The U.S. government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), provided El Salvador with a second donation of 158 portable ventilators in support of El Salvador’s COVID-19 response.
The ventilators arrived in El Salvador on August 22. The first shipment of 250 ventilators arrived on May 21 and are already being used in 32 hospitals nationwide.
To date, the United States has donated a total of 408 ventilators to the Salvadoran health system valued at $5.3 million. A donation of another 192 ventilators is scheduled to arrive in El Salvador in the coming weeks, bringing the total donation of ventilators to 600.
The U.S.-made ventilators are highly specialized, state-of the art medical equipment that are used in hospitals and other medical facilities to help support patients who are having trouble breathing. These life saving devices will help El Salvador quickly and easily treat those patients most seriously affected by advanced COVID-19 symptoms throughout the country. The ventilators can be used to treat patients for respiratory ailments for years to come and are expected to save thousands of lives.
During the donation ceremony, U.S. Ambassador Ronald D. Johnson said, “It has been an honor to support Salvadorans in this mission, including everything from the donations made by the U.S. government, to those made by NGOs, companies, and even individuals. We have all rallied together to support you in your efforts.”
As a key partner to El Salvador, the United States has delivered more than 200,000 donations of food and hygiene kits, bedding, disinfectant gel, and protective and sanitation equipment for people in quarantine and in hospitals, and for those who protect the safety and health of the population. To date, the U.S. government has provided over $21.6 million to El Salvador to address the COVID-19 pandemic.