Currently, 689 million people worldwide live in extreme poverty or live on less than $1.90 a day. As an international leader, the U.S. is not doing enough to aid impoverished communities abroad. Many Americans don’t know that while the U.S. military budget uses 11% of the national budget at $725 billion, the funding for U.S. foreign aid comprises less than 1%. As one of the world’s wealthiest nations, this is unacceptable. While the U.S. provides the most money to foreign aid, in proportion to the overall budget, the U.S. allocates one of the smallest percentages of its national budget to foreign aid than other wealthy nations.

As COVID-19 continues to spread worldwide, U.S. aid is increasingly important among poorer nations. Local healthcare, education, food and sustainability improve when impoverished communities receive foreign aid. It’s also imperative for the U.S. to supply low-and-middle-income countries with foreign aid for vaccination efforts. At the current rate, it will take over a decade until the world vaccination rate reaches 70%. We must work together as a global community to combat COVID-19, meaning that wealthy countries must provide enough aid to low-and-middle-income countries so that they can manage COVID-19. Organizations like The Borgen Project work to reduce global poverty while making it a priority for Congress and U.S. foreign policy. I encourage anyone who feels passionate about aiding people in need to contact your congressional leaders in support.

Hannah Eliason

Hopkinton

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