Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

World + 1 more

USAID announces $345 million investment to accelerate global fight against COVID-19

For Immediate Release

Today, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced it will plan to provide $345 million for life-saving vaccine assistance, oxygen supplies, and targeted surge support to COVID-19 hotspots. Specifically:

  • $195 million to help countries around the world strengthen their vaccination programs, including setting up vaccination sites, training health workers to administer vaccines, identifying priority at-risk populations, fighting vaccine misinformation, and more.
  • $50 million to expand access to life-saving oxygen treatment to help address the global oxygen crisis.
  • $100 million to prioritize rapid response interventions in developing countries to combat COVID-19 surges.

These funds were announced today at President Biden’s Global COVID-19 Summit: Ending the Pandemic and Building Back Better, the largest gathering of heads of state to address the pandemic to date. President Biden called on world leaders, the private sector, non-government organizations, and the philanthropic community to expand and enhance shared efforts to defeat the pandemic. The President called for greater global ambition to end the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022 with new, focused urgency.

USAID and the Department of State have provided more than $9.8 billion to fight COVID-19 in more than 120 countries to date. With this additional funding, USAID will accelerate its efforts to vaccinate the world and save lives.