SAN SALVADOR — The US government, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), donated an additional $2 million to support the government of El Salvador’s (GOES) response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With this grant, the US government has provided $28 million to El Salvador since the onset of the emergency. The US government is also the largest donor to COVAX. We have provided $2 billion to COVAX for the purchase of vaccines globally, and we plan to provide another $2 billion. This will provide access to vaccines to countries around the world, including El Salvador.
The donation ceremony took place at the National Biological Center (CENABI) in Soyapango, which currently serves as a vaccine storage and distribution facility. The donation was announced by US Chargé d’Affaires Brendan O’Brien and received by the minister of health, Francisco Alabí, who thanked the US government for its support.
The grant will support the GOES immunization campaign by providing essential equipment such as smart tablets and laptops to collect and transfer immunization data, adverse reaction kits at the vaccination centers, logistical support for refrigerated trucks to move vaccines safely from CENABI to the vaccination centers, and training for health personnel in handling and monitoring the vaccination response. USAID will also support the GOES communication and outreach plan to inform the population about vaccines, the location of vaccination centers, and provide technical support to establish standard operating procedures to improve GOES operational capacity to vaccinate some 4.5 million Salvadorans.
The US Chargé d’Affaires reaffirmed the commitment of the American people to continue supporting El Salvador. “We will continue to work with the government of El Salvador and all relevant partners to support them in their COVID-19 prevention, mitigation, detection and care efforts. Our mission is to save lives, it is our number one priority. Together we save lives, together we move forward”.
For his part, the minister of health said: “With this support we receive from our strategic partner, the government of the United States, we will strengthen and promote even more the vaccination strategy, in very fundamental aspects: from logistics, storage, technological resources, to cooperation for the dissemination of vaccination communication strategies, on a national scale”.
