Savings and loans firm, Sinapi Aba, has donated medical supplies including some sanitary items to three health facilities including a testing centre.

The items worth GHS200,000 was donated to the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR), Suntreso Government Hospital both in Kumasi and the Mamprobi Polyclinic in Accra.

The donations are expected to facilitate the work of the health professionals at the frontline at these facilities.

Health officials complained about the rate at which Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) are running out at a faster pace, which means continuous supply and restocking is very critical.

Head of Deposit and Marketing at Sinapi Aba, Eric Ofoe-Barnor, explained that the fight against the Covid-19 cannot be restricted to only the health professionals and government but corporate institutions as well.

“We believe the fight against this pandemic is a collective one so this is our contribution. For our clients, we believe that even after this is over, we shall still come back to them [clients] so we are mindful that there is a tomorrow and we are playing our cards very well.

"We know many of our clients visit the hospitals, it is one of the reasons why we are donating to institutions like KCCR, Suntreso Government Hospital and Mamprobi Polyclinic because in the long run we know it is going to benefit them all," he said.

The items included, hand sanitisers, tissue papers, gloves, soaps, other sanitary, other medical supplies and Personal Protective Equipment(PPE).

Beneficiary health facilities

KCCR, Suntreso Government Hospital and Mamprobi Polyclinic officials were excited by the gesture and described it as timely.

Medical Superintendent at Suntreso Government Hospital, Dr Thomas Agyarko Poku, explained the hospital and many others are struggling to generate revenue internally to procure such items.

This is because of the continuous decline in the number of persons at the hospitals due to the current situation which was compounded by the lockdown.

“But for the generous donation of others, it would have been a very difficult and critical situation because the hospital depends on the number of patients to generate money to buy items, now the numbers have reduced drastically, therefore we will not be able to generate enough money," Dr Agyarko said.

He added: "If not for the item supplies, most hospitals including ours will be in big trouble. We need more, we serve a large community apart from servicing our staff some of them are used for visitors that come here. As a matter of fact, we are depending on the goodwill of the people”.

Scientific Director at KCCR, Professor Richard Odame Philis, explained the gesture by Sinapi Aba will come in handy because the pressure on their operations has increased.

“This is really going to plug in some huge deficit I know, and it is going to be used well. When we started it was a team of two and it went to 22, now everyone at KCCR and everybody is involved, people are coming to work when ordinarily they are supposed to stay home. Previously, by 5 p.m. this door is locked but now it stays open throughout till the morning," he said.

He continued that, “we had a little guesthouse behind which was close down but because of Covid-19, it has been renovated, we had reopened it because we had to accommodate some of the staff because they work throughout the night. So you can imagine the sort of support this kind of gifts from you is going to give, it is really going to be of good service to us.”

The Administrator of Mamprobi Polyclinic, Mrs Sophia Oware, who received the items on behalf of the hospital, was full of praise to Sinapi Aba, saying the items had come at the right time.

She, therefore, appealed to other corporate institutions to continue donating to health facilities in these difficult times.