US’ CDC committed USD 3.6 million to India’s COVID-19 fight

The US’ Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has committed USD 3.6 million to assist India’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the aid will support prevention, preparedness and response activities.

The CDC announced that it is to work with local partners to help India to strengthen its public health workforce.

The initial tranche of funding aims to further strengthen and support the efforts taken by the Indian government to increase laboratory capacity for SARS-COV-2 testing, including molecular diagnostics and serology.

The funds will be used to support the development of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) centers of excellence. It is expected to improve the ability of hospital networks to detect COVID-19 and strengthen local health systems through enhanced surveillance and monitoring systems.

The support includes planning for health emergency operations centers to further strengthen public health emergency management capacities.

The CDC India program will provide technical assistance for the government of India’s ongoing crisis emergency and risk communication efforts.