WITH the COVID-19 pandemic spreading like wildfire throughout the country, and specifically the Eastern Cape, various organisations are facing challenges surrounding the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect healthcare workers.
With this in mind, Smile Foundation, in partnership with Standard Chartered Bank, has donated 6 400 N95 face masks to Port Elizabeth Provincial Hospital in the Eastern Cape.
It is one of four hospitals across the country to receive the much-needed masks for medical workers on the front line of the pandemic.
The masks were donated by Standard Chartered Bank to Smile Foundation, in support of the fight against the virus in the four provinces most impacted by COVID-19.
N95 masks are tight-fitting protective face masks, designed to help reduce the exposure to airborne diseases, including coronavirus, through very efficient filtration.
The N95 masks, which are worth around R4 million in total, will also be distributed to the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in the Western Cape, as well as Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in Gauteng and Grey’s Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal.
Smile Foundation CEO, Hedley Lewis, said, “We are honoured to partner with Standard Chartered Bank to protect and support the medical heroes and heroines on the front line.
“With immense gratitude, we thank them on behalf of all of the doctors, nurses and medical personnel who are supporting South Africans while risking their own lives to overcome this pandemic. This collaboration is a true private/public partnership made possible because of the CoronaCare Cause, which is raising funds to support the vulnerable in our communities.”
Kweku Bedu-Addo, CEO Standard Chartered South Africa and Southern Africa said the bank’s purpose was rooted in their communities and underpinned by their brand promise to be “Here for Good”.
“We recognise that communities in South Africa and around the world need all the support that can be garnered to fight this pandemic. We also acknowledge the impressive effort and sacrifice that healthcare professionals have put into the fight against the coronavirus so far and will continue to do into the future.
“Supporting health professionals through providing the N-95 masks is one of the ways we have chosen to support our community to fight the pandemic. The health and well-being of the communities in which we operate is very important to us and when the pandemic recedes, we will be available to support the growth and revival of the economy,” said Bedu-Addo.
