‘We Are Ahead Of Global Humanitarian And Health Response To COVID-19’-State Department Exec
The United States of America is leading the Humanitarian and Health Assistance Response to COVID-19, says MORGAN DEANN ORTAGUS.
The US 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 US$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 US$100 million in emergency health assistance from USAID’s Global Health Emergency Reserve Fund and US$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 US$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.
US 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: US$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 US$613 million in health assistance and $1.48 billion total country investment over the past 20 years.
Burkina Faso: Nearly US$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 US$222 million in health alone and more than US$2.4 billion total in Burkina Faso.
Cameroon: US$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 US$390 million in U.S. health assistance and more than US$960 million total country investment over the past 20 years.
Cote d’Ivoire: US$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 US$1.2 billion in Cote d’Ivoire’s health, and more than US$2.1 billion in long term development and other assistance.
Ethiopia: US$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 US investment in Ethiopia, including nearly US$4 billion in health alone and more than US$13 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years.
Kenya: US$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 US investment in Kenya, including US$6.7 billion in health assistance alone, and more than US$11.7 billion in development and other assistance over the last 20 years.
Mozambique: US$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 US$3.8 billion in health assistance and nearly US$6 billion total investment, including development and other assistance, over the past 20 years.
Nigeria: More than US$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 US$5.2 billion in US health assistance and more than US$8.1 billion in total assistance for Nigeria over the past 20 years.
Rwanda: US$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 US$1.5 billion in health and more than US$2.6 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years.
Senegal: US$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 US$880 million in health alone, and nearly US$2.8 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years.
South Africa: US$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 US$6 billion invested in health, and more than US$8 billion in total assistance, by the United States for South Africa in the past 20 years.
Tanzania: US$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 US$4.9 billion in health alone and more than US$7.5 billion total for Tanzania over the past 20 years.
Zambia: US$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 US$3.9 billion in U.S. health assistance and nearly US$4.9 billion total U.S. assistance for Zambia over the past 20 years.
Zimbabwe: US$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 US$1.2 billion in health alone, and nearly US$3 billion total over the past 20 years.
In addition to health assistance, humanitarian funding is being provided for Central African Republic (US$3 million), Democratic Republic of the Congo (US$6 million), Somalia (US$7 million), South Sudan (US$8 million), and Sudan (US$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: US$4.5 million in health and US$822.6 million total for the Central African Republic; nearly US$1.6 billion in health and nearly US$6.5 billion total for the Democratic Republic of the Congo; nearly US$30 million in health and US$5.3 billion total for Somalia; more than US$405 million in health and more than nearly US$6.4 billion total for South Sudan; and more than US$3 million in health and more than US$1.6 billion total for Sudan.
Europe and Eurasia:
Albania: US$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. Over the last 20 years, the United States has invested more than US$51.8 million in health assistance for Albania, and more than US$693 million in total assistance.
Armenia: US$1.1 million 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 nearly US$106 million in health assistance and US$1.57 billion total for Armenia over the past 20 years.
Azerbaijan: US$1.7 million 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. Over the past 20 years, the United States has invested nearly US$41 million in health alone in Azerbaijan, and more than US$890 million in total assistance.
Belarus: US$1.3 million in health funding 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 new assistance comes on top of decades of U.S. investment in Belarus, including nearly US$1.5 million in health alone and more than US$301 million in total U.S. assistance over the past 20 years.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: US$1.2 million 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 US$200,000 in health assistance and more than US$1.1 billion in total assistance for Bosnia and Herzegovina over the past 20 years.
Georgia: US$1.1 million in health funding 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 provided nearly US$139 million in health assistance and more than US$3.6 billion in total U.S. assistance over the past 20 years.
Kosovo: US$1.1 million 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 to combat COVID-19 is in addition to long-term US investments in Kosovo including more than US$10 million in health assistance and nearly US$773 million in total assistance over the past 20 years.
Moldova: US$1.2 million 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 COVID-19 assistance builds upon US investments of nearly US$42 million in health assistance and more than US$1 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years.
