US provides additional $1.47 million to help Azerbaijan respond to

US provides additional $1.47 million to help Azerbaijan respond to COVID-19 effects

20:46 24 August 2020 Read: 1519

The US Government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State Department, is providing an additional $1.47 million to help Azerbaijan respond to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Embassy in Azerbaijan told AzVision.az.

An additional $1 million will fund a component of USAID’s Private Sector Activity to provide advisory services to the Government of Azerbaijan and technical assistance to small and medium-sized agriculture and agritourism enterprises to help them succeed through the challenges presented by the pandemic.

Separately, $471,000 in new State Department funding will provide shelter, food, and access to medical and social services for vulnerable migrants affected by the pandemic.

“The COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to control its spread have been very challenging to small and medium-sized businesses in the United States, Azerbaijan and around the globe. This additional funding, provided by the American people, will help owners of small and medium-sized businesses in Azerbaijan and their employees survive and succeed through the crisis. We want the people of Azerbaijan to know that we will continue to stand with them throughout the COVID-19 crisis and our recovery from it,” says U.S. Ambassador Lee Litzenberger.

The United States has now provided over $5 million to support Azerbaijan’s response to the immediate and longer-term health and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. These funds have contributed to the provision of food and hygiene supplies to over 3,600 vulnerable individuals across the country; communications to educate people on steps they can take to prevent and respond to the spread of the virus; and the successful REACT-C19 project, which brought 19 doctors from Turkey to work as consultants to help improve local hospitals. The United States’ is funding the following organizations for COVID-19 response in Azerbaijan, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, International Committee of the Red Cross, International Organization for Migration, Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society, and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the United States has provided $20.5 billion in assistance specifically aimed at fighting the pandemic around the world.

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