Last night, as part of its ongoing emergency assistance to countries in South Asia, the U.S. government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), airlifted urgent medical supplies to help Bangladesh battle its latest COVID-19 surge. The U.S. Air Force C-17 flight departed from Travis Air Force Base in California for Dhaka, Bangladesh carrying over 2 million pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect thousands of health care workers in Bangladesh.
As one of the first and largest donors to Bangladesh’s COVID-19 response efforts, the U.S. government has contributed over $80 million in new and existing resources in assistance to date. This assistance, which includes the delivery of ventilators, supports the country's capacity to test and diagnose the virus, increases prevention and control practices, strengthens supply chain and logistics management systems, enhances risk communications to counter misinformation, and ensures the effective roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines.
The United States stands shoulder to shoulder with the people of Bangladesh as they combat the COVID-19 pandemic. We congratulate Bangladesh on marking 50 years of independence in 2021 and are proud to celebrate the 50th year of U.S.-Bangladesh relations in 2022. The United States has provided more than $1 billion in health assistance over the last 20 years to Bangladesh. USAID’s long-standing partnership with Bangladesh demonstrates the United States’ commitment to ensuring access to quality, lifesaving health services for all Bangladeshis. To learn more about USAID’s development partnership with Bangladesh, click here.
Today’s announcement builds on USAID’s ongoing efforts to help India, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka battle the latest deadly surge of COVID-19 cases and further demonstrates the United States’ whole-of-government, global response to ensure lifesaving assistance reaches people who need it quickly.
USAID is coordinating additional shipments to South Asia in the coming weeks. For more information on USAID’s global response to COVID-19, click here.
To contact the team mobilizing private sector support for the response, please email COVID-PSE@usaid.gov.
For guidance on supporting COVID-19 relief efforts around the world, please visit the Center for International Disaster Information.