COVID-19
Speeches Shim
Last updated: December 13, 2021
On December 20, Administrator Samantha Power met with Japanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs Suzuki Takako. Administrator Power thanked State Minister Suzuki for Japan’s leadership and commitments at the 2021 Nutrition for Growth Summit and for its ongoing support to COVAX and the global COVID-19 response. Administrator Power and Minister Suzuki discussed the importance of accelerating efforts to turn COVID-19 vaccines into vaccinations through expanded vaccine readiness and delivery support. They also discussed collaboration on addressing critical development needs in Central America and, through the US-Japan-Australia Trilateral Infrastructure Partnership, on mobilizing infrastructure investment in the Indo-Pacific.
The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing $200,000 in immediate assistance to support people affected by Super Typhoon Rai in the Philippines. The typhoon–known locally as Typhoon Odette–brought torrential rains, causing widespread flooding, landslides, and damage to homes. Many cities across the Philippines have lost power and some bridges and roads remain impassable. People are seeking shelter in evacuation centers and cannot safely return home yet.
The decision of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with the U.S. Department of Labor, to reserve 6,500 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for Guatemalans, Hondurans, Salvadorans, and Haitians is the right move at the right time. The United States is committed to addressing the root causes of irregular migration, and today’s decision is a critical step in advancing that goal by building lawful pathways to temporary work opportunities in the United States. The H-2B program permits employers to temporarily hire noncitizens to perform nonagricultural labor or services in the United States, and with job openings in the U.S. at a near-record high, these visas will expand opportunities for temporary legal work in the United States, and they will support America’s economic recovery.
This week, USAID Administrator Samantha Power held a series of high-level meetings with key United States and world health experts to discuss the recently announced whole-of-government effort, the Initiative for Global Vaccine Access (Global VAX). Vaccinating the world is the best way to save lives, prevent future variants that threaten the health of communities around the world, including Americans, and undermine the global economic recovery. As more vaccine supply flows to low and middle income countries, the United States is redoubling efforts to help countries efficiently and effectively receive, distribute, and administer doses. Global VAX focuses on accelerating global efforts to get shots in arms —particularly in sub-Saharan Africa—and to enhance international coordination to rapidly overcome barriers to vaccine delivery.
Today, Administrator Power met with Harjit Sajjan, Minister of International Development of Canada. They discussed accelerating global efforts to turn COVID-19 vaccines into shots in arms and coordinating actions to improve vaccine readiness and distribution bilaterally and through multilateral channels.
Comment
Make a general inquiry or suggest an improvement.