USAID says $775M given to 120 nations during pandemic
The United States Agency for International Development is scaling up its response to the global coronavirus pandemic, acting administrator John Barsa said Friday.
Barsa said the aid agency remains committed to helping vulnerable nations around the globe combat the virus that causes COVID-19, the deadly respiratory disease that is responsible for more than 234,000 deaths worldwide and 3.27 million infections.
The U.S., he said, has contributed more than $775 million to 120 countries to help strengthen health systems, address emergency humanitarian needs and mitigate the economic impact of the deadly virus.
During a briefing, Barsa said “America remains the leader in global humanitarian assistance.” The support Is being tailored to each country’s capacity. USAID’s support involves investments that help with case management, disease surveillance, public health screenings, prevention and control of medical facilities, bolstering of laboratories, communication campaigns to raise awareness and expanded access to water and sanitation.
Barsa’s comments on U.S. assistance to help with COVID-19 follows similar declarations this week from the
State Department and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the U.S. response to the disease in Latin America and the Caribbean. All come amid criticism over President Donald Trump’s global response to the pandemic.
In recent weeks, Trump has frozen funding to the World Health Organization over its response to the virus; pressured countries to receive deportees exposed to the virus in U.S. detention centers, and instructed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to limit American exports of ventilators, surgical masks and other personal protective equipment.
The Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Barbados and Jamaica have all reported that materials purchased in the U.S. to fight COVID-19 were confiscated by the U.S.
Responding to the criticism, Barsa said the $775 million in aid “far outstrips the generosity of any country.”
“There are many things in our tool kit to fight the pandemic; it is more than just equipment,” he said.
On Friday, U.S. Reps. Eliot L. Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Albio Sires, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, condemned the Trump administration’s decision to freeze U.S. funding for the World Health Organization, saying that it affects the Pan American Health Organization’s mission throughout the Americas in the middle of the pandemic. Dr. Clarissa Etienne, the director of PAHO, which is the Americas office for the World Health Organization, has said that 60 percent of its funding comes from the U.S. government and the decision to halt funding to WHO extends to them as well.
In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the lawmakers said as much as $110 million in U.S. funding for disease prevention in Latin America, as well as U.S. support for Venezuelan migrants has been thrown into doubt because of the freeze.
Barsa acknowledged Friday that with COVID-19, “the situation within Venezuela right now is dire.” He said the government of Nicolás Maduro has blocked “vast amounts of humanitarian assistance into Venezuela,” but he did not address the concerns of the congressmen or the freeze on WHO funding.