Riga, May 18, 2020 – U.S. Ambassador John Carwile presented Latvian State Emergency Medical Service (SEMS) with 3,660 liters of hand and surface sanitizers totaling $15,000 and produced by the Latvian company “AS Spodrība” on May 15. Director of the State Emergency Medical Services Liene Cipule accepted the donation on behalf of the Latvian government.
The U.S. Embassy Office of Defense Cooperation worked with the Latvian Ministry of Health and SEMS to implement this U.S. European Command Civic Engagement funded project of $15,000 in donated medical sanitizers. The hand and surface sanitizers will be used by SEMS to protect patients and medical staff at mobile COVID-19 testing sites, SEMS dispatch centers, and in emergency vehicles.
This donation of hand and surface sanitizers is the fifth Civic Engagement project implemented by the U.S. Embassy Office of Defense Cooperation and SEMS. Since 2014, as part of this program, three SEMS dispatch centers in Rīga and Kuldīga were renovated, and 132 full-face protection masks were donated that provide respiratory tract protection from hazardous chemical substances and highly infectious diseases.
In addition to the SEMS projects, the U.S. Embassy Office of Defense Cooperation works closely with other governmental organizations such as the State Fire and Rescue Service, regional municipalities, schools, senior citizen homes, and orphanages. Since 2007, the U.S. Embassy Office of Defense Cooperation has completed more than 45 individual projects totaling more than $10 million in direct investment to the local economy as a result of using local vendors.
