PESHAWAR: As part of the on-going partnership with Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the United States government, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), in cooperation with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Health Department, has delivered 54 brand new ventilators to hospitals in KP to support fight against Covid-19.

Five of these ventilators have been provided to the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar. This equipment is part of the 200 ventilators contributed to by the United States. These ventilators were delivered in partnership with the NDMA and Chemonics. "The delivery of these ventilators at this critical time will help save precious lives," said USAID Pakistan Deputy Mission Director Michael Nehrbass.

"These compact and easily deployable ventilators will contribute to Pakistan's overall response to the Covid-19 outbreak by increasing the capacity of the Lady Reading Hospital to provide advanced life support for critical patients in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. We thank Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority and the country's Ministry of Health, along with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Department officials for their dedicated support and leadership."

In partnership with Pakistani health authorities, physicians, and medical professors, USAID is also sponsoring the training of 180 doctors and paramedics to operate the equipment to help patients in need. Artema Medical has provided the initial training for KP healthcare workers and John Snow Inc. will provide comprehensive training to intensive care unit healthcare providers at various KP hospitals.

The Pakistan-US partnership is helping to improve and expand laboratory testing, disease monitoring, case tracking, infection prevention and control, and patient care across the country.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020