US provides additional US$1.7 million to Guyana, Caribbean COVID-19 battle

Last Updated on Monday, 27 April 2020, 23:29 by Denis Chabrol

The United States Government has committed an additional $1.7 million (USD) to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak in Guyana and the rest of the Caribbean.

The United States says, via its Agency for International Development  (USAID),  is providing life-saving support by coordinating with the Government of Guyana, international humanitarian partners, and other stakeholders to identify priority areas for investment.

“The United States Government is committed to assisting the people of Guyana to combat the spread of COVID-19 to prevent illness and deaths associated with the dreaded pandemic and ultimately improve the quality of life and the economic outcomes of this wonderful country and its people” remarked Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch.

Through this assistance, USAID will support:

– Infection prevention and control in health-care facilities.

– Communications to help educate people on steps they can take to prevent and respond to the spread of the virus, through country-specific media campaigns.

– Surveillance and rapid response with case-finding and event-based surveillance for COVID-19. USAID also helps countries train and support rapid-response teams to investigate cases and conduct contact tracing.

Previously in Guyana, the United States Government has contributed substantially to improving the healthcare services, systems and infrastructure with an emphasis on HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Cervical Cancer and Zika infections. Support through USAID and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) resulted in Guyana being the first country in the region to attain the 1st pillar in the goal to achieve epidemic control of HIV; by diagnosing at least 90% of those persons estimated to be living with HIV.

Because an infectious-disease threat anywhere can become a threat everywhere, the United States calls on other donors to contribute to the global effort to combat COVID-19, the Embassy said.

Last week, the US, through its Centres fir Disease Control, provided US$475,000 to Guyana to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.