Health Desk- 19 March 2020: The U.S. government
recently announced a commitment of $37 million in financing from the Emergency
Reserve Fund for Contagious Infectious Diseases at the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID) for 25 countries either affected by novel
coronavirus COVID-19 or at high risk of its spread.
In Bangladesh, the U.S. government, through USAID, has
mobilized $2,500,000 to support the country’s COVID-19 readiness and response
efforts. This USAID funding will support
three priority areas: (1) strengthening infection prevention and control (IPC)
measures in health facilities; (2) improving specimen transport and referral
systems; and (3) increasing risk awareness communication and outreach. This builds upon ongoing USAID and other U.S.
government investments in the health sector.
The U.S. government is providing these funds to the World
Health Organization, other multilateral institutions, and programs led by USAID
implementing partners in individual countries.
These are the first U.S. government funds committed from a recent pledge
of up to $100 million to be used worldwide.
On March 11, U.S. Ambassador Earl Miller met with Institute
of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research Director Dr. Meerjady Sabrina
Flora to notify her of this commitment and advise her of the U.S. plan of
action for this funding. They discussed
ways to coordinate the two governments’ actions in countering COVID-19 in
Bangladesh, and how future tranches of funding could be best allocated.
Specifically, USAID is providing $700,000 to the World
Health Organization to work in partnership with the Government of Bangladesh
for rapid diagnosis, case management, IPC, and awareness-raising concerning
COVID-19. USAID is also providing
$650,000 for its Infectious Disease Detection and Surveillance (IDDS) program
implemented by nonprofit FHI360, and an additional $650,000 to Medicines,
Technologies, and Pharmaceutical Services (MTaPS) Program implemented by
nonprofit Management Sciences for Health (MSH).
These programs will focus on infection prevention and control and sample
transport and referral.
USAID is also providing $500,00 to Johns Hopkins University
to develop and disseminate materials to raise wider awareness about COVID-19 in
Bangladesh, particularly information critical for front line health care
workers.
As the COVID-19 outbreak expands geographically, the U.S.
government, through USAID and other agencies, will continue to play a vital
role in supporting the global response.
http://amarhealth.com/environment-health/4764/UScommits25mtorespondtocoronavirusinBangladesh
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