BUUMBA CHIMBULU writes
THREE business organisations have jointly contributed K902,000 towards Covid-19 efforts which has subdued economic activities.
First National Bank (FNB) Zambia, has partnered with Hollard Zambia and Right-to-care Zambia to offer Covid-19 relief support to national authorities.
The trio jointly contributed Covid-19 test kit items valued at approximately K902,000.
Bydon Longwe, FNB Zambia Chief Executive Officer, hoped that the timely action would help the country in mitigating the impact of Covid-19 rapidly and at scale
Mr Longwe believed that the contributions would assist national authorities and their partners in mitigating the impact of Covid-19 rapidly and at scale, especially at a time when we are beginning to see alarming spikes in the number of daily cases.
“The collaborative effort is inspired by the South African Pandemic Intervention and Relief Effort (SPIRE) intervention and relief effort launched by FirstRand Limited, of which FNB Zambia is a subsidiary.
“It is our hope that this donation will go a long way to ensuring that we can effectively protect ourselves against infection amidst the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said in a statement.
Mr Longwe commended Government’s efforts to keep communities people of safe as he expressed profound gratitude for allowing the trio to contribute towards the cause and be part of the solution.
Hollard Zambia Chief Executive Officer, Paul Nkhoma said the success of businesses was intertwined with the prosperity of the nation.
“It is therefore our duty, as active corporate members of society, to support and assist our communities where necessary to enable better futures.
“Therefore, we are pleased to have been able to present this testing apparatus as contribution to the proactive and decisive response to the pandemic,” he said.
Right-to-Care Zambia Managing Director, Crispin Moyo, said Public-Private partnerships would play a key role in combating the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Right-to-Care Zambia is dedicated to the health and wellness of the people of Zambia. In partnership with the Ministry of Health, RTCZ has been combatting the HIV epidemic in Northern, Luapula, and Muchinga provinces since 2016.
“Since the outbreak in Zambia, we have been supporting the Zambian National Public Health Institute and the Ministry of Health with modelling and visualising the pandemic for rapid response,” Dr Moyo said.
