The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Thursday (June 10) delivered to Bangladesh a second shipment of emergency medical supplies to save lives, stop the spread of COVID-19, and meet the urgent health needs of the Bangladeshi people.

This latest delivery brings the total of U.S. pandemic assistance to more than $84 million.  U.S. Embassy Dhaka Deputy Chief of Mission JoAnne Wagner, and USAID Mission Director Derrick S. Brown, joined by the Director of America Wing from the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Ms. Seheli Sabrin, welcomed the arrival of this second shipment at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. 

This latest shipment includes emergency supplies jointly donated by USAID, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, and Henry Schein, Inc., an American company for healthcare professionals.

On June 7, a U.S. military flight arrived in Dhaka loaded with additional medical supplies critical for COVID-19 treatment.

Together, these deliveries build on the United States’ ongoing efforts to mitigate the challenges posed by the pandemic in Bangladesh.  The United States has worked closely with Bangladesh since the beginning of the pandemic to strengthen the government’s response to prevent and respond to COVID-19, contributing more than $84 million to date in development and humanitarian assistance. The recent shipments added over $2 million to the total U.S. government contribution to Bangladesh.  

This assistance has helped save lives and treat individuals infected with COVID-19; strengthened COVID-19 testing capacity and surveillance; enhanced COVID-19 case management and infection prevention and control practices; improved both the supply chain and logistics management systems; helped protect front line workers; and increased public knowledge about COVID-19. 

Additional U.S. COVID response assistance includes supplying 100 state-of-the-art U.S. manufactured ventilators; gas analyzers to allow Bangladesh to produce its own ventilators; tens of thousands of pieces of locally-produced personal protective equipment (PPE; KN95 surgical masks, face shields, HAZMAT suits, full body gowns, medical-grade hand sanitizer, surgical gloves, medical goggles) to medical treatment facilities, law enforcement, first responders, and customs inspectors; and mentoring and training for thousands of doctors and other front line workers to improve the care given to COVID-19 patients across Bangladesh.  

This support builds on the more than $1 billion in U.S. health assistance the U.S. has provided Bangladesh over the past 20 years and underscores the long-term U.S. commitment to ensuring access to quality, lifesaving health services for the people of Bangladesh.