The U.S. Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has airlifted emergency medical supplies to Sri Lanka to help save lives, stop the spread of COVID-19, and continue to meet the urgent health needs across South Asia recently.
In Sri Lanka, this assistance includes 880,000 vital pieces of personal protective equipment and 1,200 pulse oximeters to support frontline healthcare workers and others most affected by the current outbreak. The United States and Sri Lanka have worked closely together to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic since its outset, and USAID’s assistance has benefited millions of people in all 25 districts and nine provinces across the country, providing life-saving treatments, strengthening clinical care, and mobilizing critical supplies to bolster the response. The U.S. Government has previously provided $11.3 million to assist Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 response and recovery, including a donation of 200 ventilators to care for critically ill patients.
This airlift exemplifies the United States’ whole-of-government response to ensure assistance reaches people who need it quickly. The State of California’s Office of Emergency Services generously donated commodities, USAID sourced PPE from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of State procured the aircraft being used for transport.
USAID is coordinating additional shipments for South Asia in the coming weeks.
USAID is also working closely with the private sector to help address the immediate health needs in the region. USAID will leverage its experience with a range of private sector partners—from manufacturers to investors, from multinational companies to small- and medium-sized enterprises—to meet the critical needs arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
People familiar with the situation in Sri Lanka exclusively spoke with channelnewlanka.com on this regard.
Karl Brenza, Paulson Investments, New York
“In my interactions, Sri Lankans are very warm and friendly people. I spent time in Colombo in 2017 and it’s was a memorable experience. It is great that United States of America is helping them with medical equipments and Vaccines in their hour of need”
Roshan Perera, Senior Director at Aegis Capital, New York
We, the expatriate Sri Lankan living in USA have always come to help fellow Sri Lankan when they needed help. We sent helps to Sri Lanka during Tsunami, came together with ending a bloody civil war, stood together after Easter Attacks and now unconditionally helping the people of Sri Lanka during a deadly pandemic.
Dr. Esala Chandrasena, Senior Scientist at California Department of Public Health, San Francisco.
We Sri Lankan Americans are able and willing to extend our heat to Sri Lanka in a moments notice and Unites States can share immense knowledge in Public Health and relates Research areas so the people of Sri Lanka can become a healthy and prosperous nation.
Dr. Namal Liyanage, Assistant Professor at Ohio State University, Werner Medical Center.
While it is great that USA is helping all the people living in Sri Lanka by providing with $ 6 million worth of ventilators, oximeters, and PPE along with a valuable shipment of vaccines through USAID, we can do more by training more Sri Lankan scientists in new technologies offering more research doctoral opportunities through US universities and build a successful US-Sri Lanka educational partnership.