The United States Embassy in the Philippines has announced that the US government has given an additional P298 million or $5.9 million aid in the fight against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The total amount of US pandemic assistance is now more than P768 million or $15.2 million which includes P44 million or $875,000 from the US Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration for the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The funds came a month after President Rodrigo Duterte spoke with US President Donald Trump. The conversation that lasted 18 minutes tackled bilateral efforts to fight the global pandemic.
US Agency for International Development (USAID) is also planning to partner with LGU’s in some of the Philippines’ hardest-hit areas to:
- Promote effective crisis management and implement response plans
- Rapidly disburse emergency funding and supplies
- Strengthen the capacity of local crisis response centers to disseminate accurate and timely crisis response information
- Manage quarantine measures
- Set up public handwashing facilities
- Ensure food supply
- Support local business recovery
- Provide supply chain analytics
- Promote a regulatory environment that facilitates logistics and transportation for food, medical products, and other essential goods
- Facilitate access to credit and provide grants and skills training to heavily affected sectors and communities for small and micro-enterprises
“This latest assistance builds on our long-standing relationships with local government units across the Philippines, and represents our continued commitment to our Filipino friends, partners, and allies in this time of crisis,”
– Sung Kim,US Ambassador to the Philippines
