DMAC and Vodafone Ghana Foundation donate PPE to GMA

DMAC and Vodafone Ghana Foundation donate PPE to GMA. Divine Mother and Child Foundation (DMAC) a Koforidua based NGO that focuses on Maternal Health has in collaboration and with sponsorship from the Vodafone Ghana Foundation has donated some medical supplies and Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) to the Ghana Medical Association (GMA).

The donation, which is the fifth, was in response to Civil Society Organizations (CSO) to help the government’s effort in the fight against the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID19).

The donation which is to be evenly distributed to other health facilities for onward supply to frontline workers included protective gowns with shoe cover, face shields, N95 facemasks, disposable tissues and surgical gloves, thermometer guns, hand sanitisers, rubbing alcohol and bleach as well as boxes of surface wipes and bin liners.

DMAC and Vodafone Ghana Foundation donate PPE to GMA

Mrs Geta Striggner-Quartey, Director of Legal and External Affairs, Vodafone Ghana, said the gesture, which was one of the numerous activities undertaken by Vodafone to support the government in the fight against the respiratory disease, was in response to a request made by the Association for support.

The support, she said, was only prudent as health workers were the first point of contact by patients, whether confirmed or not and hence, were exposed to varied health conditions including the COVID-19.

“It was heartbreaking to hear that some of its members have contracted the virus in the course of saving lives. We believe that health workers are our vital assets and they need to be protected even as they risk their lives to save many Ghanaians.

“This is why we swiftly moved in to support when the Association reached out to us. Indeed, this is a crucial request and warrants immediate attention and action,” she said.

Mrs Striggner-Quartey said Vodafone’s support for the Association started when Ghana recorded her initial cases of the COVID-19 by zero-rating a fundraising shortcode for the Association including doctors in residencies to enable them to appeal for financial support to purchase PPE.

“Our commitment since the outbreak of the pandemic has been to introduce unique initiatives that will help deal with the country’s specific needs, and this is one of the many projects Vodafone Ghana Foundation is embarking on to achieve this objective,” she added.

Vodafone Ghana, she said, had also established the ‘Healthline Medical Call Centre’, to complement the GMA’s efforts at providing critical expert advice and guidance to citizens and dispelling the misinformation about COVID-19.

The Call Centre is manned by 50 members of the Ghana Medical Association in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service, who speak seven different languages.

Mrs Striggner-Quartey encouraged Ghanaians to dial 255 on Vodafone or other networks for free, from the 0800 and 2000 hours daily to speak to a medical doctor regarding any clarifications and explanations they might require about the novel Coronavirus disease.

She explained that the Centre referred suspected cases to the Rapid Response Team for further assessment and treatment.

Additionally, the Foundation’s Big Data for Good initiative, developed in partnership with the Ghana Statistical Services and Flowminder Foundation, she said, had enabled the production of rapid mobility estimates using anonymised and aggregated mobile phone data to support the government’s interventions against COVID-19.

Dr Frank Ankobea, President of the Ghana Medical Association, who received the items expressed gratitude to Vodafone for heeding their call and also for donating to the resident doctors as well as COVID-19 management centres like the Ga East Municipal Hospital.

He gave the Foundation an assurance to distribute the items fairly to both public and private health facilities.