The United States government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has donated over 200,000 items of personal protective equipment (PPE) and COVID-19 testing materials to support Malawi’s COVID-19 response.

The donation brings the United States’ overall COVID-19 assistance in Malawi to $21.5 million (MWK16.67 billion), which has included technical and material support to boost the country’s capacity for testing, sanitation, and life-saving clinical care.

This new PPE donation consists of N95 and surgical masks, examination gloves, and isolation gowns to help keep health care workers across Malawi safe as they provide essential COVID-19 services to the population.

The donation also includes COVID-19 testing materials, which will extend Malawi’s capacity to test its population and facilitate early treatment of COVID-19 positive patients.

USAID Malawi Mission Director Dr. Catie Lott said: “The United States is proud to partner with the Government of Malawi in the global fight against COVID-19. USAID is pleased to contribute these supplies to help protect frontline workers as they strive to provide care to the Malawian people.”

In his remarks, Godfrey Kadewele, who is the Ministry of Health’s Director of Health Technical Support Services, said: “The Ministry of Health is very grateful for all the support provided by USAID to the health sector in Malawi throughout the years. This has been further strengthened in this current global COVID-19 pandemic, where USAID supported the Government of Malawi with essential PPE, related medical supplies, and technical assistance in quantification, warehousing, and distribution of COVID-19 commodities, and when the nation needed it most. The Ministry of Health appreciates this cordial relationship and aspires to strengthen the partnership further and for many more years to come.’’