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U.S. donates COVID-19 relief supplies to PH
P ovincial News U.S. donates COVID-19 relief supplies to PH
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SURIGAO CITY - The United States (U.S.) government donated nearly 1,300 new cots to support the Philippine government’s response to COVID-19.
“I am pleased to be able to hand over these new cots, on behalf of the U.S. government, to our Philippine partners. We stand together with the Philippines, as both of our nations work to save lives and protect our people in the fight against COVID-19,” said Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim. Joining the ambassador to receive the cots were Republic of the Philippines Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. and Office of Civil Defense Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad. In partnership with the Philippine government, the United States also donated more than 1,100 cots to the Office of Civil Defense to aid COVID-19 patients. nearly P204 million ($4 million) in health assistance to help address the COVID-19 pandemic in Manila and around the country. United States assistance supports several important efforts such as laboratory system preparedness; casefinding and event-based surveillance; technical expert response and preparedness; risk communication; and infection prevention.
The United States also provided 150 cots to support patients and medical professionals and frontliners at Philippine General Hospital who are providing critical diagnosis, treatment and care. The cots were originally intended for the Balikatan 2020 joint military exercise. These efforts complement the ongoing assistance from the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s Biological Threat Reduction Program.
Over the past 20 years, the United States has provided more than P29.5 billion ($582 million) in assistance to strengthen and develop the Philippine health system. (PIA-Surigao del Norte)
