BY ROY C. MABASA
The United States government donated Thursday 5,000 hygiene kits and 16 handwashing stations to the city government of Manila to augment its campaign against the COVID-19 pandemic.
US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim personally visited the Del Pan Quarantine Facility in Tondo and handed over the donation to Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno.
Consisting of facemasks, soap, laundry detergent, dishwashing liquid, and toothbrushes, the hygiene kit will provide an additional form of protection against COVID-19 through the provision of items essential to practicing good personal hygiene.
“The US government is a friend, partner, and ally of the Manileños in facing this pandemic,” Kim said. “The American people are pleased to support the City of Manila’s efforts to fight COVID-19.”
To date, the US government has invested more than P1 billion ($22.6 million) to support the Philippines’ COVID-19 response.
In addition, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) will continue to collaborate with the Manila City Health Office to help ensure that citizens can access quality tuberculosis services during the pandemic as well as to support the rollout of the Department of Health’s (DoH) Coordinated Operations to Defeat Epidemic (CODE) strategy to contain the pandemic.
The USAID donated two ventilators to the Tondo Medical Center as a part of the 100 brand-new, state-of-the-art ventilators that the US government handed over last Aug. 28 to the government.
The donations are part of “BIDA Solusyon,” a national information campaign to fight COVID-19 implemented through a partnership between the DoH, USAID, and American company Procter and Gamble (P&G).
Under the BIDA Solusyon, USAID and P&G are providing 70,000 hygiene kits to help DoH and local governments nationwide to fight COVID-19.
In a tweet shortly after the handover, Kim said the US government looks forward to continuing its strong health care cooperation with the Philippines to improve the lives of Filipinos.
