PH Covid response gets $5M additional funding

DOUGLAS Emhoff, the husband of United States Vice President Kamala Harris, on Monday announced $5 million in funding to accelerate the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines in the Philippines.

The assistance, funded through the American Rescue Plan, will support vaccine distribution for children and adults, the US embassy said in a statement.

Emhoff is accompanying Harris on her visit to the Philippines.

The US Agency for International Development (USAid) has trained health care workers, strengthened the vaccine supply chain, supported effective communications campaigns, deployed mobile vaccination clinics, and bolstered economic recovery efforts in the Philippines, the embassy said.

It noted that the US “is the largest bilateral donor” to Covax, the global

vaccine initiative, and continues to lead the global fight against Covid-19.

The US government has provided nearly $50 million in Covid response assistance to the Philippines and donated, in partnership with Covax, over 33 million doses since the beginning of the pandemic, it added.

USAid 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.

At the “Safe and Healthy Back-to-School” program held at Gregoria De Jesus Elementary School in Caloocan City, Emhoff assured US support to the Philippines in fighting Covid-19, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases to keep schools open.

“The United States is so proud to support the Philippines in its fight against Covid-19 and tuberculosis. I am looking forward to continuing the partnership between our countries and working together to keep our communities safe and healthy and our schools open,” he said.

Caloocan Mayor Dale Gonzalo “Along” Malapitan thanked the US government for supporting disease prevention and awareness campaigns.

“When Covid-19 hit the Philippines, our city government acted swiftly to mitigate the problem. It has been a difficult path, several challenges arose, but nonetheless, our children and our teachers persevered,” Malapitan said.

Acting Department of Health Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire vowed to ensure the health and safety of children in schools and that her agency is closely working with the Department of Education (DepEd) and local government units to promote health education amid the full implementation of face-to-face classes.

“Our future lies in the brilliance of today’s children, which is why it is imperative that the same whole-of-society approach is maximized to transform our schools and communities, ensuring the health and safety of our learners and well-being of our children,” Vergeire said.

Also at the event were USAid Deputy Chief of Mission Heather Variava, USAid Mission Director Ryan Washburn, acting country director of Peace Corps Philippines Lynn Cheevers, Metro Manila Center for Health Development Regional Director Gloria Balboa and DepEd officials.