USAID's 2023 Work with USAID Photo Contest finished accepting image submissions on August 1, 2023. There were almost 600 photos that were submitted from USAID partners, missions, and bureaus all around the world! We were overwhelmed by all of the inspiring, partner-focused, and beautiful images we received, and it was an extremely difficult process to choose this year's winners and finalists. If you do not see one of your photos selected, please know that we will be sharing and highlighting many of these photos in USAID content throughout the year. 

You can visit the images on USAID's Flickr account! 

Below are the top 9 winning submissions. Thank you so much to everyone who participated! 

Winner (First Place) 

Caption: This photo shows two learners undergoing training in the specialization of Higher Technician in Automation and Industrial Computing, specifically in the course of Mechatronics and Robotics. They attended this training during a visit to the Vocational Training Center (VTC) Mechatronics for the preparation of the support strategy of the JOBS project for VTCs. Tunisia Jobs, Opportunities, and Business Success (JOBS) is a five-year USAID activity to support small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to create sustainable employment for Tunisians throughout the country. The project delivers targeted firm-level assistance to businesses to accelerate growth and create jobs.

Photo Credit: Gretchen Robleto Lupiac
Organization: Tunisia JOBS

Winner (Second Place)

Caption: Two participants of project management workshops, supported by USAID/Office of Transition Initiatives’ (OTI) Central America Regional Initiative (CARI) in partnership with the Association for the Sustainable Development of Youth (ADESJU). The two are now part of the youth organization for project management, making positive changes in their lives.

Photo Credit: Carlos García photographer, ADESJU
Organization: Creative Associates International

Winner (Third Place)

Caption: A mother in Isiolo County, Kenya and her children feeding her livestock with ranch cubes distributed by Action Against Hunger through USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) funding.

Photo Credit: Abel Gichuru
Organization: Action Against Hunger – Kenya Country Office

Finalist

Caption: Sumaúma nourishes and transforms lives. Carlos Marques, 20, is a Venezuelan migrant. He lived on the street and stayed overnight at the PRA, a temporary accommodation provided by Operação Acolhida. He started by volunteering in the accommodation itself, helping with the cleaning activities. Today he, who never imagined working in a kitchen, is one of the hired cooks by Cáritas Brazil (CB). With this job, the smile on his face means a lot. He is now able to rent his own house, but mainly, he is able to assist his fellow Venezuelans. USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) made it possible for Carlos to change his life and continues to make many other transformations possible.

Photo Credit: Emmily Melo, Regional Communications Assistant for Cáritas in Roraima
Organization: Cáritas

Finalist

Caption:  Five children walk back home in Mosul’s Old City alleyways after receiving brand new school bags in the winter of 2019. USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) distributed 20,000 school bags to instill a sense of support among vulnerable families in West Mosul.

Photo Credit: Mohammed Abdulhaq Yahya from Daw Media Production
Organization: Chemonics International

Finalist

Caption: USAID’s Maternal and Child Health Survival Project (MCSP), working in Abakaliki town of Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Nwuguru Nwabam and his premature son received care at the Mile Four Hospital where they had skin-to-skin, known as Kangaroo Father Care, through support from MCSP. The baby was born at week 31 and weighed 1 kg. Nurse Sabrina Okpete Gonna enlisted the father to perform kangaroo care to provide the warmth and health benefits of skin-to-skin care for his newborn son, so he would survive and thrive.

Photo Credit: Karen Kasmauski
Organization: Jhpiego from 2018, Nigeria

Finalist

Caption: A "friendly space" for children and adolescents from the community of Los Siesquenes and Santa Isabel, which is located in the Lambayeque region, in northern Peru. In April 2023, with funding from USAID, Save the Children distributed humanitarian aid to families affected by the rains and floods that occurred in the country. These "friendly spaces" are moments in which children and adolescents participate in different activities to help them process the emotions generated by the climate emergency.

The protagonists of the photo are the children of the community, a Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Officer from Save the Children in Peru, and Angélica Salas, USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) Field Monitor.

Photo Credit: Save the Children (Perú Country Office)
Organization: Save the Children (Perú Country Office)

Finalist

Caption: Sujata Kumari Singh, the provider and owner of a private pharmacy, requests a young client to scan the QR code to give feedback on their service. Singh is using her role as a private health service provider at a pharmacy, which she co-owns in Bardibas in Madhesh Province, to help young people get the information they need to make decisions about their sexual and reproductive lives. She now understands client needs through an online client feedback mechanism and uses the feedback to make changes to how she provides health services as well as how she manages her pharmacy. Sujata’s is one of the 910 private sector health facilities and pharmacies that USAID supported through MOMENTUM Nepal, which has given young Nepalis access to high quality, person-centered family planning services.

Photo Credit:  Pramin Manandhar
Organization: FHI 360

Finalist

Caption: Yoga and art classes are held for internally displaced persons (IDP), women and kids, at our Zaporizhzhia Mental Health Center in Ukraine. The support is provided within the Emergency Assistance for Conflict-affected IDPs and Communities (EACIC) Program thanks to the generous support of the American people implemented by Project HOPE and provided through the USAID Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA).

Photo Credit: Oleksii Kozodaiev
Organization: ProjectHOPE