U.S. Embassy Dili Provides Medical Equipment to Assist Frontline Health Workers Treat COVID-19 Patients
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 28, 2021
For more information, contact Caleb Portnoy, Public Affairs Officer and Rosario Maia, Media Specialist, U.S. Embassy, Dili, Timor-Leste Tel: +670 332 4684, 77908209 maiarg@state.gov
DILI, 28 April 2021 – The United States Embassy in Timor-Leste is donating 20 continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines and oxygen therapy hoods to the Government of Timor-Leste’s Integrated Crisis Management Office as part of its ongoing support for Timor-Leste’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic American doctors at the University of Rhode Island converted CPAP machines used to treat breathing problems into a new non-invasive form of oxygen treatment for COVID-19 patients. This equipment will enable frontline healthcare workers to provide oxygen therapy, which may be in high demand. The items were handed over by U.S. Ambassador Kevin Blackstone and Office of Defense Cooperation Chief Major Pablo Valerin to Brigadier General “Aluk” Descartes.
“The United States is donating critical medical equipment to the government of Timor-Leste to help address COVID-19” said U.S. Ambassador Kevin Blackstone. “These items have a proven track record of treating COVID-19 patients in the United States. These donated items will provide health care experts with a range of treatment options as we battle this pandemic together.”
The items were donated by the University of Rhode Island and the Rhode Island National Guard and are part of the new State Partnership Program (SPP) established between Rhode Island and Timor-Leste. The SPP is a Department of Defense security cooperation program that pairs the National Guard of a U.S. state or territory with a partner country’s military, security forces, or government agencies responsible for emergency and disaster response. Now in its 27th year, it offers cooperative, mutually beneficial and enduring relationships between individual U.S. states and partner nations around the world.
The project is in addition to the over $1.6 million committed by the United States to help the Government of Timor-Leste fight COVID-19 and the initial $2 billion, of a total planned $4 billion, to support the COVAX Advance Market Commitment, which will support vaccine distribution to over 90 countries including Timor-Leste.
