COVID-19: USA provides $5.7 million aid to Morocco

The US government announced Friday that it has provided $5.7 million in aid to Morocco to help in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

This aid includes $4 million from the Economic Support Fund (ESF) to support the socio-economic recovery among marginalized and vulnerable populations in urban and rural areas through a cash transfer program, the State Department said in a statement detailing US health and humanitarian assistance to various countries in response to the coronavirus.

An amount of $1.7 million is destined to health assistance, mainly to help prepare laboratory systems, activate case detection and event-based epidemiological surveillance, support technical experts in response and preparedness, bolster risk communication, among other things.

This assistance builds upon long-term US investments in Morocco adding up to more than $2.6 billion in total assistance over the last 20 years, including $64.5 million for health, added the State Department.

The US government had in late March granted Morocco $670,000 to respond to the outbreak of the COVID-19.

The funds were provided by the Emergency Reserve Fund for Contagious Infections Diseases at the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

The US Ambassador to Morocco David Fischer had then emphasized his country’s full support and determination to help Morocco and other US partners to prepare their laboratories for “large-scale testing” for the virus.

The US administration will also help Morocco to “implement a public-health emergency plan for points of entry, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance for influenza-like illnesses, train and equip rapid-response teams, investigate cases and trace the contacts of infected persons, and adapt training materials for health workers on COVID-19,” the US diplomat had said.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the US Government has committed more than $775 million in emergency health, humanitarian, economic and development assistance specifically aimed at helping governments, international organizations, and NGOs fight the pandemic, the State department said.

Part of this assistance, the USA granted Algeria $500,000; Libya Nearly $12 million, Mauritania $250,000; and Tunisia $600,000.