USAID's Health System Sustainability Activity in Timor-Leste announced an additional funding of $600,000 to support the efforts of the Ministry of Health, Government of Timor-Leste, in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since vaccines became available in 2021, only 26 percent of Jamaicans have been vaccinated – a far cry from the country’s goal of 65 percent by March 2022. Religious communities were among the victims of the misinformation causing vaccine hesitancy, with many of the country’s Christians believing the vaccines represented “the mark of the beast.” In response, the government called on church leaders to play a more prominent role in the country’s vaccination effort.

The ‘COVID19 SAFE’ project opened with the launch of COVID-19 vaccination to school-age children (12–17 years old) in the Bobonaro municipality. The USAID Activity, working through HAMNASA, supported the Ministry of Health and Municipality Health Services in conducting community mobilization and disseminating COVID-19 information to the Memo village community, including to teachers and parents of school-age children.

AMMAN — USAID’s Local Health System Sustainability (LHSS) project, which began 2019 and will run until 2023, will improve the capacity of healthcare providers to deliver quality health services by establishing a mandatory “Continuing Professional Development System” for health professional licence renewal.

This assistance is provided under USAID’s Local Health System Sustainability program. Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, USAID has provided more than $7 million USD to help the Kyrgyz Republic fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response to an emergency request from the Government of Laos, the Local Health System Sustainability Project (LHSS) is on the ground in Laos working with the Ministry of Health (MOH) to combat the spread of COVID-19.

Accurate and timely identification of COVID-19 variants in circulation is critical to an effective COVID-19 response. Following the delivery of parts and equipment to refurbish the country’s only COVID-19 specific genomic sequencing machine, LHSS supported training for laboratory specialists on genomic sequencing of COVID-19 virus variants. 

Health workers play a central role not only in providing continued care for COVID-19 patients, but also in promoting vaccination and combating misinformation, with evidence-based health education. 

On December 17, 2021, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) held a capstone event in Tashkent, Uzbekistan to mark the achievements made by its Local Health System Sustainability (LHHS) COVID-19 response activity. This video is a recording of that event which was organized as a hybrid event in which the majority of attendees participated virtually.

Officials from the health and education sectors of Arequipa, Madre de Dios, Moquegua, Puno and Tacna regions of Peru begin discussions for implementing a regional COVID-19 communications strategy.

On Friday, February 25, LHSS Jamaica hosted a signing ceremony with the Jamaica Ministry of Health and Wellness and USAID to launch the Private Sector COVID-19 Vaccine Administration Partnership.

LHSS supported a coordinated national emergency response led by the Ministry of Health and helped build the resilience of the health system against future shocks in Uzbekistan.

The USAID Health System Sustainability activity will work with Timorese officials to train health workers in rural communities on handling different vaccines, using cold chain equipment, and ensuring that community members have equal access to vaccines and essential health care. 

The pandemic has presented an urgent challenge to Colombia’s already overburdened, understaffed health system. Rapid response teams are traversing roads, mountain paths, and rivers to help health officials contain the spread of COVID-19. 

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