April 22, 2020, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan – The United States Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has committed an additional 348 million tenge ($800,000) to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak in Kazakhstan.

The United States has a long and successful track record of working in partnership with Kazakhstan, now providing critical, life-saving support by coordinating with the Government of Kazakhstan, international humanitarian partners, and local stakeholders to identify priority areas for investment. 

“Kazakhstan is taking decisive action to stop the spread of the virus. In the fight against COVID-19, the U.S. Government stands with Kazakhstan and other partners around the world,” said the U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan William Moser. “We need to join forces as the international community. Every one of us can contribute to stopping the pandemic by staying home and following the government's guidelines.”

U.S. technical specialists from the Center for Disease Control and USAID continue to share expertise and work closely with Kazakhstan experts on a day-to-day basis to combat the COVID-19 outbreak.  With this additional commitment, the United States has provided 713 million tenge (more than $1.6 million) to help Kazakhstan respond to the COVID-19 outbreak. Through this assistance, USAID is focused on helping to strengthen Kazakhstan’s own ability to fight the disease and  to support the following priority areas: infection prevention and control; preparing laboratory systems for large-scale testing; and communicating with the public on steps they can take to prevent and respond to the spread of the virus.

Over the last 20 years, the United States has provided $2 billion in assistance to Kazakhstan, including more than $86 million in health assistance. For decades, the United States has been the world's largest provider of bilateral assistance in public health. Since 2009, American taxpayers have generously funded more than $100 billion 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