Speeches Shim
Everyone has felt the effects of COVID-19, even without contracting the virus. With business and school closures, social distancing, and mask requirements, all members of society have had to make significant behavior changes. For children with autism or other developmental difficulties, adjustments such as wearing a mask and more frequent hand washing can be particularly frustrating. Additional challenges, including lockdowns, adaptations to regular school and social gatherings, and worries about illness and health care have also strained mental health of both parents and children. In response, USAID/PATH Healthy Markets, and A365, an organization to provide support and resources for children with developmental disabilities, collaborated to develop and launch an awareness campaign to help children and their parents cope with required behavior changes because of COVID-19. The social media campaign ran from August through September 2020 and featured COVID-19 prevention messages and tools for families with autistic children and other developmental challenges.
In response to the urgent threat posed to the population of Botswana and its healthcare system by the spread of COVID-19, the United States Government (USG) through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) committed $1.5 million dollars to support the Government of Botswana’s (GoB) swift and decisive response to COVID-19 and to protect the nation from this global coronavirus pandemic.
USAID is proud and excited to announce that the work done by six of its implementing partners during the COVID-19 pandemic was recognized as PEPFAR Heroes. The award recipients were honored on December 2 during a virtual World AIDS Day celebration with the U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Kyle McCarter. The PEPFAR Hero Awards were given out by PEPFAR Kenya in recognition of people who, despite the pandemic, went above and beyond their call of duty to ensure that Kenyans living with HIV continued to receive antiretroviral therapy. Antiretroviral therapy is essential for people living with HIV to live longer, healthier lives, and maintain virologic suppression.
In continued efforts by the U.S. government to assist the Kyrgyz Republic in the fight against COVID-19, on November 25 the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) handed over six high-capacity oxygen concentrators to five hospitals in Bishkek, Chui, and Osh. These state-of-the-art, lifesaving devices will supply the hospitals’ intensive care units with purified oxygen, which is critical for COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms. This equipment was handed over as part of USAID assistance to the Kyrgyz Republic in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic at a virtual ceremony hosted by U.S. Ambassador Donald Lu.
The U.S. Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is donating 15 new, state-of-the-art ventilators to the Royal Government of Bhutan to assist the country in its fight against COVID-19.
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