COVID-19
Speeches Shim
Last updated: September 17, 2021
This fiscal year alone, the United States has provided more than $515 million worth of humanitarian assistance of various kinds, allowing our partners to reach those in urgent need with everything from food to clean drinking water to basic services. But it is not enough. We cannot kid ourselves that it is enough. We commend the generous pledges made by other donor countries. But the fact is that much more funding is needed to keep Yemen from the brink. And we call on all parties to allow the unhindered import and distribution of fuel so that hospitals and water treatment can function, so that food prices stop rising and so that aid can continue to reach its intended recipients.
Today, Administrator Samantha Power met with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Achim Steiner.
Today, the United States announced nearly $64 million in additional humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan. This funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Department of State will flow through independent organizations, such as UN agencies and NGOs, and provide life-saving support directly to Afghans facing the compounding effects of insecurity, conflict, recurring natural disasters, and the COVID-19 pandemic. For assistance to be effective, we will need an environment conducive to the principled delivery of aid, including the ability for both female and male aid workers to operate freely. This contribution underscores the United States’ commitment to the Afghan people.
Today, Administrator Samantha Power met with Secretary General Jagan Chapagain of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). They discussed IFRC’s tremendous contributions to tackling global health and humanitarian challenges around the world, including their work responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing $100,000 in immediate assistance to support people affected by ongoing drought in Kazakhstan. Severe drought has left pastures in affected regions unable to support livestock, resulting in the deaths of thousands of cows and horses. The drought has also devastated crops and depleted already scarce freshwater resources. Between increasing food prices and the loss of livestock, the drought has affected tens of thousands of people.
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