The US-Bangladesh Business Council has delivered essential medical supplies to the government to help bolster the country’s response to Covid-19.
Former assistant secretary of state for South Asia Nisha Desai Biswal is the President of the recently formed U.S.-Bangladesh Business Council.
U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires JoAnne Wagner and U.S.-Bangladesh Business Council representatives joined officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Directorate General of Health Services on Tuesday in the handing over ceremony of this special delivery, said the embassy.
The donation includes 60 oxygen concentrators, as well as variable positive air pressure (VPAP) units, and other oxygen supplies and device accessories – as well as 45,000 pieces of personal protective equipment, including KN95 and N95 masks – to help Covid-19 patients at medical colleges across the country.
The initiative was developed by U.S.-Bangladesh Business Council Members Chevron, Excelerate Energy, Metlife, and HSBC Bangladesh with support and coordination from the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington, D.C., Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Bangladesh’s Directorate General of Health Services.
Project C.U.R.E., an American NGO and the world’s largest distributor of donated medical relief, was also involved in those donations.
“I am proud to see American business leaders come together as invaluable partners with this generous gift meant to help meet the critical health needs of the Bangladeshi people. We must and will continue to use our collective resources to fight this pandemic together, to protect health and save precious lives,” said Chargé d’Affaires Wagner.
“The Council’s members have come together to stand in support with our friends and partners in Bangladesh to tackle the surge in the pandemic with urgently needed supplies of medical equipment that we hope can provide life-saving care,” said Nisha Biswal, President of the U.S.-Bangladesh Business Council.
“The robust partnership between the Council and its members, Project C.U.R.E., the U.S. and Bangladeshi governments, is a testament to expedient support and strong friendship between our two countries in times of need.”
“Throughout the COVID pandemic, Chevron has been working hard to continue providing the energy the people of Bangladesh need to overcome the humanitarian and economic challenges of the virus. The U.S. business community, with the leadership of the U.S.-Bangladesh Business Council, stands ready to support the people of Bangladesh during this extraordinary crisis.,” said Jay R. Pryor, Chevron’s Vice President of Business Development and Chair of the U.S.-Bangladesh Business Council. “Working together, we’ll emerge from this crisis ready to embrace a hopeful future.” In the coming weeks, the Council will mobilize additional medical supplies, including a shipment of 100 emergency relief beds.