Equity bank donates PPEs worth Sh237 million to public hospitals

Equity Bank has distributed PPEs valued at Sh237 million to 68 public hospitals in the country to help combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

The consignment includes disposable gowns, surgical masks, N95 respirator masks, gloves, shoes covers and gumboots.

According to the bank's Chief Commercial Officer Polycarp Igathe, distribution of the locally made PPEs will take 18 months to all the 68 public hospitals that were identified by the Ministry of Health.

Igathe who was speaking in Siaya on Thursday during the distribution of the PPEs in Nyanza region added that over 95 local manufactures were trained on quality development of the PPEs.

The official assured residents that the Kenya Covid-19 Fund Board and the Kenya Association of Manufactures will conduct post training field tours to assess the quality of PPEs.

He mentioned that the Covid-19 Hospital Liaison Committee was established to support the management of PPEs in the distributed hospitals and Siaya Referral Hospital will not be left out.

Igathe added that the creation of local medical supply is a big development for the health sector as that will ensure sufficient supply of PPEs in all public facilities and hence tame the pandemic.

“The manufacturers have also demonstrated economic benefit, job retention and job creation were others have recalled staffs and others increased their workforce,” Igathe said.

According to Equity Bank Group MD James Mwangi in a statement read by Igathe, the bank will be going for the second batch of PPEs worth Sh400 million to build a reservoir of PPEs to sustain the frontline medical workers.

Mwangi said already the MasterCard foundation has mobilized Sh1.1 billion towards the provision of PPEs for frontline health care workers dealing with Covid-19 patients.

He added that working in partnership with the Ministry of Health, the bank is geared to achieve the national objective of protecting medical personnel while promoting the creation of a local medical supply ecosystem.