Haiti receives US$16.1 million in assistance from US to fight COVID-19

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – The Government of Haiti has received funds amounting to US$16.1 million from the United States to help the country respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The funds from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will support the government’s national response plan led by the Ministry of Public Health, the Department of Civil Protection of the Ministry of the Interior, the Haitian intensive care hospital network and local and international organisations.

“The American people have a long history of helping their neighbours both at home and abroad. The United States provides aid because we believe it is the right thing to do; we also provide assistance as a matter of pragmatism. If we can help countries contain outbreaks, we’ll save lives abroad and at home in the United States,” said US Ambassador to Haiti, Michèle Sison.

Through the USAID  and the Centers for Disease Control, the Untied States will support, among other things, the purchase and distribution of hand washing kits to reach approximately 400,000 Haitians ; launch a national handwashing campaign in health facilities, religious centres, marketplaces and public spaces in French and Creole and to amplify the government’s messaging through national and local radio, sound trucks, megaphone announcement, and visual materials to specifically address any stigmas, discrimination, misinformation, and myths. 

To date, the number of active cases in Haiti now stands at 61 cases.

There have been six deaths.

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