Mar 28, Colombo: The United States Department of State and the USAID will provide US$ 1.3 million to Sri Lanka as emergency health and humanitarian assistance to help fight the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

The funds will help the Sri Lankan government to prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, risk communication, infection prevention and control, and more, the State Department said in a press statement.

The State Department and USAID are providing an initial investment of nearly $274 million in emergency health and humanitarian assistance to help 64 of the most at-risk countries facing the threat of this global pandemic, in addition to the funding provided to multilateral organizations such as the World Health Organization and UNICEF.

Over the past 20 years, U.S. investment in Sri Lanka has included more than $26 million in health alone out of more than $1 billion in total assistance.