United States provides an additional $1 million for COVID-19 response in Azerbaijan

Today, U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Lee Litzenberger participated in the delivery of three mobile clinics in Shamakhi which will provide essential health services to rural and vulnerable communities. These mobile clinics will serve thousands of people in Shamakhi and its villages every year helping with early diagnosis of preventable diseases, bringing treatment to rural communities, and saving lives. The mobile clinics were procured by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the British Embassy in Baku under the PROACT-Care project implemented by the World Health Organization (WHO) Azerbaijan.
 
During the visit, Ambassador Litzenberger also announced that the United States, through USAID, has provided an additional $1 million to support the Azerbaijani government’s efforts to respond to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
 
The additional resources were awarded to WHO and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). WHO will expand the ongoing PROACT-care project to improve the infection prevention efforts of primary health care facilities and increase their capacity to maintain essential (non-COVID-19) health services. In collaboration with the Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society, IFRC will help vulnerable communities adopt infection prevention practices to contain the spread of the coronavirus and provide psychosocial support to cope with the ongoing challenges posed by the pandemic.
 
Ambassador Litzenberger stated, "The United States is committed to the continued support to Azerbaijan as we all face a trying time in history. Only by working hand in hand can we defeat COVID-19”.
 
With the additional funding, the United States has now provided $6.6 million to support Azerbaijan’s response to the immediate and longer-term health and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. These funds supported the training of 1,300 health workers on infection prevention and control, risk awareness and risk communication within health facilities; provided food and hygiene parcels to more than 16,000 families (about 80,000 individuals) in Baku and the regions of Azerbaijan; and expanded communications outreach to more than 3 million people on preventative measures to stop the spread of the virus.
 
Over the past two decades, the United States has provided more than $140 billion in global health assistance. For more information on USAID’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.usaid.gov/coronavirus. 

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