US provides $3 million to support Georgia’s coronavirus response

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is providing an additional $3 million in assistance to the Georgian healthcare system in response to COVID-19.

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The US Ambassador to Georgia, Kelly Degnan, said in her video address yesterday that the CDC has been supporting Georgia to prepare for and response to the pandemic since January.

This $3 million in new funding builds on CDC’s more than 10-year partnership with Georgia, across priority public health programs, such as Hepatitis C Elimination, the Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program, and supporting the Richard G. Lugar Center to provide quality assurance and control for laboratories across the country”, Ambassador Degnan said.

In partnering with the Georgian Health Ministry and the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), the US CDC has been working on training healthcare workers on the proper use of personal protective equipment; infection prevention and control; contact tracing of suspected cases of COVID-19.

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They have also been providing technical assistance on patient management and flow systems to mitigate the spread of the virus in hospital settings, as well as training field epidemiologists to collect, analyse and interpret COVID-19 data.

The US Embassy to Georgia has released a video message of Ambassador Kelly Degnan on the new US support for Georgia's response to COVID-19:

Haling the efforts of health authorities, doctors and researchers and the Georgian government 'for managing this crisis responsibly', Kelly Degnan said 'their proactive efforts will make it possible for Georgia to reopen safely”.

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Stressing that she is complying with the guidance from the Georgian health officials 'to maintain social distancing', Ambassador Degnan said it is important to take ‘the necessary precautions to stay healthy and safe’.

The United States is leading the world’s humanitarian and health response to COVID-19, even while battling the virus at home. As part of this response, the United States has committed nearly one billion dollars to date in health, humanitarian and economic assistance”, she stated.

Noting that in Georgia, the Embassy ‘continues to look for ways’ the US can help Georgians, Ambassador Kelly Degnan said ‘the fight is not over yet, but we are definitely making progress’.

• US provides Georgia with 27,000 tonnes of wheat

Meanwhile, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food for Progress programme, is donating an additional 27,000 tonnes of high-quality wheat to support Georgia during the coronavirus outbreak.

By the end of this month, the USDA will sign 18 small grant agreements, totalling $400,000 ‘to strengthen the dairy, beef, and farming sectors and improve food safety standards’ as well.