‘The Right Thing’: Biden Gives $1 Billion in Humanitarian Aid to Displaced Africans

President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that the United States will be donating $1 billion in humanitarian aid to Africans who were “displaced from homes” by droughts or a lack of food.

In a speech at the National Museum of Slavery in Luanda, Angola, on Tuesday, Biden highlighted how, under his administration, the U.S. had brought the African Union into G20 “as a permanent member” and added that his administration had “insisted on more African representation” in world financial institutions.

“Being all in on Africa means making sure African voices are heard at the tables that matter most,” Biden said. “Under my leadership, the United States brought — we brought in the African Union as a permanent member of the G20 economies, and we insisted on more African representation among the leaders of the International Monetary Fund, and other world financial institutions.”

“We’ve also pushed to ensure that developing nations do not, do not choose — have to choose between paying down unsustainable debt and being able to invest in their own people,” Biden added. “And, we’re using our voice — our own voice to increase Africa’s presence in the U.N. Security Council at the United Nations.”

Biden continued to note how the U.S. was continuing to be “the world’s largest provider of humanitarian aid and development assistance.”

“That’s going to increase — you know, that’s the right thing for the wealthiest nation in the world to do,” Biden added. “And today, I’m announcing over $1 billion in new humanitarian support for Africans displaced from homes by historic droughts and food insecurity. We know African leaders and citizens are seeking more than just aid — you seek investment, so the United States is expanding our relationship all across Africa from assistance to aid, to investment to trade.”

Biden’s announcement of $1 billion in humanitarian aid to people in need in Africa comes months after communities in western North Carolina, southwestern Virginia, eastern Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida faced devastating flooding, landslides, and destruction from Hurricane Helene.

While several North Carolina residents criticized the government’s response to Hurricane Helene and stated they had seen no signs of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and did not care if FEMA came to help, FEMA released a press release stating that “more than $45 million” went towards hurricane relief efforts.

FEMA’s press release noted that out of the $45 million that went to hurricane relief efforts, North Carolina received “more than $17 million,” Florida received over $23 million, Georgia received more than $150,000, more than $124,000 was given to Virginia, and $4.5 million went to South Carolina.