USG Delivers Life-Saving Ventilators to El Salvador for the COVID-19 Response
May 26, 2020
The U.S. government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), delivered a donation of 250 portable ICU-quality ventilators to El Salvador to assist with its national response to COVID-19. This first tranche of 250 life-saving ventilator units, including the accompanying accessories, service plans, and shipping, has a value of over $3.09 million in U.S. government assistance.
The official hand-over of the donation was made by the U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson and the President of the Republic, Nayib Bukele in the new intensive care area of Rosales Hospital. The equipment was received by the Director of the Rosales Hospital, Mynor Ulises Martínez and the Deputy Director, Wilfredo Martínez.
The donated ventilators, produced in the United States, are highly specialized, state-of the art medical equipment that are used in hospitals and other medical facilities to help support patients who are having trouble breathing. These life saving devices are compact, portable, and will give El Salvador flexibility in treating those patients most seriously affected by advanced COVID-19 symptoms easily and quickly throughout the country. The ventilators can also be used to treat patients for other respiratory ailments beyond the virus for years to come, and are expected to save thousands of lives. Included in the donation is one year of training on their correct use and maintenance of the ventilators, to ensure they continue to provide lifesaving service to Salvadorans for years to come.
El Salvador is one of the first countries worldwide to receive ventilators from the United States, in fulfillment of a commitment relayed personally by President Trump to President Nayib Bukele in a phone call on April 24.
Ambassador Johnson stated, “Although we are fighting this virus in the United States, we are also 100% committed to providing life-saving technology to our friends and partners. This virus does not discriminate, it does not understand political partisanship, and it does not distinguish between the rich and poor. This donation of ventilators, which represents a value of more than $3 million, will be used to save the life of any Salvadoran who needs them. We are standing with all Salvadorans in order that we come out on top in this fight.”
With this new donation of ventilators, the U.S. Government has announced or provided nearly $77 million in additional assistance to El Salvador to address the COVID-19 pandemic, improve security, and strengthen the economy. As a key partner in the country, the United States has delivered more than 90,000 donations of food and hygiene kits, bedding, disinfectant gel and protective equipment for people in quarantine and for those who protect the safety and health of the population. In the past 20 years, the United States has donated over $2.6 billion to El Salvador’s long-term development.
