Washington, DC  –  Today, American Jewish World Service, AVAC, Be A Hero, Better World Campaign, Bread for the World, CARE, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Fast-Track Cities Institute, Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Global Citizen, Global Health Council, Health GAP, International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, International Medical Corps, IntraHealth International, Management Sciences for Health, Medical Impact, ONE, Open Society Policy Center, Oxfam America, PAI, Pandemic Action Network, PATH, Pathfinder International, PIH, PrEP4All, Public Citizen, R2H Action (Right to Health), RESULTS, Save the Children, Shot@Life, The Taskforce for Global Health, United Nations Association-USA, United to Beat Malaria, and World Vision US issued the following statement after the U.S. Senate agreed on a supplemental COVID-19 funding package that cuts off funding for the global COVID response. 

 

“We are deeply disappointed by the Senate’s short-sighted decision to cut off all global COVID funds. If passed, this package would send the signal that Congress has not only turned its back on the rest of the world, but it risked the safety and security of the American people and contributed to prolonging the pandemic.

 

“Federal agencies responsible for global relief are running out of funds. They will likely be forced to pause relief efforts or reallocate funding from other critical areas if they have not already. It is our hope that Congress returns from its upcoming recess with the commitment to quickly allocate the funds necessary to vaccinate the world and save lives. 

 

"Vaccinating the world and providing critical testing and treatment support in low-income countries is the only way out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Until we commit to providing the necessary resources to combat COVID-19 globally, more variants will emerge, more people will contract the virus and the death toll will continue to rise. The need to adequately respond to COVID-19 compounds all other humanitarian issues including the crisis in Ukraine. Given the current geopolitical unrest and inevitable spread of variants and mutations, the situation is only likely to worsen. 

 

“In crisis after crisis, the United States has stood up and led the world to prosperity. We implore Congress to take on the mantle of leadership, recognize the COVID-19 pandemic as a global threat to humanity, and create a package that reflects the needs of countries around the globe.

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Statement reformatted for this site. Original statement can be found here.