US delivers medical supplies worth $2m to Bangladesh

The US has delivered emergency medical supplies, including 100 US-manufactured ventilators and gas analysers worth $2 million, to Bangladesh.

The other supplies include tens of thousands of pieces of locally-produced personal protective equipment, KN95 surgical masks, face shields, hazmat suits, full body gowns, medical-grade hand sanitiser, surgical gloves and medical goggles.

This latest delivery of supplies to save lives, stop the spread of Covid-19, and meet urgent health needs of Bangladeshis brings the total financial amount of US pandemic assistance to more than $84 million.

US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R Miller presented the supplies to Bangladesh officials from the foreign and health ministries at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the capital on Monday night.

"For 50 years, the United States has stood shoulder to shoulder with the people of Bangladesh. We will continue to fight this pandemic with Bangladesh until the crisis is over," said Ambassador Miller in a statement.

On June 3, the White House announced its plan to share vaccines directly with Bangladesh, as part of a framework to provide 80 million US vaccine doses globally by the end of the month. This includes 7 million doses destined for Asia.