The United States, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), on Sunday announced $4.7 million in urgent COVID-19 assistance for Jordan. 

The funding will provide technical assistance and equipment to health facilities, including Al Bashir Hospital and Jordan’s laboratories, to treat COVID-19 patients, according to a USAID statement sent to The Jordan Times. 

The funds will also train frontline health workers to provide critical care to COVID-19 patients and administer vaccines, the statement said.

USAID Mission Director Sherry F. Carlin highlighted that "protecting lives and Jordan’s economic stability are shared goals in the strong partnership between our countries”.  

These funds will support Jordan’s health system and accelerate progress in the joint fight against COVID-19, Carlin added. 

This assistance adds to more than $36.5 million in COVID-19 assistance to Jordan since the pandemic first broke out. Through its partnership with the Government of Jordan, USAID has trained over 16,500 frontline health workers, provided lifesaving equipment to hospitals nationwide and increased COVID-19 testing capacity from 500 tests to 50,000 per day. 

In partnership with the Ministry of Health, USAID launched multimedia campaigns to increase confidence in vaccines and share accurate information on preventing the disease’s spread, according to the statement.

The United States government, through USAID, has provided foreign assistance from the American people to Jordan for nearly 70 years.