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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider US has released $18.3-M health & humanitarian assistance to ASEAN

US has released $18.3-M health & humanitarian assistance to ASEAN

Published Apr 1, 2020 12:00 am
By Roy Mabasa Despite the challenges it is facing back home due to the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the United States government has extended approximately US$18.3 million in emergency health and humanitarian assistance to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states, including the Philippines. For the Philippines, the US government allotted $4 million in health assistance to help the government prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, risk communication, infection prevention and control, and more. Over the last 20 years, the United States has invested more than US$582 million in the Philippines’ health alone and nearly US$4.5 billion in total assistance. ASEAN-wide, the US funding aims to support the following measures in the fight against the pandemic: Prepare laboratories for large-scale testing for COVID-19; Infection prevention and control; Enable risk communication; Implement public-health emergency plans for border points of entry; Activate case-finding and event-based surveillance for influenza-like illnesses; Train and equip rapid-responders in investigation and contact-tracing and update training materials for health workers. The latest emergency support fund is in addition to the nearly US$3.5 billion dollars in public health assistance that Washington has provided to ASEAN member states over the last 20 years. According to a fact sheet provided by the US Embassy in Manila, the lead US government agencies spearheading the international response, including the Department of State, US Agency for International Development (USAID), and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are working closely to allocate funds based on COVID-19 hotspots and vulnerabilities. Further, the US government is also coordinating with other donors to complement assistance and avoid duplicating efforts. Globally, as of March 26, 2020, the US is providing an initial investment of nearly $274 million in emergency health and humanitarian assistance to help countries in need, aside from the funding it extended to multilateral organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).
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