AKIPRESS.COM - The U.S. Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has announced an additional contribution to Uzbekistan’s efforts to combat COVID-19, the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent said.

Secretary of State Pompeo announced on March 26, 2020 that the United States has mobilized nearly $274 million in emergency health and humanitarian assistance to support up to 64 at-risk countries in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This assistance is part of the U.S. government’s global efforts to strengthen partner countries’ capacities to control infectious disease threats.

"This pandemic has shown that no country is an island. We must work together, supporting each other, to fight this disease. Our families in the United States, just like here in Uzbekistan, are concerned about the threat of COVID-19, so we want to support Uzbekistan’s efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and care for those infected," noted Ambassador Rosenblum.

In partnership with the Uzbekistan Ministry of Health and the Agency for Sanitary and Epidemiological Welfare and in coordination with other international donors, including the World Health Organization (WHO), the United States government has identified priority areas to provide support for the needs of Uzbekistan’s citizens, health professionals, and government. USAID will be providing funds to prepare laboratory systems for large-scale testing, to prevent and control infections in healthcare facilities, to improve COVID-19 surveillance and rapid response, to improve case management of the infected, to combat disinformation about the virus, and to engage local communities so that they can help the government and health care providers provide timely and accurate information to the public.