DHAKA, Dec 20, 2017 (BSS) – The US government yesterday handed over 3 million sachets of oral rehydration solution (ORS) to the Bangladesh authorities to assist the Rohingyas.
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) staff handed over the shipment to senior officials of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) at Mohakhali in the city, said a USAID press release.
Since August 24, the US government has provided over $90 million to assist more than 655,000 Rohingya people and their host communities in Bangladesh, the release added.
USAID purchased the three million ORS sachets from Renata Limited, a local pharmaceutical manufacturer, in response to the MoHFW’s September 2017 request for priority health products to support the Rohingyas.
The ORS supply will now head to Cox’s Bazar, where the MoHFW will work with health sector partners to ensure that it is appropriately distributed to those in need, the release said.
USAID Mission Director Janina Jaruzelski said, “USAID is proud to work in partnership with the government of Bangladesh to provide these lifesaving products to the Rohingyas”.
“For decades, we have used ORS to prevent the deaths of vulnerable men, women and children in Bangladesh and around the world. This locally sourced ORS will serve as an essential treatment for diarrheal diseases, which remain serious and prevalent threats in the camps,” she added.
Jaruzelski also said such illnesses can be especially deadly for vulnerable groups, including infants, children and the elderly.
According to the release, ensuring the sufficient availability of ORS is considered a priority for the relief efforts, as the severe risk of diarrheal diseases has risen due to health and environmental factors in and around the camps.
Developed in Bangladesh in the 1960s, ORS is an inexpensive combination of water, sugar and salt that can be administered orally to simply and effectively treat diarrheal diseases, the release said, adding that with this delivery, thousands of lives could be saved.
The US government, through USAID, has provided more than $7 billion in development assistance to Bangladesh since 1971.
In 2016, USAID provided nearly $200 million to improve the lives of people in Bangladesh through programmes that expand food security and economic opportunity, improve health and education, promote democratic institutions and practices, protect the environment, and increase resiliency to climate change, the release said.