US provides COVID-19 PPE to Iraq, Kurdistan Region border officers

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The United States on Wednesday announced the delivery of a new batch of personal protective equipment to be used by customs and border officers in the face of COVID-19 pandemic.

In a press conference held in Erbil, US Ambassador to Iraq Matthew Tueller along with the Kurdistan Region’s customs authority announced the shipment that includes face masks, gowns, goggles, and gloves to mitigate the risk of infections during interactions with travelers.

Ambassador Tueller met with KRG Director General of Customs Samal Abdulrahman Aziz and oversaw the delivery of personal protective equipment (PPE) from the @StateDept Export Control and Border Security (EXBS) Program to representatives from the IKR border crossing points. pic.twitter.com/gYs1Cqbxhv

— U.S. Consulate General Erbil (@USConGenErbil) August 11, 2021

The latest US-donated batch is part of the country’s Department of State Export Control and Border Security program to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, the envoy said.

The US, as part of its strategic dialogue with Iraq, announced last month that it would provide the country with 500,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines.

In total, the US has assisted Iraq with more than $60 million to combat the coronavirus, Tuller said.

The American Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) will help Iraqi public health care workers in managing the pandemic, he added.

Iraq, including its autonomous Kurdish region, so far has seen more than 1.7 million COVID-19 infections and 20,000 fatalities since the pandemic’s outbreak in early March 2020.