North Macedonia: US$1.1 million will help prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk communication, and more. Over the past 20 years, the United States has invested nearly US$11.5 million in health alone and more than US$738 million in total assistance for North Macedonia.
Serbia: US$1.2 million 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 nearly US$5.4 million in health assistance and more than US$1 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years.
Ukraine: More than US$1.2 million in health and humanitarian 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 provided long-term health investments in Ukraine over the past 20 years totaling nearly US$362 million, and total U.S. assistance of nearly US$5 billion over the same time period.
Uzbekistan: Approximately US$848,000 in health funding will go to help prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk communication, and more. This new assistance builds upon long-term US investment of more than US$122 million in health and more than US$962 million total assistance over the past 20 years.
Asia:
Afghanistan: Approximately US$5 million in health and humanitarian assistance will go to support detection and treatment of COVID-19 for internally displaced persons (IDPs). In addition, the United States has also redirected US$10 million in existing resources to support of the United Nations (WHO) Emergency Response Plan for COVID-19. This support will include surveillance, lab improvements, case management, infection prevention and control, community engagement, and technical assistance to Government of Afghanistan.
Bangladesh: US$3.4 million in health assistance will help with case management and surveillance activities. This builds upon more than US$1 billion in health assistance alone out of nearly US$4 billion in total US assistance over the past 20 years.
Burma: Approximately US$3.8 million in health and humanitarian funding will go toward water and sanitation supplies, COVID-19 case management, event-based surveillance, coordination, and more. This assistance comes on top of long-term US investment in Burma including more than US$176 million in health and more than US$1.3 billion in total US assistance over the past 20 years.
Cambodia: Approximately US$2 million in health assistance will help the government prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, and support technical experts for response and preparedness, and more. The United States has invested long-term in Cambodia, providing more than US$730 million in health and more than US$1.6 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years.
India: US$2.9 million to help the government prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, and support technical experts for response and preparedness, and more. This builds upon the foundation of more than US$1.4 billion in health assistance out of the more than US$2.8 billion in US assistance for India over the last 20 years.
Indonesia: US$2.3 million in health assistance will help the government prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, and support technical experts for response and preparedness, and more. The United States has invested more than US$1 billion in health and more than US$5 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years.
Kazakhstan: More than US$800,000 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 new assistance builds upon US investments of more than US$86 million in health and more than US$2 billion in total assistance over the last 20 years.
Kyrgyzstan: Approximately US$883,000 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 US$120 million in health assistance and nearly US$1.2 billion in total assistance for Kyrgyzstan over the past 20 years.
Laos: Nearly US$2 million in health assistance will help the government prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, and support technical experts for response and preparedness, and more. This assistance builds upon US investment in Laos over time, including nearly US$92 million in health and more than US$348 million total over the past 20 years.
Mongolia: Nearly US$1.2 million in health assistance will help the government prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, and support technical experts for response and preparedness, and more. The United States has invested nearly US$106 million in health and more than US$1 billion in total assistance for Mongolia over the past 20 years.
Nepal: US$1.8 million in health assistance will help the government prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, and support technical experts for response and preparedness, and more. Over the past 20 years, US investment in Nepal includes more than US$603 million in health alone out of more than US$2 billion in total assistance.
Papua New Guinea: US$1.2 million for Papua New Guinea 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. The United States has invested more than US$52 million in Papua New Guinea’s health alone, and nearly US$90 million total, over the past 20 years.
Pacific Islands: US$2.3 million to help governments 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 last decade, the United States has invested more than US$620 million in health assistance for the Pacific Islands. Over the last 20 years, the United States has invested over US$5.21 billion in assistance to the Pacific Islands.
Pakistan: US$1 million in health funding will help Pakistan strengthen monitoring and better prepare communities to identify potential outbreaks. To bolster its national COVID-19 action plan, the United States has also redirected more than US$1 million in existing funding for training of healthcare providers and other urgent needs US long-term investment in Pakistan includes more than US$1.1 billion in health alone and more than US$18.4 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years.
