Last night, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) mobilized another plane full of emergency medical supplies to help Nepal and Pakistan fight the deadly COVID-19 case surges that continue across South Asia. This shipment departed Travis Air Force Base in California carrying pulse oximeters and personal protective equipment for Nepal, including 400,000 KN95 masks from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and approximately 450,000 disposable gowns donated by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. For Pakistan, the delivery consists of more than one million masks, including 928,000 KN95 masks from FEMA and 96,000 surgical masks donated by Medshare, in partnership with Kaiser Permanente.
This assistance builds on previous airlifts carrying thousands of surgical masks, face shields, and gloves to Nepal and thousands of pulse oximeters and pieces of personal protective equipment to Pakistan. These emergency medical supplies will help protect healthcare professionals in both countries and demonstrate the United States’ ongoing support in the fight against COVID-19 in South Asia.
With today’s flights, USAID has delivered approximately $66 million in urgently needed supplies over the past seven weeks to South Asian countries, including Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Since COVID-19 first broke out, the United States has mobilized a whole-of-government response to deliver urgent, lifesaving assistance for millions of people.
Visit USAID’s website for more information about our work in Nepal, Pakistan, and our global COVID-19 response.
To contact the team mobilizing the private sector to support the response, please email COVID-PSE@usaid.gov.