ZCZC
BSS-49
USAID-CORONAVIRUS-FUND
USA announces $37m for 25 coronavirus risk countries
DHAKA, March 3, 2020 (BSS) – The United States of America (USA) today announced $37 million in financing for 25 countries affected by novel coronavirus COVID-19 or at high risk of its spread.
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) will disburse the aid from its ‘Emergency Reserve Fund for Contagious Infectious Diseases’ for those countries, including Bangladesh.
The US government is providing these funds to the World Health Organization (WHO), other multilateral institutions and programs led by USAID’s implementing partners, a press release said here today.
These are the first US government funds committed from the pledge of up to US$100 million announced by the US Department of State on February 7, 2020.
“Because an infectious-disease threat anywhere can be a threat everywhere, we call on other donors to contribute to the effort to combat COVID-19 as well,” USAID Administrator Mark Green said in a statement.
Building on ongoing USAID and other US government investments to help prepare and respond to infectious diseases under the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA), the new funding will help address the threat of COVID-19 in the 25 high-priority countries, he added.
The countries are – Afghanistan, Angola, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kenya, South Africa, Tajikistan, the Philippines, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Kyrgyz, Lao Democratic, Mongolia, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan; Thailand and Vietnam.
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