The World Food Program estimates that an additional 130 million people in poor and middle-income countries will face life-threatening food insecurity in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is urgent to free up funds for governments to use for health care and food assistance. Faith communities around the world are urging wealthier countries, including the United States and Canada, as well as the International Monetary Fund, to provide debt relief for developing countries during this period, in order to free up the funds needed to protect the most vulnerable. The Society of the Sacred Heart US-C joins an interfaith group of over 100 organizations in the United States in signing this letter to the White House, International Monetary Fund, and G-20, in anticipation of G-20 meetings on debt relief taking place the weekend of July 18. We are raising our voices to try and prevent a catastrophe: households that are food insecure face starvation and are more vulnerable to migration and forced labor.
