USA injects support into Lao Covid-19 prevention

The USA government has forecast a budget of US$1.9 million in assistance to Laos in response to the global spread of the novel coronavirus Covid-19. 
The US Ambassador Dr Peter M. Haymond made the announcement as part of his opening remarks for a US-sponsored tabletop exercise to help Lao officials and public health workers prepare for the next steps in responding to the worldwide pandemic.
Director-General of the Department of Communicable Diseases Control (DCDC) of the Ministry of Health, Dr Rattanaxay Phetsouvanh; representatives

of the Lao government, as well as leaders of United Nations organisations in Laos, joined the tabletop exercise on Friday.
The event was sponsored by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (USCDC) and the US Defence Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), in close partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO). 
Mr Haymond said the United States was supporting Laos’ efforts to prepare for and prevent the spread of new infectious diseases, including the novel coronavirus.
“Today’s [Friday] training activity, led by our experts from the USCDC, and our new funding of almost US$2 million provided through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), adds to long-term US investments in training and equipping of Lao medical professionals since 2006 to promote healthy communities in the Lao PDR.”
USAID will provide this new funding to three implementing partners in Laos – WHO, Save the Children, and UNICEF. 
Together, this assistance will help Laos prepare its laboratories for large-scale testing for Covid-19; implement a public-health emergency plan for points of entry; 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 tabletop exercise and preparedness activity were sponsored by USCDC and DTRA, two US Government organisations that have supported Lao health security for many years. Working with partners from WHO and USCDC in this exercise provided technical advice on best practices for slowing the spread of a pandemic and facilitated discussions of command and control and case detection strategies in different pandemic phases.
The United States has continuously partnered with health officials from the Lao Government to support training for thousands of local health workers at the national and sub-national levels since 2006. 
In early February, USAID provided personal protective equipment to the Ministry of Health as part of the United States’ initial support to Laos to prepare for any potential spread of the novel coronavirus.  
This was followed a week later by skills training from USCDC experts on proper techniques for using the new equipment.  Throughout Laos, the United States works in close partnership with the government and citizens on a range of programmes to improve health outcomes in the country.  These include long-term efforts to improve nutrition, strengthen maternal and child health, and prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

By Phetphoxay Sengpaseuth
(Latest Update March 16, 2020)