COVID Knows No Borders

Whenever the question of foreign aid is brought up, it is almost always met with the same response: Why should we invest abroad when there are so many issues here at home? This year more than ever it may seem essential to focus solely on repairing the U.S. We are currently in a delicate state, still trying to recover from the devastation of COVID and nurture a fragile economy. However, this is exactly why now more than ever foreign aid is essential.

COVID demonstrated to the world how little borders separate us. The pandemic flew across countries and continents quicker than anyone expected. This connection between everyone still exists, and currently, low-income countries may not receive the vaccine for years to come. The longer COVID is not combatted the greater the possibility is for stronger variants to arise. Therefore, it is essential to support legislation like the Emergency Funding for a Global Response to COVID-19, because COVID is a global issue that demands a global response.

While you may now see the need for foreign aid, many will still argue that with a fragile economy now is not the time to throw money at other countries. But what they are failing to account for is how many U.S. companies depend on the rest of the world as consumers and customers. Legislation like the Keeping Girls in School Act will help educate and progress developing nations, therefore stabilizing their economy and thus boosting our own.

As a Borgen project intern, a national nonprofit that works to make global poverty a focus of U.S. foreign policy, I have been educated on how valuable international aid is. I hope I conveyed that value and concern today.