Page 11 - Testify 15 Oct 2020

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The full letter is below. debt payments owed over a six-month
period for 28 countries, as well as the
Senior global Church leaders’ letter to availability of new emergency finance
IMF and World Bank on debt cancella- from the IMF and World Bank worth $88
tion for developing countries billion thus far.
Dear Ms Georgieva and Mr Malpass, Yet these initiatives, though welcome,
are insufficient and do not respond to
We write in a spirit of solidarity and the urgency and magnitude of the crisis.
hope as representatives of Christian Without the cancellation of debts, there
communities from all corners of the remains a grave risk that developing
globe. countries will not have the money so
desperately and urgently needed to halt
Each of us has borne witness to the the spread of the virus, to treat people
impact the coronavirus pandemic has suffering from the virus and to mitigate
had on the most vulnerable members of commodity prices”. pandemic. and recover from the economic and so-
our communities through illness, death, cial destruction threatened by the virus.
hunger and loss of livelihoods. We live As our governments do all they can to Our call echoes that from Christian
and work every day with those who are respond to the pandemic, we witness leaders worldwide. In his message to Both of your institutions hold signifi-
suffering and share their hopes and the ongoing injustice that the money so mark the World Day of Prayer for the cant reserves in US dollars and in gold,
fears for the future. desperately needed for medicines, per- Care of Creation, His Holiness Pope which are held for such a time as this. It
sonal protective equipment, emergency Francis urged “the cancellation of the is therefore essential that these re-
Both of your organisations have food supplies and social safety nets is debt of the most vulnerable countries, serves are used to relieve the burden of
acknowledged the devastation the still being diverted to debt repayments. in recognition of the severe impacts of debts for countries in precarious need.
pandemic is causing. The World Bank the medical, social and economic crises
has warned the pandemic “threatens As such, we ask you to show coura- they face as a result of Covid-19”. We The role of the IMF and World Bank is
to push over 100 million people into geous leadership at this critical moment are aware that dozens of faith leaders central to tackling this crisis in a way
extreme poverty and is exacerbating and cancel debts owed by developing earlier this year have similarly urged that prioritises the needs of the most
inequality throughout the world” and countries to your institutions for the governments and the International Mon- vulnerable people, learns from the past
has urged governments and private duration of this crisis. Debt cancellation etary Fund itself to cancel debts. and seeks to heal and rebuild our world.
creditors to suspend and reduce debts, is the most immediate way to release
whilst the International Monetary Fund the finance required to prevent mil- To date, your institutions have taken As you meet this week, we continue to
has recognised that “many countries lions of our sisters and brothers being several steps to respond to the crisis, pray for you and remain committed to
now face multiple crises – a health cri- needlessly pushed into poverty by the including the IMF’s decision to cover ongoing cooperation.
sis, a financial crisis, and a collapse in

Why ethnicity matters in organ donation

There are over 6,000 people waiting for an Donating organs and tissue in line with personal “We are so grateful to the family who said yes to
organ transplant, whilst they wait their lives faith and values is important to many people. When organ donation. We know Makena’s heart came
are on pause. Black, Asian and minority ethnic registering a decision to donate, you will have the from a young woman and we thank her every day
patients make up a third of the waiting list due opportunity to give details on your faith and beliefs, for giving Makena the gift of life. As parents nothing
to a higher incidence of conditions that make to ensure they are respected and discussed with we could give Makena could ever match the gift this
you more likely to need a transplant, like type your family during any conversation about organ woman gave and we hope to honour her memory by
2 diabetes and high blood pressure. donation. Faith leaders and representatives of the raising awareness and encouraging more people to
For many patients in need of a transplant the best various beliefs systems across England have been understand just how important organ donations is.”
match will come from a donor with the same ethnic collaborating with the NHS on this important topic.
background, but a shortage of BAME donors mean To find out more about your faith or belief and
that patients from these communities often wait organ donation visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk/
significantly longer for a life-saving organ than white helping-you-to-decide/your-faith-and-beliefs/
people. On average, black patients wait nearly a year It’s important that you tell your family what you’ve
longer for a kidney than white patients. decided. That way, if your family are ever involved
To address this gap, England has now moved to in discussions about organ donation, they will have
an opt-out system for organ donation. This means the certainty they need to support your decision
that unless you have recorded a decision to opt out, at a difficult time.
or are in an excluded group, it will be considered There is no deadline for registering your decision,
that you have agreed to donate your organs when and you can amend your current decision at any
you die. time on the NHS Organ Donor Register.
The purpose of the law change is to allow more
people to save more lives. If more people donate
their organs, waiting times will decrease and those
in desperate need of a transplant will have the best
chance of receiving one. Importantly, you still have
a choice about whether or not you become an organ Makena
donor. Whatever your decision, you can register it on
the NHS Organ Donor Register. Visit organdonation.nhs.uk
to find out more.

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