Brasilia, November 26, 2021: The U.S. government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)—announced an additional USD$18.2 million (R$ 100.1 million) in urgent COVID-19 assistance for Brazil. The funds will assist local health authorities addressing the most vulnerable in the country, with a particular focus on the Amazon region.
Charge d’affaires Douglas Koneff remarked, “The United States has consistently shown good faith partnership to our Brazilian friends as they have faced one of the most difficult pandemic situations in the hemisphere. This new funding is another example of our enduring commitment to this important partnership and to support Brazil’s recovery.”
These resources will be implemented through two different initiatives – $10.7 million (R$ 58.9 million) comes from USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA),and will focus on equipping health facilities and mobile clinics, addressing hunger, responding to existing humanitarian emergencies, and curbing misinformation about COVID-19. Activities will be implemented by established partners of USAID, including Caritas Brazil, UNICEF, IOM, PAHO UNFPA, World Vision and Internews. In 2020, USAID provided US$6 million in humanitarian assistance to Brazil for emergency activities in support of health service providers; risk communication and community engagement; water, sanitation, and hygiene; and to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on health and food security. https://br.usembassy.gov/u-s-brazil-health-cooperation/
Another US$7.5 million (R$ 41.3 million) will be used to provide and deliver safe and effective COVID-19 vaccinations and strengthen public healthcare facilities in the Amazon Region to minimize the risk of onward transmission and help to prevent and control infection. The funds will be implemented through PPA Solidarity: COVID-19 response in the Amazon. The initiative is a cross-sector partnership led by USAID, NPI Expand, the Partnership Platform for the Amazon (PPA) and SITAWI, and will include partnerships with subnational secretaries of health. With an initial contribution of US$ 2.1 million (approximately R$10.3 million) from USAID through NPI Expand in 2020, the initiative raised an additional US$ 3.5 million (R$18.2 million) with private sector partners.
“The COVID-19 pandemic continues to put stress on health systems, especially in underserved areas, including in the Amazon region. We are extremely pleased that additional resources are now available to help the most vulnerable in this part of Brazil”, said Ted Gehr, USAID Brazil’s Mission Director.
To date, the PPA Solidarity partnership has distributed more than 23,000 food baskets and hygiene kits, trained more than 500 community health agents, donated more than 1.4 million non-medical masks produced by local seamstresses, and delivered life-saving prevention messages for more than 875,000 people in the region. The partnership has also supported more than 720 entrepreneurs and 25 businesses with financial and business advisory services to mitigate the economic impacts of COVID-19 in the Amazon Region.
These efforts build on decades of life-saving work and U.S. leadership in tackling global health crises. Over the past 60 years, USAID has saved millions of lives from diseases such as Ebola, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and now COVID-19.
The United States is committed to partnering with Brazil to end the COVID-19 pandemic, mitigate its devastating social and economic impacts, and build back a world that is prepared for future outbreaks.
