Total U.S. assistance is raised to over $12.5 million (approximately R$ 66 million)
Brasilia, May 29, 2020: The United States has announced that it is providing an additional US $6 million (approximately R$ 32 million) in humanitarian assistance to Brazil for emergency activities in health, water, sanitation, and hygiene and to mitigate the health impacts of COVID-19 in Brazil. The new funds raise the total U.S. government assistance to over $12.5 million (approximately R$ 66 million) to date.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)’s International Disaster Assistance (IDA) account is providing this assistance to keep essential health care operating; provide community-engagement programs; prevent and control infections; provide safe water and hygiene items; provide emergency food assistance; and strengthen local healthcare capacity. These funds will prioritize but not be limited to populations in the Amazon region in areas that have high caseloads, that cannot respond effectively to growing demands and needs, and where vulnerable populations lack services.
Previous U.S. government assistance measures include:
- On May 27, 2020, the U.S. Southern Command of the Department of Defense announced a donation of US $45,000 of personal protection equipment for medical personnel and food in Manaus and the Amazon region.
- On May 20, USAID provided US $2 million in support to vulnerable communities, with a focus on the Amazon region, to prevent transmission, support treatment and help mitigate health impacts of the virus. The State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) also provided US $500,000 in support for Venezuelan migrants and refugees and host communities in Brazil.
- On May 19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provided US$ 3 million in funding for strengthening case detection, contact tracing, the identification of areas of transmission, the control of outbreaks and data reporting and analysis.
- On May 1, USAID provided US $950,000 in economic support funds to incentivize private sector investments in mitigating non-health COVID impacts on vulnerable rural and vulnerable urban populations in Brazil.
Ambassador Todd Chapman highlighted the U.S. government’s latest assistance: “This announcement reconfirms that we are working together with our Brazilian partners and demonstrates our continued commitment to the people of Brazil to overcome the challenges of this pandemic.”
The American people continue to ensure that U.S. funding and scientific efforts on this front remain a central and coordinated part of the worldwide effort against the disease. See this Fact Sheet for more information. The United States will continue its ongoing commitment to work together with Brazil to improve the lives of our own citizens and to seek ways to assist others in the region and beyond to combat COVID-19.
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For further information on this Press Release, please contact the U.S. Embassy Press Office in Brasília at BrasiliaEMBEUA@state.gov or on (+55 61) 3312 – 7367 / 7350 / 7364. Follow us on Twitter and Flickr.
