The Manila Times

US GOVT DELIVERS P11.5-M CRISIS AID

LEANDER C. DOMINGO

THE United States government through the United States Agency for International Development (USAid) has delivered a total of P11.5 million ($200,000) worth of response supplies, equipment and humanitarian assistance to Surigao del Norte.

According to the US Embassy in Manila, the assistance was to help communities in that province recover from the dual effects of Typhoon “Odette” and the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Sept. 27, 2022, Micelle Lang-Alli, USAid Philippines health office director, and Rachel Gallagher, Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance officer, handed over the assistance to the provincial government of Surigao del Norte headed by Gov. Robert Lyndon Barbers.

The response supplies and equipment include 28,000 rapid antigen test kits, 10 generators and field tents, 22 laptops and routers, 50 oxygen tanks, 10 oxygen concentrators and vital sign monitoring equipment.

The US Embassy said this additional assistance will help the local government test more residents, promote home-care strategies for mild and asymptomatic Covid-19 cases and mobilize community health care workers for local vaccination advocacy campaigns.

It added that the assistance also highlights the US government’s continued support for Covid-19 response and mental health during times of crisis.

In collaboration with their partners, Lang-Alli said these efforts to bring Covid-19 cases down to manageable levels challenge them to work toward adaptive solutions to further strengthen the resilience of local communities.

On September 28, USAid also handed over mental health and psychosocial support kits to help families recover from the trauma caused by Typhoon Odette.

The embassy said these kits complement USAid’s mental health training for frontline responders and health care providers and further support child- and womenfriendly spaces that provide medical, psychosocial and gender-based violence case management services.

It added that the US government deployed mobile vaccination teams and testing units, medical technologists and data encoders, and provided operational support to Surigao del Norte’s Covid-19 response and vaccination rollout.

Barbers said the USAid has been a steady and reliable partner as they recover from the typhoon’s devastating effects and rebuild lives as they continue to grapple with the pandemic.

“USAid assistance enabled us to provide vaccines and further improve patient care and management of Covid-19 cases,” he added.

A total of P1.7 billion ($29.650 million) in emergency humanitarian relief assistance and Covid-19 medical equipment and laboratory supplies has been provided by USAid to communities affected by Typhoon Odette to date.

The US Embassy said this includes support for vaccination, infection prevention and control, risk communication, training for Covid-19 responders, reducing gender-based violence, increasing access to sexual and reproductive health services and supporting the mental health and psychosocial well-being of crisis-affected communities.

Regions

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2022-10-07T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-10-07T07:00:00.0000000Z

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The Manila Times