by Kobie Broomes (Barbados Today) The United States Government announced plans to provide $1.5 million in urgent COVID-19 assistance through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for countries including Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Barbados, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, The Bahamas, Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
This assistance will be focused on helping countries with vaccine deployment and readiness, and includes efforts to address vaccine hesitancy and combat vaccine mis- and dis-information. The additional support will assist with community vaccination campaigns and engagement activities, strengthen the cold chain environment, train healthcare workers, and develop regional and country specific campaigns to increase vaccine uptake.
Activities will be implemented through local, regional, and international organizations such as the local Ministries of Health, local non-governmental organizations, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), UNICEF, and the USAID Country Health Information Systems and Data Use (CHISU) project implemented by JSI Research and Training Institute, Inc.
