April 2, Tashkent, Uzbekistan – The U.S. government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has announced an additional contribution to Uzbekistan’s efforts to combat COVID-19.

Secretary of State Pompeo announced on March 26, 2020 that the United States has mobilized nearly $274 million in emergency health and humanitarian assistance to support up to 64 at-risk countries in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This assistance is part of the U.S. government’s global efforts to strengthen partner countries’ capacities to control infectious disease threats.

“This pandemic has shown that no country is an island. We must work together, supporting each other, to fight this disease. Our families in the United States, just like here in Uzbekistan, are concerned about the threat of COVID-19, so we we want to support Uzbekistan’s efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and care for those infected,” noted Ambassador Rosenblum.

In partnership with the Uzbekistan Ministry of Health and the Agency for Sanitary and Epidemiological Welfare and in coordination with other international donors, including the World Health Organization (WHO), the United States government has identified priority areas to provide support for the needs of Uzbekistan’s citizens, health professionals, and government.  USAID will be providing funds to prepare laboratory systems for large-scale testing, to prevent and control infections in healthcare facilities, to improve COVID-19 surveillance and rapid response, to improve case management of the infected, to combat disinformation about the virus, and to engage local communities so that they can help the government and health care providers provide timely and accurate information to the public.

For decades, the United States has been the largest provider of assistance for improving public health around the world.   In the last ten years alone, American taxpayers have generously made available more than $100 billion dollars in health assistance and nearly $70 billion in humanitarian assistance globally.     This generosity is underscored by our contributions to several crucial multilateral partners, which includes:

• U.S. contributions to WHO.  In 2019 alone, these exceeded $400 million, almost double the 2nd largest member state contribution.
• U.S. support to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).  In 2019 alone, the U.S. contributed $1.7 billion. This support will be critical going forward, as refugee populations are uniquely vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• U.S. contributions to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).  In 2019 alone, these  totaled more than $700 million.  The life-saving activities UNICEF has been doing for years -- such as immunization campaigns and health and sanitation training and assistance -- will save lives as we fight this dangerous pathogen.

Because an infectious-disease threat anywhere can become a threat everywhere, the United States calls on other donors to contribute to the global effort to combat COVID-19.   

For more information about novel coronavirus disease COVID-19, please visit: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

For more information about USAID’s response to COVID-19, please visit: https://www.usaid.gov/coronavirus-covid-19