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The U.S. government is leading the world’s humanitarian and health assistance response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are mobilizing all necessary resources to respond rapidly, both at home and abroad. As part of this comprehensive and generous U.S. response, the State Department and USAID are providing an initial investment of nearly $274 million in emergency health and humanitarian assistance to help countries in need, on top of the funding we already provide to multilateral organizations such as the World Health Organization and UNICEF.
This total to date includes nearly $100 million in emergency health assistance from USAID’s Global Health Emergency Reserve Fund and $110 million in humanitarian assistance from USAID’s International Disaster Assistance account, to be provided for up to 64 of the most at-risk countries facing the threat of this global pandemic. Through the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) will receive $64 million in humanitarian assistance to help address the threats posed by COVID-19 in existing humanitarian crisis situations for some of the world’s most vulnerable people.
U.S. government agencies are working together to prioritize foreign assistance based on coordination and the potential for impact. With today’s new funds, the United States is providing the following specific assistance:
Africa:
Angola: $570,000 in health assistance will help provide risk communication, water and sanitation, and infection prevention and control in key health facilities in Angola. This assistance comes on top of long-term U.S. investments in Angola including $613 million in health assistance and $1.48 billion total country investment over the past 20 years.
Burkina Faso: Nearly $2.1 million in health and humanitarian funding will go toward risk communication, water and sanitation activities, infection prevention and control, public health messaging, and more. Over the past 20 years, the United States has invested more than $222 million in health alone and more than $2.4 billion total in Burkina Faso.
Cameroon: $1.4 million in health assistance will help provide infection control in key health facilities, strengthen laboratories and surveillance, prepare communities, and bolster local messaging. This assistance builds upon more than $390 million in U.S. health assistance and more than $960 million total country investment over the past 20 years.
Cote d’Ivoire: $1.6 million in health assistance to help the government prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, risk communication, infection prevention and control, and more. Over the past 20 years, the United States has invested nearly $1.2 billion in Cote d’Ivoire’s health, and more than $2.1 billion in long term development and other assistance.
Ethiopia: $1.85 million to counter COVID-19 will go toward risk communication, water and sanitation activities, infection prevention, and coordination. This assistance joins the long-term U.S. investment in Ethiopia, including nearly $4 billion in health alone and more than $13 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years.
Kenya: $1 million in health assistance will bolster risk communication, prepare health-communication networks and media for a possible case, and help provide public health messaging for media, health workers, and communities. This COVID-19 specific assistance comes on top of long-term U.S. investment in Kenya, including $6.7 billion in health assistance alone, and more than $11.7 billion in development and other assistance over the last 20 years.
Mozambique: $2.8 million in emergency health funding will help provide risk communication, water and sanitation, and infection prevention and control in key health facilities in Mozambique. The United States has invested more than $3.8 billion in health assistance and nearly $6 billion total investment, including development and other assistance, over the past 20 years.
Nigeria: More than $7 million in health and humanitarian funding will go toward risk communication, water and sanitation activities, infection prevention, and coordination. This assistance joins more than $5.2 billion in U.S. health assistance and more than $8.1 billion in total assistance for Nigeria over the past 20 years.
Rwanda: $1 million in health assistance will help with surveillance and case management efforts in response to COVID-19. This comes on top of long-term U.S. investment in Rwanda including more than $1.5 billion in health and more than $2.6 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years.
Senegal: $1.9 million in health funding will go toward risk communication, water and sanitation, infection prevention and control, public health messaging, and more. In Senegal, the U.S. has invested nearly $880 million in health alone, and nearly $2.8 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years.
South Africa: $2.77 million in health assistance to counter COVID-19 will support risk communication, water and sanitation, infection prevention and control, public health messaging, and more. This assistance joins nearly $6 billion invested in health, and more than $8 billion in total assistance, by the United States for South Africa in the past 20 years.
Tanzania: $1 million in health assistance will help provide risk communication, water and sanitation, infection prevention and control, public health messaging, and more. The United States has invested nearly $4.9 billion in health alone and more than $7.5 billion total for Tanzania over the past 20 years.
Zambia: $1.87 million in health assistance will go toward risk communication, water and sanitation, infection prevention and control, public health messaging, and more. This new assistance joins nearly $3.9 billion in U.S. health assistance and nearly $4.9 billion total U.S. assistance for Zambia over the past 20 years.
Zimbabwe: $470,000 in health assistance will help the government to prepare laboratories for large-scale testing, support case-finding activities for influenza-like illnesses, and implement a public-health emergency plan for points of entry. This builds on a history of U.S. investments in Zimbabwe – nearly $1.2 billion in health alone, and nearly $3 billion total over the past 20 years.
In addition to health assistance, humanitarian funding is being provided for Central African Republic ($3 million), Democratic Republic of the Congo ($6 million), Somalia ($7 million), South Sudan ($8 million), and Sudan ($8 million). This assistance will primarily provide health-related support and supplies to bolster water and sanitation activities. The United States has a long, generous history of investing in the health and welfare of these countries’ citizens, and this humanitarian assistance comes on top of U.S. assistance over the past 20 years: $4.5 million in health and $822.6 million total for the Central African Republic; nearly $1.6 billion in health and nearly $6.5 billion total for the Democratic Republic of the Congo; nearly $30 million in health and $5.3 billion total for Somalia; more than $405 million in health and more than nearly $6.4 billion total for South Sudan; and more than $3 million in health and more than $1.6 billion total for Sudan.
Middle East and North Africa:
Morocco: $670,000 in health assistance will help prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk communication, and more. This assistance builds upon long-term U.S. investments in Morocco, including $64.5 million in health and more than $2.6 billion in total assistance over the last 20 years.
Tunisia: $700,000 in health assistance will help prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk communication, and more. The United States has invested more than $7 million directly in health assistance and more than $1.3 billion in total U.S. assistance for Tunisia over the past 20 years.
Iraq: More than $15.5 million in health and humanitarian assistance will help prepare laboratories, implement a public-health emergency plan for points of entry, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance for influenza-like illnesses, and more. This new assistance builds upon long-term investment in Iraq, including nearly $4 billion in health alone, and more than $70 billion in total U.S. assistance over the past 20 years.
Humanitarian assistance is also being provided for Libya ($6 million) and Syria ($16.8 million). This assistance joins decades of U.S. investments in both countries’ health and overall development. The U.S. has invested more than $715 million in total assistance for Libya over the past 20 years, and more than $6.1 billion in total assistance for Syria in the same time frame.
UN Organizations and Agencies:
$24.3 million in global and regional programming through international organizations like the WHO and UNICEF. $64 million for UNHCR’s portion of the UN’s COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan to address the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in refugee, IDP, and hosting communities in countries already facing complex humanitarian crises across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and South America.
U.S. investments under the Global Health Security Agenda, including those we have contributed to this global crisis response, are designed to protect the American public by helping to minimize the spread of disease in affected countries and improve local and global responses to outbreaks of infectious pathogens.
This new assistance builds on the United States’ record of leadership in global health and humanitarian assistance. This assistance is part of a larger USG global response package across multiple departments and agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Since 2009, American taxpayers have generously funded more than $100 billion in health assistance and nearly $70 billion in humanitarian assistance globally. Our country continues to be the single largest health and humanitarian donor for both long-term development and capacity building efforts with partners, and emergency response efforts in the face of recurrent crises. This money has saved lives, protected people who are most vulnerable to disease, built health institutions, and promoted the stability of communities and nations.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
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