The US offers $1.3 million to Sri Lanka to help fight COVID-19

The U.S. Government is leading the world’s humanitarian and health assistance response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are mobilizing all necessary resources to respond rapidly, both at home and abroad, the U.S. State Department said. Accordingly, 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, on top of the funding that has been already provided to multilateral organizations such as the World Health Organization and UNICEF, the State Department noted. Thereby, the US State Department notes that $1.3 million will help the government prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, risk communication, infection prevention and control, and more. "Over the past 20 years, U.S. investment in Sri Lanka has included more than $26 million in health alone out of more than $1 billion in total assistance", the U.S. State Department said.