Riga, June 1, 2020 — U.S. Ambassador John Carwile presented the Latvian Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health with one thousand liters of hand sanitizers produced by the Latvian company AS Spodrība and 22,500 pairs of non-sterile disposable gloves on May 30. Minister of Health Ilze Viņķele and Ministry of Education and Science Parliamentary Secretary Reinis Znotiņš accepted the donations on behalf of the Latvian government.
The U.S. Embassy Office of Defense Cooperation worked together with the Latvian Ministry of Defense, the leading ministry for centralized COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) procurements in Latvia to implement this project. The donations totaling $15,000 was funded by the U.S. European Command Civic Engagement program. The hand sanitizers and gloves will be used by Latvian schools for centralized graduation exams from June 2 through the end of July.
The donation of hand sanitizers and gloves is the second Civic Engagement project implemented by the U.S. Embassy Office of Defense Cooperation to support COVID-19 control and prevention in Latvia. Earlier this month, the U.S. Embassy transferred 3,660 liters of hand and surface sanitizers to the Latvian State Emergency Medical Service.
In addition to these 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.
