US invests additional $25m in COVID-19 assistance for BD

Industry Desk:The US government, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), announced an additional $25 million in urgent COVID-19 assistance to help Bangladesh provide life-saving medical and oxygen supplies and cold chain equipment to store, transport, and administer vaccines safely.
In addition to US-donated vaccines, this new US assistance will help Bangladesh expand vaccinations to people across the country, enable health workers to treat critically ill patients more effectively, and enhance the quality of care in health facilities, said the US Embassy yesterday.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the US government has now provided a total of over $121 million to support Bangladesh’s response to COVID-19 and continues to work closely with the Bangladeshi government and other partners to protect the health of Bangladeshis. ?
“We are proud to work with Bangladesh to help health professionals respond to COVID-19 by equipping hospitals with oxygen and other specialized equipment to improve the quality of critical care across the country for years to come. This new assistance will also support Bangladesh’s goal of vaccinating 40 percent of the population by the end of the year,” said US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller.
Total US government COVID-19 assistance to date includes the donation of 11.5 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and additional support for the rollout of the national vaccination campaign.
The US government has also committed $4 billion to support the worldwide COVAX vaccination effort, making it the world’s largest donor for equitable global COVID-19 vaccine access.
Through USAID, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US government has also provided medical supplies, ventilators, oxygen equipment, pulse oximeters, and millions of pieces of personal protective equipment for frontline workers throughout Bangladesh.
US assistance has helped save lives and treat individuals infected with COVID-19 by strengthening testing capacity and monitoring, enhancing case management and infection prevention and control practices, improving laboratory and testing capacity, and improving the supply chain and logistics management systems.
US government support also focuses on training and protecting front line workers, and increasing the public’s knowledge about COVID-19, including ways to protect themselves.