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New Mission Director for the West Bank and Gaza
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 26, 2006
Press Office: 202-712-4320
Public Information: 202-712-4810
www.usaid.gov
Dr. Howard Sumka and his wife Michele being contratulated by USAID Deputy Adminstrator Jim Kunder following swearing in ceremonies at USAID Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Acting Deputy Administrator James Kunder administered the oath of office to
Dr. Howard Sumka to assume the position of USAID Mission Director for the
West Bank and Gaza.
For the past 13 years, USAID has funded programs that help over 3.8 million people in the West Bank and Gaza and in the current Middle East environment, managing programs will continue to be an important challenge. USAID will work with partners and NGOs to provide food, clean water, health care, and education programs, as well as administer democracy and private sector activities.
This will be the third USAID mission Dr. Sumka has headed, having been the Mission Director for both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania. In Bosnia, he led a staff of over 100 people and managed a budget that exceeded $65 million, focusing on such programs as commercial loan guaranties, tourism, agricultural support, infrastructure development, anti-trafficking and judicial reform. Many of the same kinds of programs were in place in Albania, as well as power sector development and reform, rule of law initiatives and public-private partnerships. Dr. Sumka was the director in Albania during the NATO action in Kosovo and helped to provide for nearly 500,000 refugees and reconstruct the communities that hosted them.
Prior to joining USAID, Dr. Sumka worked for the Department of Housing and Urban Development and was on the faculty at the University of Kansas.
Dr. Sumka holds a PhD in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina. He and his wife, Michele, have two grown daughters.
For more information on USAID in the West Bank and Gaza, please visit http://www.usaid.gov/locations/asia_near_east/countries/wbgaza/.
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