America donates 36 vehicles to KP Government for tracking COVID, infectious diseases

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - The United States government on Thursday donated 36 vehicles to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) health department through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to help strengthen surveillance and management of infectious diseases, including Covid-19.

The handover ceremony was held at the KP Governor’s House by US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome and KP Minister for Health and Finance Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra.

US Ambassador Donald Blome said that this year celebrates the 75th anniversary of the US-Pakistan friendship. “We are dedicated to making the world a better place for Pakistanis and are proud of our contributions to enhancing life in KP”, he added.

Donald Blome said that KP health practitioners are better able to offer precise and timely information in rural areas and aid health officials in making decisions that will protect the public thanks to these vehicles and the training made available by USAID."

Donald Blome was praised by Taimur for his visit and his assistance.

Talking to the media, Taimur said, "The KP Department of Health is grateful to USAID for the timely support of vehicles provided to all District Diseases Surveillance and Response Units in KP.These 36 vehicles will be fully utilized for COVID-19 surveillance as well as for vaccination campaign monitoring. We cherish our partnership with USAID for strengthening the health system in the province."Across Pakistan, the US has donated 61 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to date, with an additional 16 million pediatric doses announced and expected to arrive soon.

Since the start of pandemic, the US government has provided nearly $70.4 million in direct support and $13.8 million in in-kind support to assist the Pakistani people in the fight against COVID-19, with another $20 million planned to support further vaccination efforts in Pakistan.

The US has also provided 200 ventilators for 64 Pakistani hospitals, which increased Pakistan s respiratory care capacity by 30 percent, and trained 400 healthcare workers on how to operate these ventilators.

At the provincial level, the US, though USAID, provided disease surveillance and response teams in all 155 districts across Pakistan and supported the reconfiguration of a HealthAlert phone application for healthcare workers to report new cases of COVID-19 in rural areas.



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