Philippines: Nearly US$4 million in health assistance will 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. The United States has invested more than US$582 million in the Philippines’ health alone and nearly US$4.5 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years.
Sri Lanka: US$1.3 million will 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, US investment in Sri Lanka has included more than US$26 million in health alone out of more than US$1 billion in total assistance.
Tajikistan: Approximately US$866,000 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 on US investments of nearly US$125 million in health and more than US$1 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years.
Thailand: Approximately US$1.2 million in health assistance will 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. This new assistance builds upon long-term US assistance in Thailand including more than US$213 million in health and more than US$1 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years.
Turkmenistan: Approximately US$920,000 in health assistance has been made available to 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 US$21.5 million in health and more than US$207 million in total assistance over the past 20 years.
Timor Leste: US$1.1 million will 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. The United States has invested nearly US$70 million in health assistance and more than US$542 million in total assistance for Timor-Leste over the past 20 years.
Vietnam: Nearly US$3 million in health assistance will 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 more than US$706 million in health assistance and more than US$1.8 billion in total assistance for Vietnam.
Regional Efforts in Asia: US$1.6 million in health assistance will help governments across the region 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. The United States has provided more than US$226 million in health assistance regionally and in addition to health assistance to individual countries in the region, and in total more than US$3 billion in development and other assistance over the last 20 years.
Latin America and the Caribbean:
Jamaica: US$700,000 in health funding will support risk communication efforts, water and sanitation, prevent and control infections, manage COVID-19 cases, strengthen laboratories, and surveil the spread of the virus. This assistance builds upon US investments of nearly US$87 million in health and nearly US$619 million total over the past 20 years for Jamaica.
Paraguay: US$1.3 million in health assistance will support risk communication efforts, prevent and control infections, manage COVID-19 cases, strengthen laboratories, and surveil the spread of the virus. US investment in Paraguay is long-term and includes more than US$42 million in health and more than US$456 million total over the past 20 years.
Haiti: US$2.2 million in health assistance will help the Haitian government scale up its risk communication efforts, water and sanitation, prevent and control infections, manage COVID-19 cases, strengthen laboratories, and more. The United States has invested US$1.8 billion in health in Haiti and nearly US$6.7 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years.
The Caribbean: US$1.7 million will help governments in the Eastern Caribbean scale up their risk communication efforts, water and sanitation, prevent and control infections, manage COVID-19 cases, strengthen laboratories, and surveil the spread of the virus. This builds upon decades of strategic US investment in the region, including more than US$236 million in health and more than US$840 million total over the past 20 years.
Additionally, humanitarian assistance is being provided to Colombia (US$8.5 million) and Venezuela (US$9 million) to surveil the spread of the virus, provide water and sanitation supplies, manage COVID-19 cases, and more. In Colombia, the United States has invested approximately US$32.5 million in health over the past 20 years, and nearly US$12 billion in total assistance in that same time frame. In Venezuela, the US has invested more than US$1.3 million in direct health assistance and more than US$278 million in total long-term assistance over the past 20 years.
Middle East and North Africa:
Morocco: US$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 US investments in Morocco, including US$64.5 million in health and more than US$2.6 billion in total assistance over the last 20 years.
Tunisia: US$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 US$7 million directly in health assistance and more than US$1.3 billion in total US assistance for Tunisia over the past 20 years.
Iraq: More than US$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 US$4 billion in health alone, and more than US$70 billion in total US assistance over the past 20 years.
Humanitarian assistance is also being provided for Libya (US$6 million) and Syria ($16.8 million). This assistance joins decades of US investments in both countries’ health and overall development. The US has invested more than US$715 million in total assistance for Libya over the past 20 years, and more than US$6.1 billion in total assistance for Syria in the same time frame.
UN Organizations and Agencies:
US$24.3 million in global and regional programming through international organizations like the WHO and UNICEF.
US$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.
US 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 US$100 billion in health assistance and nearly US$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.
- Morgan Deann Ortagus is Spokesperson, Office of the United States Department of State.
