ZCZC
BSS–50
BANGLADESH-US-COVID-SUPPORT
US provides COVID-19 safety equipment to Bangladesh Customs staffs
DHAKA, June 17, 2020 (BSS) – The USA embassy here today donated
essential personal protective equipment (PPE) to National Board of Revenue (NBR) for Customs inspectors and workers as part of US assistance to Bangladesh’s COVID-19 response efforts.
USA ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller and representatives of the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service handed over the supply to NBR Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem in the capital, a US embassy press release said.
The US government has so far provided nearly 37 million US dollars to complement the Bangladesh government’s ongoing efforts to prepare and respond to the spread of COVID-19, it added.
The equipment delivered today includes 1,500 masks and full-body gowns and these will be distributed to Customs inspectors and workers to protect them against the spread of COVID-19.
The PPE will enable the Customs Department, engaged in ensuring supply of critical goods, including food and agricultural products, to continue performing their critical work of processing import and export clearances at the country’s six Customs Houses, including Chattogram and Mongla Customs House.
“Today’s delivery of US funded, locally produced PPE is one of many Embassy initiatives that demonstrates the United States’ continuing commitment to the Bangladeshi people, to promoting mutual understanding and trade between our two countries, and to a strong partnership in ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” said the release.
It said the US Embassy Dhaka continues working in close partnership with Bangladesh government on a range of programs to identify and alleviate critical medical shortages across the country, including on the distribution of PPE and other medical supplies to first responders and designated COVID-19 medical treatment facilities.
Today’s supply is in addition to other donations from the US Embassy, including recent donations to Kamalapur Railway General Hospital and Bangladesh’s Fire Service and Civil Defense, it added.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the US government has committed more than $1 billion worldwide in emergency health, humanitarian, economic, and development assistance specifically aimed at helping governments, international organizations, and NGOs fight the pandemic.
In Bangladesh, the nearly $37 million in funding and technical assistance builds on more than $1 billion in health assistance provided to Bangladesh over the past 20 years and underscores the long-term US commitment to ensuring access to quality, lifesaving health services for all people in Bangladesh.
BSS/PR/TA/KU/2038 HRS