US embassy hands over COVID-19 equipment to DMP police

US ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller and embassy representatives of the Diplomatic Security Service Regional Security Office on Thursday provided essential personal protective equipment (PPE) to Gulshan Crime Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).

They handed over the equipment to Shudip Kumar Chakraborty, deputy commissioner of police of the Gulshan Crime Division.

The US embassy provided equipment includes 2,000 washable face masks, 450 250-milliliter bottles of medical-grade hand sanitizer, and 1,000 face shields, which the United States purchased locally from Bangladeshi companies.

To date, the United States through the Departments of State, Defense, and Agriculture; USAID; and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention has provided more than $68.7 million in aid to combat the coronavirus in Bangladesh.

The Gulshan Crime Division is on the frontline of defense against COVID-19.  It plays a key role in Bangladesh’s COVID-19 response as it implements Ministry of Health (MoH) health initiatives and safety measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

This PPE donation helps protect police in their role as first responders, safeguarding communities and people living in Bangladesh.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the US government, through the Department of State and USAID alone, has committed more than $1.6 billion worldwide in emergency health, humanitarian, economic, and development assistance specifically aimed at helping governments, international organizations, and NGOs fight the pandemic.