Brasilia, August 28, 2020: The United States Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), delivered, on August 28, to the Brazilian Ministry of Health, a third shipment of 200 brand new, state-of-the-art ventilators to assist its fight against COVID-19. To date, USAID has donated a total of 600 ventilators to Brazil. The donation delivers on President Trump’s generous offer of these critically needed supplies to assist with Brazil’s urgent response to the pandemic. Ventilators from previous shipments have been deployed by the Brazilian Ministry of Health to Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso and São Paulo states.
The ventilators, produced in the United States, reflect leading-edge and in-demand technology. They are compact, deployable, and provide Brazil with flexibility in treating patients affected by the virus. For patients whose lungs are not working adequately despite receiving oxygen, this vital resource may prove life-saving.
Ambassador Chapman highlighted the initiative: “We continue to deliver on the agenda President Trump set to strengthen our relationship with Brazil. This third shipment of 200 ventilators is intended to assist those Brazilians who need them most.”
USAID is funding a tailored package of ventilator support, which includes service and warranty, as well as accompanying equipment. This donation builds on the more than US$ 17 million that the U.S. Government has committed to Brazil in response to the pandemic, and approximately US$ 54 million from U.S. companies in Brazil.
Other U.S. Government-funded efforts include emergency activities in health, water, sanitation, and hygiene immediate support to vulnerable communities in the Amazon, including risk-communications and community engagement, the prevention and control of infections in health facilities, water and sanitation, and disease-surveillance and rapid response; support for refugees and host communities as they deal with the pandemic; and incentives to the private sector to address the non-health impacts of the disease on rural and vulnerable urban populations. USAID has also recently announced the PPA Solidarity initiative, a joint collaboration with NPI Expand, the Partnership Platform for the Amazon (PPA) and SITAWI Finance for Good to create a cross sector partnership to help the response to COVID-19 in Brazil. The “PPA Solidarity: COVID-19 Response in the Amazon” engages the private sector within strategic Brazilian partnerships to leverage innovative and scalable solutions to strengthen emergency preparedness and response to COVID-19.
For decades, the United States has been the world’s largest provider of bilateral assistance in health. Since 2009, American taxpayers have generously funded more than $100 billion in health assistance and nearly $70 billion in humanitarian assistance.
Through an All-of-America approach, the United States is providing life-saving support by coordinating with the Government of Brazil and other stakeholders to identify priority areas for investment.
For the ventilators delivery images, see our Flickr: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmP4kNdN.
For more information on COVID-19, visit: https://www.usaid.gov/coronavirus-covid-19
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For further information on this Media Note, please contact the U.S. Embassy Press Office in Brasília at BrasiliaEMBEUA@state.gov or on (+55 61) 3312 – 7367 / 7364.
