Absa Bank donates personal protection equipment to medical facilities

Kampala, Uganda | Julius Businge | Absa Bank Uganda has today donated personal protective equipment to four medical facilities to assist in the protection of frontline medical workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The equipment, valued at Shs 74 million was given to CURE Children’s Hospital of Uganda (Mbale), Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation (Mulago), CoRSU Rehabilitation Hospital (Entebbe) and YouBelong Uganda for Butabika Hospital (Mutungo).

All the four medical facilities provide critical care to vulnerable communities. The donation is part of the bank’s corporate social responsibility function linked to the Absa Cares Covid Initiative.

It will provide disposable N95 face masks, re-usable gowns, medical masks, protective face shields, disposable gloves, hand sanitizers and thermometer guns.

Speaking at the handover of equipment to Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation housed inside Mulago National Referral Hospital, Michael Segwaya, the Absa Bank Uganda executive director and chief financial officer, said specialized medical facilities provide highly critical services to vulnerable communities given that COVID-19 pandemic has not spared these health ecosystems.

“…this has highlighted the need for robust interventions that provide additional protection to frontline health workers in these facilities,” Segwaya said.

Dr Adeodata Kekitiinwa, the executive director of Baylor Uganda expressed her gratitude to Absa for donating the PPEs.

Kekitiinwa said Absa’s donation demonstrates the spirit of Africanacity that is linked to giving back to the community.

She said taming COVID-19 remains a long journey and that support of any kind from entities like Absa, to frontline workers/fighters, is welcome.

Uganda is grappling with phase 4 of COVID-19 where community transmission is high as majority of the population continue to ignore the standard operating procedures issued by government to tame the spread of the virus.

Wearing face masks, sanitizing, washing hands and social distancing are among the popular SOPs that government is urging the public to use to fight the virus.

A total of 13,568 cases had been reported by Nov.06 – out of this, 7, 645 have recovered and 117 have died, according to official data from government.