The U.S government—through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)— is providing an additional US$1.9 million to help Pacific Island countries manage the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This assistance was obligated to UNICEF Pacific headquartered in Fiji to support both emergency commodity and supply assistance to Fiji and vaccine technical assistance activities to countries throughout the Pacific.
“This additional funding to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic underscores our longstanding friendship and commitment to fight this unprecedented global health crisis together,” said Elise Tokumasu de Silva Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, and Tuvalu.
This brings USAID’s total COVID assistance to almost US$44 million in health, humanitarian assistance, and recovery efforts throughout the Pacific since the pandemic began.
This latest tranche of funding, provided through the American Rescue Plan Act, will support internationally recognised infection prevention and control strategies, laboratory systems and case management strengthening efforts, and risk communication interventions targeting Pacific communities with accurate information on COVID-19.
Additionally, the United States, through USAID, is contributing US$4 billion to support COVAX — a global effort to provide safe and effective vaccines for 92 countries, including the Pacific Islands.
These efforts build on decades of life-saving work and U.S leadership in tackling global health crises. Over the past 60 years, USAID has saved millions of lives from diseases such as Ebola, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and now COVID-19.
Diseases know no borders. The United States is committed to partnering with Pacific Island countries to end the COVID-19 pandemic, mitigate its devastating social and economic impacts, and build back a world that is even better prepared for future outbreaks.
SOURCE: US EMBASSY/PACNEWS
