United States (US) Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff announced on Monday, Nov. 21, that the US through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will be providing $5 million to accelerate the country's vaccine rollout.
Emhoff made the announcement during the Healthy and Safe Back to School event hosted by USAID at the Gregoria De Jesus Elementary School in Caloocan City.
Department of Health (DOH) Officer-in-Charge Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire also graced the event together with USAID Deputy Chief of Mission Heather Variava, USAID Mission Director Ryan Washburn, Caloocan City Mayor Dale Malapitan, Metro Manila Center for Health Development Regional Director Dr. Gloria Balboa, and officials from the Department of Education (DepEd).
In his speech, Emhoff said that the assistance funded through the American Rescue Plan will support vaccine distribution for children and adults in line with the country's Covid-19 vaccination efforts to intensify and strengthen its wall of immunity. He also announced that the US will be sharing hygiene kits and other Covid-19 supplies that will further boost the country's efforts against this disease.
"With this new contribution, the United States government has now committed over $51 million more than P3.1 billion to the Philippines' COVID-19 response since the outbreak began. We've also donated over 33 million safe and effective COVID-19 vaccinations," Emhoff said.
He stated that just like in the United States, here in the country, the pandemic has had a lasting impact on all aspects of people's day-to-day lives, from attending schools to running businesses to visiting family and loved ones. Meanwhile, he mentioned that in the past 10 years. USAID has provided about $130 million or more than P7.5 billion to support the Philippine government's efforts to eliminate tuberculosis and through the country and US' combined efforts, the former has made progress in fighting Covid-19 while ensuring the continuity of other important health services like tuberculosis testing and treatment.
"As a friend, and as an ally, the United States is so proud to support the Philippines and its fight against Covid-19 and tuberculosis. Our joint work on this front is among the most important highlights of our long-standing and vibrant collaboration. I'm looking forward to continuing the partnership between our countries in this fight against COVID-19 and tuberculosis and working together to keep our communities safe and healthy and our schools open," he added.
In a statement, USAID stated that it has provided more than $10.6 billion to over 120 countries to address the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 664 million vaccines donated as of mid-November 2022. The United States is the largest bilateral donor to COVAX, the global vaccine initiative, and continues to lead the global fight against COVID-19.
Vergeire on the other hand said that DOH continues to work tirelessly to ensure that every Filipino is equipped with accurate health information as well as access to preventive health care services and treatment and free Covid-19 testing and vaccination.
"We thank the US Government for helping the Philippines respond to this COVID-19 crisis and protecting the Filipinos with the much-needed vaccines and technical assistance. Your assistance helps save the lives of many of us Filipinos," she said.