April 16, 2020
U.S. donates $2.8 million to IOM to support El Salvador’s response to COVID-19
The U.S. Government, through the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID), is providing $2.8 million to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to support El Salvador’s emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With these funds, IOM will be able to allocate approximately $2 million for the purchase of COVID-19 test kits, hygiene items, food, clothing and bedding and other items to support Salvadorans who are in containment centers in compliance with their quarantine period, including those who had been returned from the U.S. The funding will be administered in coordination with the Ministry of Health, the Directorate General of Migration and other Salvadoran government entities. IOM will also augment institutional capacity in the management of these containment centers.
The remaining $800,000 will be used to provide community services such as psychosocial assistance, virtual training in job skills, employability and school reintegration to facilitate the process of sustainable reintegration of returnees after the end of their quarantine periods. This support will also benefit the general population through improved community and health services in their communities .
“During moments such as the one we are experiencing now with COVID-19, we have to work together to overcome this. We believe that a true friendship is not measured solely in words or promises. A true friendship, a trusted partner, is based on actions,” said U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson.
