By Mc Donald Chapalapata, a Contributor
Malawi’s premier mobile network and ICT services provider, TNM plc, has donated various items including drugs, medical equipment, Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), airtime and data bundles worth over K100 million towards the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
The K100 million donation covers costs for PPEs for 1000 doctors and health workers that comprises of full body safety overalls, goggles, surgical gloves, shoe covers and disposable gloves; assorted medical equipment that includes nebulizers and patient monitors as well as Covid-19 essential drugs that includes dexamethasone, enoxaparine/heparine, tramadol, Lente insulin and Brufen.
Additionally, the K100m will also cover the cost of airtime and data for covid-19 doctors and frontline staff for three months. To wrap it up, TNM Plc will use its network facilities to educate its 4.1 million customers about how they can protect themselves from Covid-19 with information from qualified medical professionals through SMSs. The capital items and drugs will be shared amongst QECH, Zomba, Mzuzu and Kamuzu Central hospitals.
Presenting the donation on Saturday, TNM Chief Channels Officer Phyllis Manguluti said as a truly Malawian company, and in keeping with its purpose of creating possibilities and transforming lives, TNM plc will always look inwards first to the people who have helped the company become what it is today.
“This pandemic has affected all of us and we thought we should be a responsible corporate citizen and make this donation because everyone is affected, our stakeholders, our customers, our business partners, almost everyone is affected,” said Manguluti.
“Being a communication and ICT company we also thought we should help in this area by helping our doctors and medical personnel with data and airtime because communication is very critical in times like these,” added Manguluti.
She said TNM plc’s response is precise to what the Society of Medical Doctors had presented to the company namely PPEs for health personnel, communication tools for coordination purposes amongst health personnel and finally drugs to support patients.
Receiving the donation, President of the Society of Medical Doctors in Malawi (SMD) Dr. Victor Mgonjetsi Mithi hailed TNM plc for the gesture saying medical personnel need support from all sectors during the crisis.
“We are very happy with the gesture that TNM has done. We were facing struggles in terms of communicating or tracing of patients and also sending the right messages to the people about the disease. We are happy that now we will be able to reach 4.1 million people through free SMS with right messages about the disease which will help us in fighting this pandemic,” said Mithi.
He also hailed TNM plc for the data bundles and airtime to medical personnel saying it will ease communication needs and collaboration amongst all frontline covid-19 staff in the country.
“TNM has also provided 1000 high-end PPEs that comprise of full body safety overalls, goggles, surgical gloves, shoe covers and disposable gloves for health workers which are very grateful for. It is sad that over 900 health workers have been infected with the diseases with 150 of them just last week alone. So this donation will secure the health of our health workers so that we fight this disease with vigour,” said Mithi.
