The United States Government is pleased to announce an additional $5.5 million in new funding, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), to mitigate the secondary impacts of the spread of COVID-19 in Nepal. This new funding brings the United States Government's COVID-19 assistance to Nepal to a total of $7.3 million.

Through this assistance, USAID will work with the Government of Nepal to address second-order impacts of the crisis in Nepal. Specifically, the funding will mobilize finance essential to economic recovery for Nepali small businesses, building on existing partnerships to address urgent needs within hard-hit municipalities; and assist local governments and institutions in vulnerable communities to assess, plan for, and respond to socio-economic impacts of COVID-19, while leveraging private sector investment. USAID is also providing health assistance funding to conduct community-level risk-communications, prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and surveillance, and support technical experts for response and preparedness.

In the announcement of USAID’s new COVID-19 response assistance, U.S. Ambassador Randy Berry stated, “Times of crisis like these are the truest test of a partnership, and we remain committed to building a more resilient, healthy, prosperous, and self-reliant Nepal during these hard times – and beyond.”

The United States’ strong and collaborative partnership with the Government of Nepal spans over 70 years and includes the delivery of over $1.5 billion in U.S. assistance to support the development of the agriculture, education, health, and other socio-economic sectors in Nepal.

For decades, the United States has been the world's largest provider of bilateral assistance in global health. Since 2009, American taxpayers have generously funded more than $100 billion in health assistance and nearly $70 billion in humanitarian assistance.