KHARTOUM—The United States Government has committed nearly $13.7 million to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak in Sudan, with nearly $5.7 million of additional funding added to $8 million announced on March 27.
Through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the United States is providing life-saving support by coordinating with the Government of Sudan, international humanitarian partners, and other organizations to identify priority areas for response. These new funds also include $671,000 in humanitarian assistance to support COVID-19 response efforts for refugees in Sudan through the Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.
“The United States is the world’s leader in health and humanitarian assistance, and we are leading the global response to COVID-19,” said U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Brian Shukan. “This assistance is a symbol of the goodwill and support of the American people for the people of Sudan, as we face this global threat together.”
Through this assistance, USAID will support:
Case management to strengthen clinical care while minimizing the risk of onward transmission to others.
Infection prevention and control to prevent and control infections in health-care facilities.
Communications to inform people of steps they can take to prevent and respond to the spread of the virus.
Surveillance and rapid response to enhance case-finding and event-based surveillance for COVID-19.
Expansion of water, sanitation and hygiene programs, to help keep people healthy and stave off disease.
In addition to these new funds and activities, USAID’s ongoing programs in Sudan are implementing best practices to protect their staff, beneficiaries, and the general population, including through promoting proper handwashing, maintaining safe social distances, and conducting work remotely when and where possible.
The U.S. Government is the largest donor of humanitarian assistance to the people of Sudan. Since October 2018, the U.S. Government has provided more than $414 million in humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable people in Sudan, including refugees.
For decades, the United States has been the world’s largest provider of bilateral assistance in public health.
Since 2009, American taxpayers have generously made available more than $100 billion dollars in health assistance and nearly $70 billion in humanitarian assistance globally. This generosity is underscored by our contributions to several crucial multilateral partners, which includes:
S. support to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) of nearly $1.7 billion contributed in 2019. This support will be critical going forward, as refugee populations are uniquely vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic.
S. contributions to UNICEF in 2019 totaled more than $700 million. The life-saving activities UNICEF has been doing for years—such as immunization campaigns and health and sanitation training and assistance—will save lives as we fight this dangerous pathogen.
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
