MTN jumps on board to ensure the availability of face masks and hand sanitisers to hospitals
MTN SA's Foundation team is putting in a concerted effort to obtain as many as 36800 face masks and 36000 litres of hand sanitiser to be distributed to provincial health departments across the country.
MBOMBELA – The demand for face masks and hand sanitiser has reached an all-time high with supplies to provincial health departments dwindling fast amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
MTN SA’s Foundation team is putting in a concerted effort to obtain as many as 36800 face masks and 36000 litres of hand sanitiser to be distributed to provincial health departments across the country. Distribution across all nine provinces is expected to proceed from today and will continue throughout the week.
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The unprecedented surge in the demand for masks and hand sanitisers has resulted in a shortage which has negatively affected production and shipping of the equipment needed to curb the spread of the virus.
MTN is working with key South African non-profit organisations, that have actively been involved in working with communities during the pandemic. Each of these organisations are receiving an MTN data SIM and WiFi modem. The SIM cards are loaded with 30GB of free data per month, for a period of six months, to assist them during their humanitarian and community upliftment initiatives.
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MTN has long-standing relationships with these organisations, and they have been extensively vetted and selected because of their impeccable track records.
This initiative also forms part of MTN’s broader commitment – outside its existing role as an essential service provider – to heed the call of President Ramaphosa for the private sector to play a greater role in helping the country rid itself of the COVID-19 scourge.
“The World Health Organisation says the best defence against any outbreak is a strong health system and MTN is going the extra mile to help ensure our health system is able to withstand the strain it is facing. We will continue to assist in any way we can to ensure SA and its people get through this crisis together,” said Kusile Mtunzi-Hairwadzi, general manager of the MTN SA Foundation.
Partnerships, collaboration and a deep-rooted culture of caring are needed more than ever to keep SA safe.
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“As a proudly South African company, MTN will continue to do good for communities across the country. Technology has a crucial role to play in keeping families connected and businesses functioning during this challenging time. Our ability to harness networks, boost data connectivity and partner with key suppliers regionally will increasingly come to the fore, and it is through initiatives like the above that we can make a real difference for societies and communities countrywide,” he concluded.
