United States Embassy, Central African Republic
Press Release
August 27, 2020
The United States Continues to Lead the Response to COVID-19 in the Central African Republic
Since the initial response to COVID-19 started in March 2020, the United States has so far provided more than $13.6 million in assistance to fight COVID-19 in the Central African Republic, including $9 million in humanitarian assistance from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to inform communities of the risks of the virus, help health facilities prevent and control infections, and provide emergency food assistance and safe water supplies.
“The fight against COVID-19 is global, and the United States is proud to lead this fight, including right here in the Central African Republic,” said U.S. Ambassador Lucy Tamlyn. “We are especially grateful to our key partners, such as UNICEF, UNHAS, and the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), who have been working tirelessly to deliver life-saving aid to Central Africans, which has been funded by the American people.”
Among other partners, USAID is providing $1.5 million to UNICEF to support emergency water systems, public handwashing stations, and water and latrines for health facilities, and to reach more than 950,000 people with information to prevent COVID-19 and to take care of sick family members at home.
USAID is also providing $1 million to UNHAS to support humanitarian air operations and to facilitate COVID-19 operations.
USAID is providing ongoing emergency food assistance to help the people of CAR stay healthy and fend off disease. This includes $2.5 million to WFP to provide nearly 91,000 people in Bangui with two months of $10 food vouchers.
All these programs build on long-standing USAID humanitarian assistance to CAR. In fiscal year 2019 alone, USAID provided the people of CAR with nearly $53 million in emergency food and nutrition assistance, $9.5 million in emergency water, sanitation, and hygiene programs, and $4.5 million in assistance for emergency health programs.
Over the last 20 years, the United States has provided $822.6 million in total assistance in the Central African Republic.
