Why in news?
India would take delivery of 200 ventilators donated by the United States within the June, government sources said on 18th May 2020.
The ventilators would be paid for by United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Details
- In a statement on April 16, the U.S. government said the funds through USAID would help “mitigate the spread of COVID-19” and focus on financing healthcare access.
- The ventilators, originally built for use in the U.S., were being “repurposed” for donations to several countries, including India, U.S. officials said.
- The U.S. decision comes about a month after the Government of India revoked a ban on the export of drugs like Hydroxychloroquine and Paracetamol, which Mr. Trump had specifically requested.
USAID
- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance.
- With a budget of over $27 billion, USAID is one of the largest official aid agencies in the world, and accounts for more than half of all U.S. foreign assistance—the highest in the world in absolute dollar terms.
-Source: The Hindu
