In response to the plea by President Cyril Ramaphosa for a multi-stakeholder approach in tackling the challenges that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused, Novartis SA has donated R13.3m to two local NGOs in support of their efforts to help alleviate the socio-economic pressures caused by the virus.
Novartis has set up a Covid-19 Response Fund which will provide $20m in grants to support public health initiatives to help communities manage challenges posed by the pandemic around the world. Numerous entities are facing challenges surrounding a severe lack of PPE to protect healthcare workers who are in the forefront fighting the pandemic. Novartis has committed to alleviating some of the pressure by donating funds towards purchasing of PPE supplies.
Shelly Horner, Novartis country president, says, “Currently, South Africa has been approved for an equivalent of R13.3m as part of our local efforts to flatten the Covid-19 curve. Following our stringent due diligence process, including a local task team who form part of an integral approval process, we have partnered with credible, registered NGOs. We identified Feed SA and Gift of the Givers as suitable partners in our contribution towards the reduction of the spread of Covid-19, the protection and support of healthcare workers, the Department of Health (DoH) initiatives and assisting vulnerable individuals in our communities.”
Feed SA and Gift of the Givers
Feed SA is an NGO that sets up feeding schemes and community development projects in informal settlements around the country. Their beneficiaries are 100% BEE based, and range from crèches, to after-school programmes, community centres, homes for the mentally and physically challenged, hospice, as well as meals for bed ridden and elderly citizens.
With the emergency of Covid-19, Feed SA launched their Covid-19 Action Plan, which is a fundraising campaign, aimed at supporting the most vulnerable members of South African society – people who live in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, the sick, the elderly and the unemployed.
Gift of the Givers is a partner to the government’s Covid-19 initiative, augmenting public health services by supporting medical professionals with protective wear, supplying relevant essential medical equipment and providing medical consumables to the institutions in urgent need.
