Key Developments

The U.S. Department of State (DoS) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) remain committed to assisting the world’s most vulnerable countries in fighting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. To date, pledged funding from USAID includes $299 million in assistance from USAID’s Emergency Reserve Fund for Contagious Infectious-Disease Outbreaks (ERF-USAID), approximately $235 million in Global Health Programs (GHP-USAID) funds, $558 million in humanitarian assistance from USAID’s International Disaster Assistance (IDA) account, and $243 million from the Economic Support Fund (ESF).

In coordination with the National Security Council, USAID is working with U.S. Government (USG) interagency partners, including the U.S. Department of Defense, and the private sector to fulfill U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s commitment to provide ventilators to countries in need. To date, USAID has delivered ventilators to Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Fiji, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Mozambique, Nauru, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Russia, Rwanda, and South Africa to support care for COVID-19 patients.

Vulnerable communities worldwide are experiencing increasing protection-related humanitarian needs generated or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In some countries, movement restrictions and social isolation measures meant to limit the spread of COVID-19 are contributing to increased risks of protection incidents, including child protection issues and gender-based violence (GBV), the UN reports. Medical facilities in many countries currently had limited capacity and resources to assist populations experiencing GBV prior to COVID-19 outbreaks, which have further increased response gaps and disrupted the delivery of life-saving services. Populations on the move—including internally displaced persons (IDPs), migrants, and refugees—face a greater risk of protection incidents under normal circumstances; however, the pandemic is exacerbating these risks, particularly among individuals stranded at border crossings, held in immigrant detention centers, or forcibly returned or relocated, according to the UN. In response, USAID partners continue to provide crucial protection assistance to affected communities as country-level outbreaks and secondary effects of the pandemic persist.

AFRICA

With $1.5 million in USAID support, World Vision is boosting the capacity of communities to respond to COVID-19 outbreaks by conducting hygiene promotion activities in Burundi’s Cankuzo and Rutana provinces. The non-governmental organization (NGO) is conducting training for approximately 300 community health workers, engagement officers, and faith leaders, allowing the individuals to disseminate hygiene information to IDPs, returnees, and host community members. World Vision is also disseminating hygiene messages at 15 health facilities and through interactive radio shows featuring COVID-19-related information from the Ministry of Health and the UN World Health Organization (WHO). In addition, to help limit the spread of COVID-19, World Vision is improving waste management systems in 18 district hospitals.

In Malawi, USAID partner Management Sciences for Health deployed fuel, staff, and vehicles to support contact tracing for confirmed COVID-19 patients, leading to the identification of more than 1,700 contacts, enabling health teams to successfully trace and test nearly 1,500 individuals. In addition, USAID supported testing for more than 2,550 suspected COVID-19 cases, of which nearly 300 were positive.

To reduce the spread of COVID-19 among populations in Nigeria’s Borno State, a USAID partner is conducting health and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programs. The NGO is increasing community awareness of COVID-19 through risk communication and community engagement activities such as broadcasting key messages at strategic locations and translating informative materials into local languages. In addition, the partner is establishing a database to record interactions with IDP camps in Borno, allowing the NGO to track and analyze rumors and perceptions related to COVID-19 in the community. Finally, to limit the spread of COVID-19 in IDP camps, the partner is installing handwashing facilities and blocks of latrines, as well as upgrading other WASH infrastructure; the new facilities and latrines will enable social distancing while residents incorporate safe WASH practices.

In Madagascar, USAID partners aired more than 3,600 radio spots and disseminated 25,000 posters promoting handwashing, reaching an estimated 823,200 people with information on COVID-19. In addition, through a USAID-supported hotline, responders provided health information to nearly 104,500 callers.

In Côte d’Ivoire, USAID partner Johns Hopkins University engaged 46 religious, traditional, and community leaders to leverage their influence to promote COVID-19 awareness and prevention activities. The partner reached more than 136,000 people with COVID-19 messages through print and social media. In addition, the partner trained nearly 450 community collaborators on COVID-19 risk communication messaging to inform their work with at-risk populations and people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

ASIA

To address COVID-19-related health and protection needs among displaced and vulnerable communities in Burma, USAID partner the International Rescue Committee (IRC) is carrying out risk communication and community engagement activities and supporting health care workers to ensure continuity of life-saving services amid the COVID-19 outbreaks in the country. IRC is providing information related to the disease to conflict-affected individuals and training health care workers, health volunteers, and community groups on infection prevention and control (IPC) protocols; triage, isolation, and referral of suspected COVID-19 cases; and use of personal protective equipment (PPE). The NGO is also engaging stakeholders at the union, state, and township level to prevent and manage COVID-19 outbreaks among vulnerable communities.

In Pakistan, USAID partner Chemonics designed and launched a COVID-19 Travelers Surveillance Management Information System at 19 air, land, and sea points-of-entry; trained 130 government staff on the surveillance tool; and screened almost a million passengers between February and June.

