FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 28, 2020
The United States Provides $7.3 million in Assistance to Respond to COVID-19 in Myanmar
Yangon – The United States Government has committed an additional $3.5 million to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in Myanmar, bringing the total U.S. support for COVID-19 response in Myanmar to $7.3 million since February. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is providing these additional funds to the Access to Health Fund and humanitarian organizations working with vulnerable populations.
The United States is providing life-saving support by coordinating with the Government of Myanmar, international humanitarian partners, and other stakeholders to identify priority areas for investment.
“This U.S. contribution of $7.3 million to Myanmar’s COVID-19 response builds on our longstanding cooperation to improve health across the country. The United States has invested more than $176 million in health and a total of nearly $1.5 billion in U.S. assistance to Myanmar for the last twenty years,” U.S. Ambassador Scot Marciel said.
Through this assistance, USAID will support:
- Infection prevention and control to prevent and control infections in health-care facilities, including in conflict-affected areas and through Ethnic Health Organizations.
- Laboratory strengthening to prepare laboratory systems for large-scale testing of COVID-19.
- Communications to help educate people on steps they can take to prevent and respond to the spread of COVID-19.
- Disease surveillance and rapid response to enhance case-finding for COVID-19. USAID also helps train and support efforts in Myanmar to investigate cases and conduct contact tracing.
- In addition, USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance has provided $3 million in humanitarian assistance for water and sanitation supplies including soap and handwashing stations, and additional water supplies to IDP camps with water shortages. USAID is working with our partners to adapt and contextualize existing humanitarian programs to fit local needs and improve COVID-19 readiness efforts around the world.
The United States is also providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Health and Sports from senior U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) epidemiologists to respond to COVID-19. CDC provides technical support for active surveillance to enhance early case detection and to educate the health workforce of Myanmar. CDC is also providing laboratory technical assistance so that Myanmar public health professionals can best utilize test kits and supplies. The United States has provided test kits and supplies to Myanmar through USAID, the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences (AFRIMS), a joint U.S.-Thai collaboration, and other donors to Myanmar’s National Health Laboratory.
For decades, the United States has been the world’s largest provider of bilateral assistance in public health.
Since 2009, American taxpayers have made available more than $100 billion dollars in health assistance and nearly $70 billion in humanitarian assistance globally.
For more information about USAID’s response to COVID-19, please visit: https://www.usaid.gov/coronavirus-covid-19
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