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Did you know that by the end of this year, more than 50 million people could experience food insecurity, according to Feeding America, the country’s largest hunger-relief organization? That’s one in six Americans and one in four children — nearly a 50 percent increase from 2019.

Giving in various capacities happens all year long, but there is something extra special about the holiday season. One thing about it, there is always a need that can be fulfilled in our communities.

Houston’s own FOREX mogul and network marketer, David Imonitie, along with his team of supporters, fed 1,000 families through his I Believe Foundation. Last week, they hosted a Turkey and Food Giveaway at Faith International Church and provided free meals, food, gifts, music, and loads of family fun.

The I Believe Foundation was established in 2013 and was created to facilitate transformative thinking for youth and young adults by enhancing their belief system. Belief is the bridge between where you are right now, and where you desire to be, says Imonitie. At the heart of the nonprofit is the notion that individuals can change their lives and current status with a positive outcome by raising awareness and creating belief in something greater than themselves.

The foundation’s signature event is its annual “Magic of Believing” gala that celebrates accomplishments and milestones while raising funds for the next year’s work and initiatives across the globe. The gala will take place on Jan. 10 in Houston and will be a magical night of giving and receiving. The foundation will support humanitarian efforts and global initiatives such as SARS in Africa; in addition it will provide grants and awards to other nonprofit organizations, 501(c)3 entities, churches, and ministries.

I Believe in Change is one of the foundation’s initiatives that increases awareness and currently is challenging others to make a change by impacting the community and tackling such issues as:

• Feeding the community
• Providing COVID-19 testing for those who can’t get access
• Engaging in police reform to institute change
• Providing youth education and literacy
• Offering healthcare in urban communities

NBA Champion and Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan isn’t showing any signs of slowing down with his philanthropic endeavors as he recently donated $2 million in proceeds from his The Last Dance documentary to Feeding America.

In a Tweet on Wednesday, the nonprofit hunger-relief organization, which provides food to needy Americans through its nationwide network of food banks, expressed gratitude to the billionaire business mogul.

“An incredible gift to be thankful for – NBA legend Michael Jordan is donating $2 million to help our neighbors facing hunger! #TheLastDance,” the organization tweeted.

Released in April, Jordan’s 10-part documentary chronicles his final season with the Chicago Bulls in 1997/98 and their run-up to winning the championship that season. Following its premiere, the ESPN co-produced miniseries went ahead to chalk a lot of success and became the most-watched documentary ever on the sports channel, averaging over 5 million viewers during the period of broadcast..

Before the documentary premiered, the NBA hall of famer pledged to donate proceeds from it to the Friends of the Children nonprofit organization.

“In these challenging times and in a year of unimaginable difficulty due to COVID-19, it’s more important than ever to pause and give thanks,” the 57-year-old said on Wednesday. “I am proud to be donating additional proceeds from The Last Dance to Feeding America and its member food banks in the Carolinas and Chicago to help feed America’s hungry.”

Giving back

In October, Jordan opened a second, fully-funded, medical clinic in Charlotte to provide healthcare to patients with limited or no health insurance.

The opening of the new Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinic in the state the six-time NBA champion grew up and nurtured his talent comes three years after he pledged $7 million to Novant Health, and a year after the first of the two health facilities dedicated to the underprivileged was open.

“To see how this has evolved over the last year is to gratifying. It makes me want to continue doing more so that we can keep answering the bell when the bell is ringing,” Jordan, 57, said about the opening of the clinic.

The opening of the first facility in 2019 was an emotional one for the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets, as he broke down in tears while delivering his speech. Upon opening, the first clinic has served over 3,000 patients and was also used as a screening and testing center for COVID-19 early in the year, conducting over 13,000 tests.

African economies, hit simultaneously by Covid-19 and low commodity prices, are facing a deadly liquidity crisis as governments desperately try to shore up crumbling economies. But, as Hippolyte Fofack explains, there is a neat solution to their problems – IMF Special Drawing Rights

As the world was reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued an especially prescient economic statement in the April edition of its World Economic Outlook. The Fund said that advanced economies with well-equipped health systems and the privilege of issuing reserve currencies will, naturally, be better placed to endure this crisis.

As the pandemic unfolded, advanced economies did just that, especially on both sides of the Atlantic. Authorities injected countercyclical fiscal and monetary stimuli worth several trillions of dollars into their economies to augment social safety nets and engineer a speedy post-virus-containment recovery.

After activating the general escape clause in the European Union’s (EU’s) fiscal rules – which allowed member countries to overshoot institutional deficit targets – most EU governments injected more than $6trn into their economies, essentially becoming insurers of last resort.

The European Central Bank (ECB) expanded its bond-buying to help absorb the shock. Policy responses taken by US authorities were also unprecedented in scale and responsiveness. The IMF estimates that advanced economies have injected more than $14trn into their economies since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Avoiding a solvency crisis

Given the coronavirus’s rapid spread and the implementation of containment measures that resulted in sharp supply and demand shocks, a resulting liquidity crisis was among the most important short-term risks facing sovereigns and corporates.

The massive injection of liquidity by countries with the privilege of issuing reserve currencies, ensured the liquidity crisis did not morph into a solvency crisis and a cascade of bankruptcies.

In this regard, the decision by the US Federal Reserve to enhance the liquidity provision via dollar swap lines was a salutary move intended to avert the risk of contagion in the context of financial globalisation. Understandably, a torrent of defaults in developing and emerging markets would pose a threat to the financial stability of advanced economies.

However, while the Fed’s bold move may help reduce dollar funding strains during the Covid-19 crisis, its swap lines target very few countries, mainly advanced economies and only a few emerging markets.

This underscores the extent to which Africa remains excluded from the most efficient first lines of defence against liquidity crises. This despite the fact that, by virtue of its economic structure and patterns of trade, Africa, more than any other region, was set to face the most acute shortages of dollar liquidity.