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In an effort to help alleviate suffering during several profound crises, Pope Francis sends financial aid to Haiti, Bangladesh and Vietnam.
Pope Francis is donating 200,000 euros to help the victims in Haiti, announced a press release from the Department for Integral Human Development on August 24, 2021. The Argentine pontiff is also donating nearly 50,000 euros to support the recently stricken populations by Cyclone Yaas in Bangladesh as well as 100,000 euros for the victims of the health crisis in Vietnam.
Following the earthquake that struck Haiti ten days ago, Pope Francis, through the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, decided to send "an initial contribution of 200,000 euros to help the population during this period of emergency.” According to data from local authorities, the earthquake has already killed 2,200 people and injured more than 12,000.
The sum will be distributed in collaboration with the apostolic nunciature, between the dioceses most affected by the disaster, the statement said. This aid is intended to be "an immediate expression of the feeling of spiritual closeness and paternal encouragement" of the Pope for those affected by this tragedy.
On August 15, the pontiff deplored the many deaths and injuries caused by the disaster. "May the solidarity of all mitigate the consequences of this tragedy," he said.
The Caribbean country, already hard-hit by the Covid-19 crisis, is also suffering a serious political crisis, its president having been assassinated on July 11. "In recent days, my prayers have often been directed to Haiti," the pope said on July 11, while still at the Gemelli polyclinic in Rome, after his colon surgery.
The Pope also decided to send emergency aid of around 60,000 euros to the people of Bangladesh, hit by Cyclone Yaas, last May. Additionally, Pope Francis donated 100,000 euros to the Vietnamese who are "in a state of great distress because of the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic."
Vietnam is currently affected by a new wave of COVID-19 cases. According to RFI, Ho Chi Minh City, the large metropolis in the south of the country, is seeing the number of people positive for the virus soar. "On Sunday, nearly 600 people [there] died," indicates the French media outlet. Residents have been ordered to stay in their homes for the next two weeks. For the first time, the army is mobilized in the streets.
