On May 9th, 19 members of the US Senate sent a letter to President Obama encouraging him to swiftly appoint a Special Representative to Africa’s Great lakes region.  Given the multiple challenges in the region, the Senators stated that the appointment of a high level member of the administration who would answer directly to the secretary of state would not duplicate the work of the US ambassadors in the nations of the region, but would build on them and help coordinate US regional efforts.  Read the full here