Foreign aid

COVID-19 restrictions have just been loosened here in Virginia, all thanks to the proper precautions and vaccine rollout. The United States is making great strides to combat COVID-19, but it doesn’t just end here. Relief is necessary for American citizens, but it is also important for countries whose poverty and hunger levels are being exacerbated by the pandemic.

We are on the verge of getting back to normal, but what is normal? For Americans, it’s spending time with friends and family, walking around the mall, taking weekend trips, or traveling to other countries. Now think about what normal might mean for people living in extreme global poverty. Normal is living on less than $2 a day, having limited access to food and water and little to no access to jobs or an income. With limited resources, countries affected by this form of extreme poverty don’t have the infrastructure to combat COVID-19 at the same level as we do in the United States.

Currently, Congress is negotiating the next COVID-19 relief package. Included in the American Rescue Plan is $11 billion for foreign aid so that there is global access to vaccines and other COVID-19 relief initiatives. The only way to go back to normal is to eradicate this virus on a worldwide scale.

I urge you to contact your two senators and one representative and ask them to vote yes on the American Rescue Plan. Changing the world starts with you, and this can be the first step.

Rachel Nemeth, Norfolk