USAID supports Bangladesh Government with COVID-19 vaccination

USAID's MaMoni Maternal and Newborn Care Strengthening Project supported the Government of Bangladesh in expanding its COVID-19 vaccination campaign among low-income population living in slum areas within Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC).

USAID partnered with the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) under the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), to develop key national vaccination guidelines and training manuals, and have trained around 7,000 service providers and health professionals to strengthen the COVID-19 vaccination program in the country, read a press release.

Supported by USAID's COVID-19 Emergency Response Project, DGHS administered AstraZeneca vaccines to people living in Dhaka slums from 23-25 November, targeting the low-income population. 

A total of 138 booths, under 20 zones of DNCC and DSCC, covered 146,665 people, vaccinating individuals aged 18 years and above. 

In addition, the Project's Emergency Response to COVID-19 Pandemic activity, implemented by Save the Children in Bangladesh, has adopted a comprehensive COVID-19 response plan to strengthen the response mechanism of the health system, build the capacity of healthcare providers in case management, infection prevention, and control, improve hospital facility readiness, establish an e-health platform.

The US government was one of the first donors to mobilize funds to support Bangladesh's COVID-19 readiness and response efforts. 

Total US government COVID-19 assistance to date includes the donation of 16.8 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and additional support for the rollout of the national vaccination campaign. 

Since the pandemic's beginning, the US government has provided a total of over $121 million to support Bangladesh's response to COVID-19.