US to continue humanitarian and health assistance for Covid-19

The US Department of State and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have committed nearly $508 million in emergency health, humanitarian, and economic assistance beside the funding already provide to multilateral and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), reads a press release from the US Department of State.

The US government's total assistance against Covid-19 provided till date includes nearly $200 million and $195 million in emergency health assistance and humanitarian assistance from USAID, and $50 million from the Economic Support Funding, which will help governments and NGOs.

In addition, through the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, they have a country-by-country breakout of the previously announced $64 million in humanitarian assistance for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

US government departments and agencies are working together to prioritise foreign assistance based on in-country coordination and the potential for impact. With new and previously announced funds, the United States is providing the following specific assistance.

Bangladesh
Nearly $9.6 million in assistance includes $4.4 million in health and International Development Association humanitarian assistance to help with case management, surveillance activities, infection prevention and control, risk communication, and water, sanitation, and hygiene programmes, and $5.2 million in Migration and Refugee Assistance humanitarian assistance to support refugees and their host communities in Bangladesh during the pandemic. This builds upon nearly $4 billion in total US assistance over the past 20 years, which includes more than $1 billion in health assistance alone.

Global
Approximately $35.5 million in global and regional programming is provided through international organisations and NGOs, including for programmes that support supply-chain management, new partnerships, monitoring and evaluation, and more.

$8 million in Migration and Refugee Assistance humanitarian assistance for UNHCR's global Covid-19 response to address the challenges posed by the pandemic in refugee, International Development Programme, and host communities.