BANGKOK, THAILAND – The United States Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has committed an additional $1.5 million to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak in the Kingdom of Thailand.  In coordination with the Royal Thai Government, USAID will partner with local and international organizations to increase its support to curb the pandemic.

"We are extraordinarily proud of the enduring relationship between the United States and the Kingdom of Thailand, marked by 70 years of health cooperation, which we are now building upon as the U.S significantly increases assistance in Thailand to address the challenges of COVID-19,” said U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Michael George DeSombre. 

USAID has provided more than $2.7 million to help Thailand respond to the COVID-19 outbreak to date. Through this additional assistance, USAID will support:

• Communications to help educate citizens on steps they can take to prevent and respond to the spread of the virus through country-specific media campaigns, focusing especially on migrant communities.
• Enhanced infection prevention and control capacities.
• Laboratory system preparedness and diagnostic support for rapid detection of COVID-19 cases.
• Case-finding and event-based surveillance for COVID-19 to minimize the risk of onwards transmission to others.

"We would like to express our warmest thanks to USAID, our great partner, for this generous support,” said Dr. Sopon Iamsirithaworn, Director of Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health’s Division of Communicable Diseases and the COVID-19 Incident Commander of the Emergency Operations Center. “We are walking together along the way as champions of unity and collaboration. Our actions are overarching steps in fighting against COVID-19." 

USAID coordinates closely with the Royal Thai Government on health programs, working with doctors, nurses, and researchers to improve the health of the people of Thailand.  For example, the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Thailand declined dramatically over the past two decades due to successful HIV prevention and treatment programs implemented by the Royal Thai Government in partnership with local communities, and with the support from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).  In addition, the President’s Malaria Initiative, led by USAID, continues to partner with the Royal Thai Government to reduce malaria mortality in Thailand, saving lives and moving Thailand towards malaria elimination by 2024.  The United States, including USAID, the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medicinal Sciences, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will continue to build on its long partnership with the Royal Thai Government to advance human health.

For decades, the United States has been the world's largest provider of bilateral assistance in public health.  Since 2009, American taxpayers have generously made available more than $100 billion dollars in health assistance and nearly $70 billion in humanitarian assistance globally.  Because an infectious disease threat anywhere can become a threat everywhere, the United States calls on other donors to contribute to the global effort to combat COVID-19. 

For more information about USAID’s response to COVID-19, please visit: https://www.usaid.gov/coronavirus-covid-19