We talk about recovery as though it’s something everyone experiences the same way. That’s not true.

In many places, recovery never came. Food costs more. Medicine costs more. And for millions of people, just getting through the day is still a struggle.

I’ve been in those places.

I’ve watched women dig into a dry riverbed to find a little muddy water, scoop it up, and carry it home on top of their heads. Not because it was clean and not because it was enough, but because it was something.

And I learned something in those moments.

When the well runs dry or the pump handle breaks, you don’t argue about the bucket.

That’s where a lot of the world is right now.

When you’ve seen that, it changes how you look at things. It’s hard to sit around and argue over policy details when you know people are just trying to survive another day.

Scripture says, “The poor will always be among you.” That was never meant as an excuse to look away — it was a reminder that we’re always going to have the opportunity, and the responsibility, to help.

Right now, we’ve got one of those opportunities.

A few years ago, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a mechanism called Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) was used. Most folks don’t know what that is. I saw what they did.

SDRs are a reserve asset created by the International Monetary Fund, and they are allocated to IMF member countries in proportion to each country’s contribution to the Fund.

Countries that show need can use their SDRs to pay off debt, exchange them for hard currency or keep them on their balance sheets, which itself improves their borrowing status. And SDR distributions are not loans, so these countries don’t need to worry about repaying them.

SDRs helped countries buy medicine. They helped stabilize things just enough to keep people from slipping further. They gave folks a fighting chance when everything else was going the wrong direction.

Here’s what ought to get our attention. It didn’t cost the American taxpayers a dime.

That matters. Because too often we act as if helping somebody somewhere else means taking something away from somebody here. This isn’t that. This is one of those rare moments where doing the right thing and doing the smart thing line up.

I know there will be arguments. There always are. Who gets it. Who doesn’t. What country deserves it. What country doesn’t. But I go back to what I’ve seen.

When people are in a hole that deep, they’re not asking for perfection — they’re asking for a chance. And we’ve got the ability to give it. The Treasury Department is crucial to unlocking this valuable tool at this moment because the United States has veto power at the IMF.

It won’t fix everything overnight. It won’t solve every problem in the world. It will do something that works. Something that’s already proven. Something that can keep people alive long enough to stand back up on their own.

Because in the end, this really isn’t that complicated. If you can help save a life, that shouldn’t be a political decision — it should be a moral one.

The question isn’t whether we can help. It’s whether we’re willing to do something … or just keep talking about it.

Mark McBride, a Republican, is a businessman and consultant and a former member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, from 2012-2024. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.