Continuing U.S. Leadership in the Global COVID-19 Response through Additional U.S. Foreign Assistance

By DOS

Thanks to the unmatched generosity of the American people and the efforts of the U.S. government, the United States has continued to lead the world’s public health and humanitarian response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are building on that leadership, with another $225 million in health, humanitarian, and economic assistance to further boost response efforts worldwide.

This new assistance follows the nearly $274 million in aid already deployed by the U.S. government against COVID-19. It also builds upon the more than $140 billion in total U.S. health assistance alone provided globally over the last 20 years. The United States is the undisputed leader in the provision of health and humanitarian aid, around the world.

Our COVID-19 aid is focused on helping to reduce transmission of the virus through diagnosis, the prevention and control of infections in health facilities, preparing and bolstering emergency health systems, improving laboratories, training healthcare workers and more – all in an effort to respond to additional outbreaks to mitigate further impact to Americans overseas and better protect Americans at home from further transmission across our borders.

Pandemics do not respect national borders. Through decades of U.S. global leadership in health and humanitarian assistance, we know that smart and strategic investments have proven critical to protecting the homeland. As history proves, we can fight pandemics at home and help other nations contain their spread abroad.

Most importantly of all, the United States is able to provide impactful assistance to our partners overseas without diverting critical supplies away from the American people. We will keep all critical medical items in the United States until the demand at home is met.

Teams across the U.S. government — including not only the Department of State, but also the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Development Finance Corporation, and more — are working together and with our partners in the G7 and other multilateral institutions to prioritize programs and countries where assistance is most needed, and will have the greatest impact.

Americans don’t just provide aid through government means. Together, Americans have generously donated more than $1.5 billion to populations affected by the COVID-19 pandemic around the world through private businesses, nonprofit groups, and faith-based organizations.  And I know we will continue to do so in the weeks and months ahead, as the world’s greatest humanitarians.