USAID delivers additional 200 ventilators to the Ministry of Public Health, as the U.S. Embassy announces historic material and financial assistance in other areas
Quito, August 05, 2020. Delivering on President Trump’s pledge to President Moreno and the Ecuadorian people, the United States today delivered 200 latest-generation ventilators and supporting equipment to help Ecuador respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and save lives. At a ceremony at Quito’s Mariscal Sucre International Airport, Ambassador Michael J. Fitzpatrick presented the donation to Ecuadorian Vice President María Alejandra Muñoz, accompanied by Minister of Public Health Juan Carlos Zevallos López. Following the July arrival of the first 50 ventilators, this delivery completes President Trump’s promise of 250 ventilators for Ecuador and brings the total COVID-related assistance to Ecuador by the United States government to more than $23 million. This assistance is a reflection of the excellent bilateral relationship established between our two countries.
At their first meeting since Vice President Muñoz assumed office, Ambassador Fitzpatrick said, “Both the United States and Ecuador are enduring extreme hardships as a result of this virus. Thanks to the close partnership established between the American and Ecuadorian governments, together we will continue to fight this pandemic, rebuild our economies, get back on our feet, and move forward.”
The 250 donated LTV 1200 ventilators, produced in the United States by Vyaire Medical Inc., reflect leading-edge and in-demand technology. They are compact, deployable, and provide Ecuador with flexibility in treating patients affected by the virus. For patients whose lungs do not work adequately despite receiving oxygen, this vital resource may prove life-saving. To complement the ventilators, USAID is funding a package of additional support, which includes accompanying equipment, service plans, and technical assistance.
In addition to the 250 ventilators, the United States Embassy is pleased to announce additional steps we are undertaking now to assist Ecuador’s fight against COVID-19 and restart the national economy.
- As part of our “All of America” approach, which leverages the United States private sector and civil society in the fight against COVID-19, we also celebrate the arrival this week of Gilead Sciences’ donation of the first non-trial shipment of Remdesivir. This promising anti-viral medicine, developed through the research and development by this U.S. pharmaceutical company, has proven to be effective in the treatment of patients suffering the effects of COVID-19. Working closely with the U.S. Embassy and the Ministry of Public Health, Gilead thus ensures that Ecuador is the first Latin American country to receive a non-trial shipment for clinical use; this first shipment of Remdesivir is expected to treat more than 300 critically ill patients.
- The United States Embassy announces today an additional $4.3 million in State Department funding, through its Bureau of Population, Migration, and Refugees, to the anti-COVID efforts of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Ecuador. These donations are in addition to the more $16 million the U.S. government has already committed to Ecuador in response to the pandemic. This continuing support includes emergency food assistance; assistance to the health sector; personal protective equipment for first line responders in hospitals, clinics, and municipalities; COVID-19 test kits; and technical assistance in areas of emergency response.
- Yesterday saw the arrival of a COVID-19 test kit thermocycler, which will be donated to the Quito National Public Health Institute as part of a broader U.S. $300,000 donation to Ecuador through the International Atomic Energy Agency. The thermocycler is only the third such machine in Quito and critical to Ecuador’s strategy to contain the virus. Today, there is a demand for 1,500 tests per day, but the two existing thermocyclers can analyze just 800 tests per day. This additional thermocycler, in combination with the one we provided to the Guayaquil National Public Health Institute, vastly expands Ecuador’s testing capacity.
For decades, the United States has been the world’s largest provider of bilateral assistance in health. Since 2009, American taxpayers have generously funded more than $100 billion in international health assistance and nearly $70 billion in humanitarian assistance.
Through an All-of-America approach, the United States provides life-saving support by coordinating with the Government of Ecuador and other stakeholders to identify priority areas for investment. Because an infectious disease threat anywhere can become a threat everywhere, the United States calls on other donors to contribute to the global effort to combat COVID-19.
The United States remains a steadfast partner of Ecuador and the Ecuadorian people in this shared fight against COVID-19 and in the effort to rebuild our economies moving forward. “Promise Made. Promise Kept.”
For more information about U.S. assistance to Ecuador in response to the COVID-19 crisis, please visit: https://ec.usembassy.gov/es/hoja-informativa-covid-19/. For more information about USAID’s response to COVID-19, please visit: https://www.usaid.gov/coronavirus-covid-19.
