DHAKA, Bangladesh -- United States Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller and representatives of the U.S. military’s Indo-Pacific Command handed over essential personal protective equipment (PPE) to Fire Service and Civil Defense (FSCD) Director of Training, Planning, and Development LTC Zulfiker Rahman and Assistant Director Mohammed Abdul Momen as part of U.S. assistance to Bangladesh’s COVID-19 response efforts. To date, the U.S. government has provided over $22 million to complement the Government of Bangladesh’s ongoing efforts to prepare and respond to the spread of COVID-19 to improve rapid diagnosis, increase knowledge and dispel myths and misconceptions about the disease, and support heroic frontline, including FSCD first responders, who risk their lives daily to protect everyone in Bangladesh.

The U.S. Embassy Dhaka-donated equipment delivered today includes 1,000 KN95 surgical masks, 800 200-milliliter bottles of hand sanitizer, 500 pairs of surgical gloves, 300 hazardous materials (HAZMAT) suits, 100 protective masks, and 50 medical goggles, all of which were sourced locally from Bangladeshi companies. The Bangladesh Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) will distribute the PPE equipment to FSCD first responders working to protect local communities against the spread of COVID-19. The PPE will enable FSCD first responders to respond quickly and safely to individuals who may be displaying COVID-19 symptoms.

U.S. Embassy Dhaka continues working in close partnership with the Government of Bangladesh on a range of programs to identify and alleviate critical medical shortages across the country, including on the distribution of PPE and other medical supplies to Bangladesh first responders and designated COVID-19 medical treatment facilities. Today’s delivery of U.S. funded, locally produced PPE is one of many U.S. Embassy Dhaka initiatives that demonstrates the U.S. government’s continuing commitment to the Bangladeshi people, to promoting mutual understanding between the two countries, to and a strong partnership helping to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the U.S. government has committed more than $900 million worldwide in emergency health, humanitarian, economic, and development assistance specifically aimed at helping governments, international organizations, and NGOs fight the pandemic. This funding will save lives by improving public health education, protecting healthcare facilities, and increasing laboratory, disease-surveillance, and rapid-response capacity in more than 120 countries. In Bangladesh, the $22 million in funding builds on more than $1 billion in health assistance provided to Bangladesh over the past 20 years and underscores the long-term U.S. commitment to ensuring access to quality, lifesaving health services for all people in Bangladesh.

U.S. Embassy Dhaka is proud to donate this essential personal protective equipment (PPE) to Fire Service and Civil Defense (FSCD) first responders working to protect local communities against the spread of COVID-19. FSCD first responders are critical front-line workers confronting this crisis. They, together with health care workers, police, journalists and photojournalists, people who work in grocery stores and pharmacies and other businesses, and in non-governmental and community organizations, perform remarkable acts of service every day. As Ambassador Miller has said, “You are all genuine heroes … You deserve our immense gratitude.”