U.S Department of State
Office of the Spokesperson
For Immediate Release
Fact Sheet
The U.S. Government is leading the world’s humanitarian and health response to the COVID-19 pandemic even while we battle the virus at home. As part of this comprehensive and generous response from the American people, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have now committed nearly $508 million in emergency health, humanitarian, and economic assistance on top of the funding we already provide to multilateral and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that are helping communities around the world deal with the pandemic. This funding will support critical activities to control the spread of this disease, such as rapid public-health information campaigns, water and sanitation, and preventing and controlling infections in health-care facilities.
Total U.S. government assistance in the global fight against COVID-19 provided to date includes nearly $200 million in emergency health assistance from USAID’s Global Health Emergency Reserve Fund for Contagious Infectious-Disease Outbreaks and Global Health Programs account, nearly $195 million in humanitarian assistance from USAID’s International Disaster Assistance (IDA) account, and $50 million from the Economic Support Funding (ESF), which will help governments and NGOs in more than 100 of the most affected and at-risk countries during this global pandemic. In addition, through the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, which is responsible for the Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) account, we now have a country-by-country breakout of the previously announced $64 million in humanitarian assistance for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to address threats posed by the pandemic in existing humanitarian crisis situations for some of the world’s most vulnerable people as part of the UN’s Global Humanitarian Response Plan for COVID-19.
U.S. government departments and agencies are working together to prioritize foreign assistance based on in-country coordination and the potential for impact. Click here to see the full fact sheet on the specific assistance (by region and country) the United States is providing with new and previously announced funds.
In addition to this direct U.S. government funding, our All-of-America approach is helping people around the world through the generosity of private businesses, nonprofit groups, charitable organizations, faith-based organizations, and individuals. Together, Americans have provided nearly $3 billion in donations and assistance, in addition to what the U.S. Government has provided.
U.S. investments under the Global Health Security Agenda, including those we have contributed to this global crisis response, are designed to protect the American public by helping to minimize the spread of disease in affected countries and improve local and global responses to outbreaks of infectious pathogens.
Ongoing U.S. COVID-19 assistance builds on the United States’ record of leadership in global health and humanitarian assistance. This assistance is part of a larger USG global response package across multiple departments and agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Since 2009, American taxpayers have generously funded more than $100 billion in health assistance and nearly $70 billion in humanitarian assistance globally. Our country continues to be the single largest health and humanitarian donor for both long-term development and capacity building efforts with partners, and emergency response efforts in the face of recurrent crises. These resources have saved lives, protected people who are most vulnerable to disease, built health institutions, and promoted the stability of communities and nations.
For more information on the U.S. government’s holistic funding in response to this crisis, please contact F-Press@state.gov.
For details on specific in-country response activities, please contact USAID at press@usaid.gov.
For details on the humanitarian assistance contribution to UNHCR, please contact the State Department’s Bureau for Population, Refugees, and Migration at PRM-Press@state.gov.