Helping developing countries respond to COVID

Some issues are more exciting than others; they strike our imagination and call us to action. Other issues are more esoteric and challenging. Special Drawing Rights are in that latter category, but they are nonetheless important.

This story begins with Jubilee USA, a coalition of religious, development and advocacy groups that has won more than $130 billion in debt relief for the world’s poorest economies. Because of those global agreements, the group reports, that $130 billion is invested in schools, hospitals and other social infrastructure. In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, 54 million kids have gone to‎ school who never would have seen the inside of a classroom.

Earlier this month, the group organized a meeting of high-ranking religious and labor leaders with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to discuss the global COVID response, climate, Puerto Rico, inequality, development aid, debt relief, emergency reserve funds (Special Drawing Rights or SDRs) and tax, transparency and bankruptcy policies to prevent future crises.

Subsequently, at the G7 finance ministers meeting that Secretary Yellen attended, the G7 made their first public announcement in support of one of Jubilee USA's proposals for which they have advocated for more than a year: Issuing emergency reserve currency (SDRs) for developing countries as they cope with COVID health and economic crisis.

Among those who participated in the meeting with Secretary Yellen were leaders of the Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian and United Church of Christ Churches, the Union for Reform Judaism, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Puerto Rico's Catholic Church and the Puerto Rico Evangelical General Bible Society. The Jubilee USA Network was also joined by the AFL-CIO and International Trade Union Confederation.

In the coming weeks, as world leaders at G20 and IMF Meetings make their next round of decisions on global coronavirus response, Jubilee is urging people to take the following action now:

• Over the last year we organized tens of thousands of petitions and actions to the G20, IMF, White House and Congress. In the Fall, faith communities across the US and partners around the world circulated our petition calling US and world leaders to take action to protect the vulnerable and our planet, address inequality, solve the current crisis and prevent future crises. Please sign the coronavirus relief petition now before we deliver it to world leaders in April.
  
  
• Ask your organization, community or religious institution to join 220 groups and sign our letter to the White House, G20 and IMF on coronavirus crisis response. The letter is signed by the largest Unions, religious institutions and human rights, environmental and development groups. More than 150 Jewish, Muslim and Christian congregations and faith groups signed on to support our global coronavirus response policies to lift the vulnerable. Please make sure your group signs on before we deliver the letter in April to the White House, IMF and G20.

You can learn more here. 

Local congregations that support Jubilee USA include Congregation Gates of Heaven in Schenectady, First Reformed Church of Schenectady, First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany, and Westminster Presbyterian Church in Albany.