The U.S. Embassy Suva announced the U.S. government’s $2.3 million commitment to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Pacific Islands region. The United States Government, through USAID, is coordinating with the governments of 12 Pacific Island countries, namely Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu and other stakeholders to identify priority areas for investment.

“The United States partners with Pacific Island nations to bolster their ability to lead their countries to stable, prosperous futures,” Ambassador Joseph Cella said. As Pacific neighbors, allies and partners, the U.S. Government is operating transparently and remains committed to stand by the people of the Pacific region in these challenging times.”

Through this assistance, USAID will help governments prepare laboratory systems, implement infection prevention and control measures, strengthen port of entry screening, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, and support rapid response and preparedness and more.

The U.S. Government is leading the world’s humanitarian and health assistance response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of this comprehensive and generous U.S. response, the State Department and USAID are providing an initial investment of nearly $274 million in emergency health and humanitarian assistance to help countries in need.

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. This generosity is underscored by our contributions to several crucial multilateral partners, which includes:

• U.S. contributions to WHO in 2019, which exceeded $400 million, almost double the second largest member state contribution.
• U.S. support to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) of nearly $1.7 billion contributed in 2019. This support will be critical going forward, as refugee populations are uniquely vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• U.S. contributions to the UN Children’s Fund in 2019 totaled more than $700 million. The life-saving activities UNICEF has been doing for years — such as immunization campaigns and health and sanitation training and assistance — will save lives as we fight this dangerous pathogen.

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