On February 15, USAID's Partnership for Peace Fund (PPF) Advisory Board members concluded a three-day visit to Israel and the West Bank to meet with partners and learn about USAID activities implemented through the Middle East Partnership for Peace Act (MEPPA).
This trip was the first opportunity for board members to meet directly with USAID staff who manage MEPPA programming, partner staff who implement the activities, and Israelis and Palestinians who participate in peacebuilding initiatives.
The Board discussed critical development issues and the challenges and opportunities of implementing people-to-people activities with staff from the USAID West Bank and Gaza Mission, before visiting several activity sites. As part of their trip, the Board met with Israeli and Palestinian nurses, doctors, and surgeons to discuss joint efforts to train medical professionals and improve patient care; Israeli and Palestinian students to hear about how they are engaging in climate diplomacy; and Palestinian and Israeli business leaders to discuss the opportunities for building the foundations of peace through greater economic linkages.
In addition, Board members met with MEPPA-supported engineers to learn how inclusively-designed products for people with disabilities support equal access for all in peacebuilding and heard from teams working together on technological innovations to address common community-level challenges. The Board also met with entrepreneurs and innovators, including a visit to a women-focused innovation hub, to learn more about how these women are building cross-border networks and economic ties.
The PPF Board's visit provided members with critical first-hand insights to help them fulfill their advisory role as USAID advances engagement between Israelis and Palestinians in support of a sustainable two-state solution. The PPF Board will meet again in May to share their recommendations for USAID, discuss results from implementation, and receive a briefing on the future of MEPPA.
USAID awarded the first 10 activities under MEPPA in 2022 and continues to fund new ideas and projects. Click here to learn more and apply for MEPPA funding: www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html?keywords=72029423APS00001
