The United States, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has provided an additional USD 1.8 million to help Bosnia and Herzegovina fight COVID-19 and better respond to the global pandemic.

In cooperation with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in B&H, USAID will improve vaccination management, communication, monitoring and coordination of B&H's pandemic response.

The start of the joint project was marked by the signing of an agreement between USAID Program Director Savannah Thomas Arrigo and UNICEF Representative in B&H Rownak Khan, which was attended by Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy Deborah Mennuti and UN Resident Coordinator in B&H Ingrid Macdonald.

- Focused on vaccination management, communication, monitoring and overall coordination, this USAID assistance will significantly improve the response of the B&H health sector to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will save more lives and mitigate the devastating effects of the virus - Savannah Thomas Arrigo said.

Khan pointed out that USAID is one of the main donors to Bosnia and Herzegovina in response to COVID-19, and that the agreement signed today is proof of their ongoing commitment to supporting Bosnia and Herzegovina's health sector.

- UNICEF's response strategy is based and developed on significant investments that have supported all levels of the health sector and responses to health crises in recent years, and relies on risk communication networks, especially for the most vulnerable communities - she added.

Including these funds, USAID has supported Bosnia and Herzegovina since the beginning of the pandemic with a total of USD 11.2 million in mitigation assistance to COVID, using direct and redirected funds.

That support builds on decades of U.S. work to save lives and a leading position in tackling the global health crisis. Over the past 60 years, USAID has saved millions of lives by fighting diseases such as Ebola, HIV / AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and now COVID-19, USAID said.