Tunisia-U.S grants Tunisia $25 million for Covid-19 Prevention and Response

The United States Ambassador to Tunis  Donald Blome notified the Tunisian government that the United States Government has committed an additional $25 million grant of bilateral Economic Support Funding to strengthen the Government of Tunisia’s urgent COVID-19 prevention and response efforts, reads a statement by the  U.S Embassy in Tunisia.

The Embassy said “For more than a half-century, the United States has been the largest contributor to global health security. We built the foundation upon which the global health system is based, contributing more than $140 billion in global health assistance in the 21st Century alone.  Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the U.S. government has committed more than $500 million in assistance specifically aimed at fighting the pandemic”

According to the announcement the funds will be used to support the following:

• National laboratory capacity focused on increasing testing capacity across the country
• Infection prevention and control focused on the provision of supplies and equipment needed urgently at healthcare facilities
• Social mitigation to ensure access to vital medical services and basic necessities for children from vulnerable families whose livelihoods have been affected by the closedown
• Risk communication and community engagement to raise awareness and provide access to information for effective prevention and treatment
• Psychosocial support to assist affected families to adapt and cope with the impact of the outbreak on daily life.