United States Provides $17.1 Million in Assistance to Somalia to Respond to COVID-19

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United States Provides $17.1 Million in Assistance to Somalia to Respond to COVID-19

The United States is providing more than $17.1million to date to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 outbreakin Somalia. This assistance supports infection prevention and control, case management, and risk communication, including internally displace

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Somalia's COVID19 call center. (file photo)

The United States is providing more than $17.1million to date to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 outbreakin Somalia. This assistance supports infection prevention and control, case management, and risk communication, including internally displaced persons, refugees, returnees, and vulnerable migrants, in Somalia.

"We are actively assisting Somalia’s response to COVID-19. By partnering with the Somali government, other donors, international organizations, NGOs, and the private sector, we will make significant progress in improving health outcomes and combating the outbreak of COVID-19 in Somalia,” explained U.S. Ambassador to Somalia Donald Y. Yamamoto.

The United States will:

- Support primary health facilities, training healthcare workers, and community health workers on infection prevention measures

- Protect children and other vulnerable groups by strengthening monitoring and response efforts. For example, working with child protection committees to identify cases of abuse, violence, and neglect and providing for children when the main caretaker needs to be isolated from the rest of the family.

- Support essential logistics support and air transportation to more than 27 locations throughout Somalia. Restrictions on movement, quarantines, and chronic security concerns have made these flights the only way that critical supplies can reach most of the major health care facilities.

- Provide water and sanitation services to health facilities to ensure adequate infection prevention and control in preparation for the influx of patients as COVID-19 caseloads intensify and installing handwashing stations.

- Support risk communication and community engagement campaigns conducted through social media, radio, and television to increase community awareness of COVID-19 prevention measures and symptoms.

- Ensure that the most vulnerable communities are able topractice hygiene.

Through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the United States is adapting existing health and education development programs to help combat COVID-19 in Somalia. USAID has delivered 520,000 locally made non-medical masks to the Ministry of Health, 350 hospital beds for use in isolation centers, and IT equipment and furniture to testing centers throughout the country. USAID’s Education program is also reaching Somali children that are out-of-school due to school closures through entertaining educational radio programming.

The United States remains the largest donor and a catalyst for the international response in Somalia. The more than $17.1 million provided in response to the COVID-19 pandemic comes in addition to $5.3 billion in total assistance for Somalia over the last 20 years. America’s generosity continues to provide emergency food assistance, lifesaving primary health care services, and water, sanitation, and hygiene support to affected populations.

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

- US Embassy in Mogadishu -m