Covid-19: US again delivers medical supplies to Bangladesh

Published at 11:33 pm June 7th, 2021

US Ambassador Earl R Miller hands over emergency medical supplies sent to Bangladesh through USAID at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Monday, June 7, 2021 Courtesy

$84 million in Covid-19 assistance sent to Bangladesh from the US since March 2020

The US on Monday sent its most recent shipment of emergency medical supplies to Bangladesh to help combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

The medical supplies were sent to Bangladesh through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), according to a US Embassy press release.

The latest delivery brings the total of US pandemic assistance to Bangladesh to more than $84 million.

US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R Miller presented Toufiq Islam Shatil, director general, Americas, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Kabir Ahmed, joint secretary, Economic Relations Division (ERD), Ministry of Finance; Dr Mohammad Robed Amin, line director, Non-Communicable Disease Control (NCDC); Dr Md Zahidul Islam, deputy director, hospitals, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS); and Dr Moinul Ahsan, civil surgeon, Dhaka, with the emergency medical supplies.

The supplies include critical personal protective equipment for healthcare professionals and other frontline workers, as well as fingertip pulse oximeters to measure the oxygen levels of patients.

“For 50 years, the US has stood shoulder to shoulder with the people of Bangladesh. We will continue to fight this pandemic with Bangladesh until the crisis is over,” said Ambassador Miller.

On June 3, the White House announced plans to share vaccines directly with Bangladesh as part of a framework to provide 80 million US vaccine doses globally by the end of the month. This includes seven million doses destined for Asia.

Also in this month, USAID sent two more flights, one of which was supported by the US Department of Defence, with additional personal protective equipment to Dhaka to support Bangladesh’s response efforts.

US Covid-19 response assistance to Bangladesh includes supplying 100 state-of-the-art U.S. manufactured ventilators; gas analysers 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.