its official closure in July. The organization’s mission was to promote and demonstrate democratic values abroad, and advance a free, peaceful, and prosperous world. Programs ranged from poverty and disease prevention to disaster mitigation and response. During her talk, Gore noted that the first U.S. response to an international disaster took place during the administration of President James Madison in 1812 following a major earthquake in Venezuela.
