The COVID-19 pandemic is setting back decades of progress in the fight to end global poverty and diseases like tuberculosis as 500 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and North Africa are at risk of becoming impoverished again.

Congress recently passed a third emergency supplemental package to fight COVID-19, yet less than half of 1 percent was dedicated to fighting this pandemic internationally. According to The Borgen Project, a nonprofit dedicated to making global poverty a focus of U.S. foreign policy, “An investment in global health security is an investment in U.S. national security,” as well as future economic prosperity.

For this reason, Congress must provide at least $12 billion in the next emergency supplemental for the International Affairs Budget to fight COVID-19 abroad. Specifically, this money will fund global health programs, economic relief and humanitarian aid for developing countries, and protect U.S. government personnel overseas.

Pandemics do not respect borders. Admiral Stavridis and General Zinni commented, “No matter how successful we are in fighting the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic at home, we will never stop it unless we are also fighting it around the world.”

I urge Senator Cruz and Senator Cornyn to support an allocation of $12 billion to the International Affairs Budget in the next emergency supplemental so we can finally beat COVID-19.

Emma Goins

Cypress