The US government provides 100 state-of-the-art ventilators to Nepal

ByLaxman Datt Pant

The US government provides 100 state-of-the-art ventilators to Nepal

At a time when Nepal is struggling hard to ensure a critical healthcare service is available for COVID-19 patients, the United States government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has today donated 100 state-of-the-art ventilators to Nepal to assist in its fight against the pandemic. This donation builds on the US$28.3 million that USAID has already committed to Nepal for projects in response to the pandemic.

It is expected that these highly versatile ventilators will help Nepal to relieve the symptoms for some of the most critical cases. These ventilators are compact and deployable and provide Nepal with portable flexibility to treat COVID-19 patients affected by the virus and for those whose lungs are not working adequately, this vital resource may prove to be life-saving.

In a ceremony that took place at the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) today, the US Ambassador to Nepal, Randy Berry, handed over the ventilators to Bhanubhakta Dhakal, the Minister for Health and Population of Nepal. Minister Dhakal thanked the U.S. Government on behalf of both the Government and the people of Nepal for donating the life-saving devices.

“The United States, which has been most affected by the coronavirus, has provided us with ventilators to fight the epidemic,” he said.

Recalling that the United States has also provided significant support to Nepal in the past, Minister Dhakal said that the latest vital assistance provided during the epidemic would be distributed and used from today. He announced that 49 ventilators had been distributed to the social development ministries of seven provinces across the country and the remaining 51 ventilators had been distributed to government hospitals.

According to the MoHP, in Nepal:

  • There are currently 900 plus ventilators in the hospital
  • So far, a total of 1,202 Nepalese have lost their lives due to COVID-19
  • As many as 206,353 have been infected with COVID-19
  • As of today, there are 37,022 active cases of COVID-19
  • There are only 2,600 ICU beds across the country
  • A total of 87 COVID-19 patients are in ventilators across the country
  • As many as 387 COVID-19 patients are in ICU across the hospitals of the country

During the ceremony, U.S. Ambassador Randy Berry stated, “The United States remains committed to its partnership with Nepal through the best and worst of times. With these ventilators, we want to help Nepali families be prepared to help their loved ones who are the most affected by COVID-19. As the United States, the world, and Nepal confront an increase in COVID-19 cases, America stands with the Nepali people to combat the pandemic that has hit both of our countries hard.”

In addition, USAID activities have also supported a total of 113 municipal contact tracing and case investigation teams, provided COVID-19 telephone counseling to almost two million families, conducted remote health counseling for more than 500,000 families during the lockdowns, identified more than 60,000 food-insecure families and referred these to food aid programs and reached more than 14 million people with mass media messages about COVID-19.