Page 28 - bon-dia-aruba-20220408

A28 u.s. news
Diabierna 8 aPriL 2022

Experts say US suspension of COVID aid will prolong pandemic

to that country. failed on vaccine equity, it’s Although vaccines are more
clear all of those promises plentiful this year, many
Other U.S.-funded vaccina- have now been broken,” he poorer countries have strug-
tion campaigns in dozens of said, adding that without gled to get shots into arms
countries, including Ugan- concerted effort and money and hundreds of millions of
da, Zambia, Ivory Coast and to fight COVID-19 in the donated vaccines have either
Mali, could also come to a coming months, the pan- expired, been returned or
grinding halt. demic could persist for years. sat unused. To address those
logistical hurdles, U.S. aid
“Any stoppage of funds will While about 66% of the has financed critical services
affect us,” said Misaki Way- American population has in countries across Africa,
engera, a Ugandan official been fully immunized against including the safe delivery
who heads a technical com- the coronavirus, fewer than of vaccines, training health
mittee advising the govern- 15% of people in poorer workers and fighting vaccine
ment on the pandemic re- countries have received a misinformation.
sponse. He said Uganda has single dose. Health officials
(AP) — In the latest Sen- the progress achieved so far. leaned heavily on donor help working on COVID-19 vac- For example, in Novem-
ate package targeted at — it received more than 11 cination in developing coun- ber the U.S. Embassy in the
stopping the coronavirus, The U.S. has been the biggest million vaccines from the tries supported by the U.S. Cameroonian capital set up
U.S. lawmakers dropped contributor to the global pan- U.S. — and that any cuts say they expect to see a rever- a tent for mass vaccination:
nearly all funding for demic response, delivering “would make it very difficult sal of progress once the funds Within the first five days,
curbing the virus be- more than 500 million vac- for us to make ends meet.” disappear. more than 300,000 people
yond American borders, a cines, and the lack of funding received a dose. Those kinds
move many health experts will be a major setback. The “This is a bit of a kick in the “Vaccination will stop or of events will now be harder
slammed as dangerously money has paid for numer- teeth to poor countries that not even get started in some to conduct without American
short-sighted. ous interventions, including were promised billions of countries,” said Rachel Hall, funds.
a mass vaccination campaign vaccines and resources last executive director of U.S.
They warn the suspension in the Cameroonian capital year in grand pledges made government advocacy at the Hall also noted there would
of COVID-19 aid for poorer that saw hundreds of thou- by the G7 and the G20,” said charity CARE. She cited es- be consequences far beyond
countries could ultimately sands of people get their first Michael Head, a global health timates from USAID that the COVID-19, saying countries
allow the kind of unchecked dose, as well as the construc- research fellow at Britain’s suspended funding would struggling with multiple dis-
transmission needed for the tion of a COVID-19 care fa- Southampton University. mean scrapping testing, treat- ease outbreaks, like Congo
next worrisome variant to cility in South Africa and the ment and health services for and Mali, would face difficult
emerge and unravel much of donation of 1,000 ventilators “Given how badly we’ve about 100 million people. choices.

Ukrainian refugees find route to US goes through Mexico

(AP) — Hundreds of Ukrainian destination was Sacramento, Califor- it has expanded facilities in San Diego taken him to Ukraine and Hungary,
refugees arriving daily have a nia, to live with her mother, who she to deal with humanitarian cases. calls the operation “duct tape and
message for family and friends in hadn’t seen in 15 years. glue” but refugees prefer it to over-
Europe: The fastest route to set- “We realized we had a problem that whelmed European countries, where
tle in the United States is booking Another Ukrainian family posed the government wasn’t going to solve, millions of Ukrainians have settled.
a flight to Mexico. nearby for photos under a U.S. Cus- so we solved it,” said Phil Metzger,
toms and Border Protection sign at pastor of Calvary Church in the San The Biden administration has said it
A loose volunteer coalition, largely San Diego’s San Ysidro port of entry, Diego suburb of Chula Vista, where will accept up to 100,000 Ukrainians
from Slavic churches in the western the busiest crossing between the U.S. about 75 members host Ukrainian but Mexico is the only route produc-
United States, is guiding hundreds and Mexico. Volunteers under a blue families and another 100 refugees ing big numbers. Appointments at
of refugees daily from the airport in canopy offered snacks while refugees sleep on air mattresses and pews. U.S. consulates in Europe are scarce,
the Mexican border city of Tijuana to waited for family to pick them up or and refugee resettlement takes time.
hotels, churches and shelters, where for buses to take them to a nearby Metzger, whose pastoral work has
they wait two to four days for U.S church.
officials to admit them on humani-
tarian parole. In less than two weeks, At the Tijuana airport, weary travel-
volunteers worked with U.S. and ers who enter Mexico as tourists in
Mexican officials to build a remark- Mexico City or Cancun are directed
ably efficient and expanding network to a makeshift lounge in the terminal
to provide food, security, transporta- with a sign in black marker that reads,
tion, and shelter. “Only for Ukrainian Refugees.” It is
the only place to register to enter the
The volunteers, who wear blue and U.S.
yellow badges to represent the Ukrai-
nian flag but have no group name or About 400 Ukrainians were admit-
leader, started a waiting list on note- ted to the United States Wednesday
pads and later switched to a mobile in San Diego, while about 700 more
app normally used to track church arrived in Tijuana, according to vol-
attendance. Ukrainians are told to re- unteers who manage the waiting list.
port to a U.S. border crossing as their That imbalance lengthens the wait-
numbers approach, a system that or- ing list, which stood at 973 families
ganizers liken to waiting for a restau- or single adults Tuesday.
rant table.
U.S officials told volunteers they
“We feel so lucky, so blessed,” said aim to admit about 550 Ukrainians
Tatiana Bondarenko, who traveled daily as processing moves to a nearby
through Moldova, Romania, Austria crossing that is temporarily closed to
and Mexico before arriving Tuesday the public. CBP didn’t provide num-
in San Diego with her husband and bers in response to questions about
children, ages 8, 12, and 15. Her final operations and plans, saying only that