SUVA, U.S. Embassy in Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, and Tuvalu -- The United States is providing 19,890 life-saving doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to Kiribati through the COVAX Facility. This donation is the second tranche of a total of 53,820 Pfizer doses that the United States will deliver to Kiribati to help address its ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. As the world’s largest donor to the global COVID-19 response, the United States has provided more than $19 billion in health, humanitarian, and economic assistance and has committed to provide 1.2 billon vaccine doses to the world free of charge, of which we have already provided more than 535 million doses.
Chargé d’Affaires (CDA) Tony Greubel said, “The second tranche of donations is another example of our enduring commitment to stand by our neighbors in the Pacific Region in the time of crisis. We are proud to deliver 19,890 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to our friends in Kiribati.”
The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), provided a total of $52 million to prevent and respond to the spread of COVID-19 in Pacific Island nations. USAID partnered with humanitarian organizations in the region, including on the ground in Kiribati. These efforts included distributing hygiene supplies, installing handwashing stations and water tanks at strategic points, and raising awareness about COVID-19 and how to stay healthy. As part of this effort, USAID donated ventilators to Kiribati and supported frontline health workers with technical training to safely use and maintain the ventilators.
The Chargé d’Affaires recently announced a Declaration of Humanitarian Need and the U.S. provided $500,000 in humanitarian assistance to respond to the drought across Kiribati due to below normal rainfall exacerbated by the ongoing impacts of climate change. $100,000 was immediately disbursed to USAID partner United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) to immediately strengthen the capacity of the government to monitor groundwater, including the salinity levels, and provide critical water conservation and treatment messaging to affected populations.