In heeding Business for South Africa’s (B4SA’s) call for help, individuals and companies have donated more than 1.4-million pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE), valued at R13.2-million.
B4SA in March launched a national donations drive called “Business Mzansi, we need you” that called on companies to donate equipment through a B4SA PPE portal.
The donated products include 945 000 pairs of examination gloves, 233 000 surgical masks, 130 000 N95 respirators, 135 000 face shields, 9 100 l of sanitiser, 1 100 coveralls and 1 100 surgical aprons.
These products have been received by public sector doctors, nurses and community health workers that are at the frontlines of the country’s fight against Covid-19.
B4SA says these donations complement the 70-million pieces of PPE that have been donated to the public sector with help from the Solidarity Fund, businessperson Patrice Motsepe’s Motsepe Foundation, media agency Naspers and financial institution FirstRand’s Spire Fund.
B4SA health workgroup chairperson Stavros Nicolaou says the solidarity that South Africans have shown towards health workers is extraordinary, especially since the whole world has been holding on tightly to PPE stocks, showing South Africans’ generosity and willingness to place the needs of health workers above their own.
He calls on business and the public to continue donating critical medical-grade PPE, which can be done through B4SA’s PPE procurement portal at www.covid19manager.co.za.