TASHKENT (TCA) — The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC/CAR) has pledged $6.8 million to support governments in Central Asia in managing the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, including $2.07 million for Uzbekistan, the U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistan said.
In Uzbekistan, the CDC will use these new funds to address the most urgent needs that were identified by the Ministry of Health. These include procurement of laboratory supplies and equipment for COVID-19 testing, which will lead to increased capacity for diagnosis of COVID-19 infections and rapid turn-around of test results. The funds will also be used for equipment and training to establish an Uzbekistan Public Health Emergency Operations Center (EOC), similar to the CDC EOC in Atlanta. CDC will also provide technical assistance for point-of-entry screening, which will strengthen the country’s capacity to detect and respond to individuals at border crossings.
CDC Central Asia has been supporting the ministries of health in Central Asia since the beginning of the outbreak by organizing trainings, and providing technical assistance on emergency operations, laboratory operations, infection prevention and control, screening at ports of entry, risk communication and community engagement, and disease surveillance. They have also been translating technical guidance documents published by leading international public health organizations into Russian for distribution.
CDC opened its first office in Almaty in 1995 and today it has offices in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. CDC works with each Ministry of Health to strengthen local laboratory, disease surveillance, and workforce capacity so that the countries can better prevent, detect and respond to disease outbreaks.
Source: TCA
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