US CDC commits USD 3.6 mn to assist India's fight against Coronavirus outbreak

These resources will support prevention, preparedness, and response activities in India, read a statement issued by the US Embassy in India.

This initial tranche of funding will seek to further strengthen and support the Government of India’s efforts to increase laboratory capacity for SARS-COV-2 testing, including molecular diagnostics and serology.

The funds will also be used to support the development of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) centers of excellence that can improve the ability of hospital networks to detect COVID-19 and strengthen local health systems through enhanced surveillance and monitoring systems.

The CDC will work with local partners to assist in the development of a strong public health workforce to support India’s capacity to respond not only to this pandemic but to future threats as well. 

The scope of support will include planning for health emergency operations centers to further strengthen public health emergency management capacities. 

In addition, the CDC India program will provide technical assistance for the Government of India’s ongoing crisis emergency and risk communication efforts.

Since early January, the CDC’s India Office has been collaborating with sub-national and national government institutes to support the COVID-19 response in India. 

Collaboration efforts are focused on lab strengthening, infection prevention and control, health workforce development, emergency management, risk communication, and community engagement. 

The CDC has conducted trainings across India for healthcare administrators, physicians, nurses, and hospital staff on preparedness and response, infection prevention and control, laboratory operations, and field epidemiology to equip frontline response workers with the necessary skills to collect, analyze, and interpret data, and contribute to evidence-based decisions.

The goal of the CDC’s global health response to COVID-19 is to limit human-to-human transmission and minimize the impact of COVID-19 through partnerships with key country and non-governmental partners to mitigate vulnerabilities and gaps in preparedness. 

The CDC has a long-standing relationship and technical collaboration with the Government of India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to control HIV, TB, and malaria, eradicate polio, and prepare responses to influenza and other pandemic diseases. 

Over the past two decades, this partnership has received support at the highest levels of the two governments and has deepened mutual cooperation through the exchange of scientific knowledge, expertise, and technology, and the development of institutional and human capacities for addressing these health goals. 

These previous investments to improve health security have laid the foundation for rapidly and effectively preparing for emerging threats, including the current coronavirus outbreak.

For decades, the United States has been the world’s largest provider of bilateral assistance in public health.  In India, U.S. government agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention, and other Department of Health and Human Services agencies, have provided more than $1.4 billion in health assistance and nearly $2.8 billion in total assistance over the last 20 years.

(Image by Avishek Mitra/IBNS)