In addition, a USAID partner in Vietnam conducted eight onsite training courses with a total enrollment of more than 370 health care workers from 60 health care facilities. The trainings focused on the major aspects of IPC for COVID-19 in the health care setting, including screening and triage; organization of quarantine and isolation areas in the hospital; safe respiratory specimen sampling and transportation; establishment of surveillance activities; environment hygiene; application of precautions at COVID-19 units; and proper use of PPE.

With USAID support in Lao People’s Democratic Republic, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is implementing a ‘Back to School’ campaign featuring key risk communication messages, reaching more than 2.8 million people on social media with more than 111,000 engagements on UNICEF accounts. In addition, UNICEF has supported the production, translation, and broadcast of 28 unique TV public service announcements (PSAs) and 30 unique radio PSAs across the country.

In Bangladesh, a USAID partner engaged nearly 13,000 health care workers in an online course to support providers in meeting the mental and physical challenges of the COVID-19 response, including how to properly use PPE, self-care, and how to protect family members. The partner also supports a COVID-19 hotline, identifying more than 12,300 individuals—approximately 19 percent of the total number of calls to the hotline—with suspected COVID-19 symptoms.

EUROPE & EURASIA

In Moldova, a USAID partner supported 25 online trainings on clinical case management, reaching an estimated 3,000 individuals. In addition, the partner distributed COVID-19 information packages to health workers in hospital facilities and infectious disease departments, focused on preparing health facilities for COVID-19 and managing patients with suspected or confirmed cases of the disease.

LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN

With $1.5 million in USAID support, UNICEF is addressing COVID-19-related health needs among indigenous populations in Brazil’s Acre, Amazonas, Para, and Roraima states.  The UN agency is conducting training for nearly 1,000 health workers from multidisciplinary indigenous health teams focused on remote health services amid the country’s COVID-19 outbreaks.  UNICEF is also providing technical support and health supplies to nearly 200 health centers across the four states.

In Haiti, a USAID partner helped the Ministry of Health strengthen its laboratory capacity by training lab personnel and providing needed reagents and equipment. In addition, USAID supported retraining for 12 nurses who normally treat cholera patients to support the sampling and transport of suspected COVID-19 cases. Since May, these nurses have assisted with the sampling and testing of more than 2,600 people in the country.

MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA

With USAID support, an NGO partner is mitigating the effects of COVID-19 in Lebanon and conducting programs to limit disease spread. The NGO is providing clinical oversight, supplies, and staffing support, as well as WASH supplies, at isolation centers throughout the country. To support the mental health of individuals affected by COVID-19, the NGO is providing remote psychosocial support services. The partner is also establishing a community-based surveillance system for the early detection of COVID-19 cases and outbreaks, training community health workers on screening and follow-up methods.

In Tunisia, USAID assisted the Ministry of Health to expand Tunisia’s capacity to test for COVID-19 by supporting training for staff from seven laboratories in biosecurity and biosafety, as well as diagnostic techniques. In addition, USAID supported the development of a Training of Trainers curriculum on IPC and subsequently trained 120 national trainers from Tunisia's 24 governorates. Newly-trained individuals have begun on-site training in the Ariana and Tunis regions. Furthermore, USAID supported the training of Rapid Response Teams across 24 regions to strengthen active case finding and contact tracing in light of border re-openings. Finally, USAID also donated two coolers for each of Tunisia's 24 governorates to strengthen specimen transport and safety.

In Iraq, a USAID partner procured 15,000 viral transport mediums for COVID-19 diagnosis with the items distributed to the central public health laboratories in Baghdad and Erbil.

COVID-19 GLOBAL RESPONSE STRATEGY

In responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, USAID, together with DoS, launched the Strategy for Supplemental Funding to Prevent, Prepare for, and Respond to Coronavirus Abroad. Through four interrelated pillars, DoS and USAID are working to:

• Protect American citizens and the U.S. Government (USG) community overseas, facilitate the continuation of USG work overseas, and communicate effectively;
• Prevent, prepare for, respond to, and bolster health institutions to address the COVID-19 pandemic and the possible re-emergence of the disease;
• Prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19 in existing complex emergency settings and address the potential humanitarian consequences of the pandemic; and
• Prepare for, mitigate, and address second-order economic, security, stabilization, and governance impacts of COVID-19.

To achieve these interrelated objectives, USAID is tailoring assistance based on country capacity and reported needs through implementation of the USG Action Plan to Support the International Response to COVID-19 (SAFER Action Plan). The SAFER Action Plan is focused on scaling up community approaches to slow the spread of COVID-19; addressing critical needs of health care facilities, health care workers, and patients; identifying, investigating, and responding to COVID-19 cases through expanded disease detection and surveillance mechanisms; employing strategies to address second-order impacts of COVID-19; and developing plans for the utilization of therapeutics, vaccines, and other life-saving supplies.

USAID coordinates with DoS, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other interagency partners to prioritize countries to receive funding for the COVID-19 response and works closely with various stakeholders, including DoS and USAID country staff, to select the most appropriate mechanisms to fill identified response gaps. USAID is also collaborating with governments, multilateral organizations, NGOs, the private sector, and other actors working on the ground to support the COVID-19 response.