As a person of faith, I write to urge you to prioritize providing emergency international aid in the next coronavirus relief package to protect our vulnerable neighbors and to promote global resilience from this crisis.

Specifically, I urge you to:

1) Provide a minimum of $12 billion in international aid to impoverished countries struggling to control coronavirus outbreaks;
2) Provide debt relief by supporting the cancellation of debt payments by impoverished countries to international financial institutions due to the pandemic;
3) Urge the U.S. representative to the IMF to support issuing $3 trillion in “Special Drawing Rights” (SDRs), an emergency financial liquid resource
that is without any cost to U.S. taxpayers.

While the coronavirus has made all of us vulnerable to illness and financial challenges, we know that some are much more vulnerable than others. In some parts of the world, people fear death from hunger and unemployment as much as from sickness due to the coronavirus. Reports from UN-affiliated agencies indicate that 265 million people could face starvation of “biblical proportions" by the end of the year and half-a-billion people could be pushed into poverty by the growing global economic crisis. Many impoverished countries are facing this new crisis compounded by ongoing crises of food insecurity, fragile health infrastructure, and crushing debt. Just as U.S. leadership was essential in addressing other recent global crises such as HIV/AIDS, the 2008 global financial crisis, and the 2014 Ebola epidemic in Western Africa, it is sorely needed now.

Time is running out. Funding is needed immediately. We are seeing rising food insecurity in Africa and Latin America, and millions of children missing planned vaccinations for preventable diseases like measles, cholera and tuberculosis across the world. We are very concerned about losing many thousands of lives if the global community does not help developing countries during this crisis. Congress needs to take the lead for the United States.

According to a poll released by the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, the people of the U.S. overwhelmingly support increased foreign assistance due to the pandemic, with the understanding that global cooperation to address this unprecedented global crisis will make us all safer. Please take action on this immediately.

As a person of faith, I write to urge you to prioritize providing emergency international aid in the next coronavirus relief package to protect our vulnerable neighbors and to promote global resilience from this crisis.

Specifically, I urge you to:

1) Provide a minimum of $12 billion in international aid to impoverished countries struggling to control coronavirus outbreaks;
2) Provide debt relief by supporting the cancellation of debt payments by impoverished countries to international financial institutions due to the pandemic;
3) Urge the U.S. representative to the IMF to support issuing $3 trillion in “Special Drawing Rights” (SDRs), an emergency financial liquid resource that is without any cost to U.S. taxpayers.

While the coronavirus has made all of us vulnerable to illness and financial challenges, we know that some are much more vulnerable than others. In some parts of the world, people fear death from hunger and unemployment as much as from sickness due to the coronavirus. Reports from UN-affiliated agencies indicate that 265 million people could face starvation of “biblical proportions" by the end of the year and half-a-billion people could be pushed into poverty by the growing global economic crisis. Many impoverished countries are facing this new crisis compounded by ongoing crises of food insecurity, fragile health infrastructure, and crushing debt. Just as U.S. leadership was essential in addressing other recent global crises such as HIV/AIDS, the 2008 global financial crisis, and the 2014 Ebola epidemic in Western Africa, it is sorely needed now.

Time is running out. Funding is needed immediately. We are seeing rising food insecurity in Africa and Latin America, and millions of children missing planned vaccinations for preventable diseases like measles, cholera and tuberculosis across the world. We are very concerned about losing many thousands of lives if the global community does not help developing countries during this crisis. Congress needs to take the lead for the United States.

According to a poll released by the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, the people of the U.S. overwhelmingly support increased foreign assistance due to the pandemic, with the understanding that global cooperation to address this unprecedented global crisis will make us all safer. Please take action on this immediately.