Bangladesh to get over $11M from US to fight Delta-driven virus wave

DHAKA, Bangladesh

The US on Monday said it will give over $11 million dollars in urgent assistance to bolster Bangladesh's efforts to curb spiraling COVID-19 infections and deaths.

The announcement comes as Bangladesh grapples with a surging virus wave driven by the highly infectious Delta variant.

The South Asian country's daily COVID-19 fatalities were at 245 and infections at 11,463, pushing the overall count above 1.36 million, including 22,897 deaths, according to official data.

America will give urgent assistance worth $11.4 million, including lifesaving medical and oxygen supplies, the US Embassy in Dhaka said in a statement.

"The additional support will also help Bangladesh strengthen prevention efforts to reduce virus transmission in the community and enhance the quality of treatment and care for the growing numbers of patients across the country," read the statement.

The financial support will come through the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

"With this new funding, the US government has provided a total of over $96 million to support Bangladesh's response to COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic and continues to work closely with the government and other partners to protect the health of Bangladeshis," the statement further said.