BHF360° | DECEMBER 2020
COV ID-19 IN T E RVE N T ION S
GIFT OF THE GIVERS’
COVID-19 intervention
COVID-19 demanded a pragmatic response from a disaster point of view. Medical support, food provision, water availability and income-generation activities were all essential elements requiring intervention proportional to the need and, importantly, to the availability of rapidly diminishing resources. By Imtiaz Sooliman CHAIRMAN AND FOUNDER, GIFT OF THE GIVERS
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ift of the Givers went into preparation mode on 11 March and immediately after President Cyril Ramaphosa declared COVID-19 a national disaster on 15 March began to act decisively and cost-effectively. By Monday, 16 March, private laboratories had been engaged to assist with PCR testing for the expected increase in infections. Gift of the Givers, using its influence, managed to secure a rate of R750 per test when the private rate was an exorbitant R1450. Prices at other facilities dropped to R850, a huge benefit to the public, ensuring that those who had contact with posi-
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tive cases would do the responsible thing and test even if the symptoms and effect on their health were minimal. Cost-effective pricing encouraged private patients to test, which helped to avoid potential carriers becoming walking time bombs. We set up testing facilities throughout the country and had mobile teams do mass testing for the SAPS, corporates, security companies and sports teams. By supporting smaller laboratories, not only did we save 15 jobs, we also created several more job opportunities. The safety of healthcare workers was a non-negotiable priority. We simply could not afford to lose highly qualified personnel, with years of experience, to the coronavirus when there
was already a shortage of trained medical professionals in our country. Gift of the Givers’ procurement specialists secured large quantities of PPE from China and locally, ensuring that prices were not outrageously exploitative (understanding that worldwide demand had escalated cost), and that the products were of superior quality and would protect our HCWs adequately. More than a million masks, both three-ply and KN95, were purchased immediately, along with coveralls, gloves, Hazmat suits, head covers, shoe covers, goggles, visors and sanitiser. The virus was tracked and those facilities at the epicentre were the first to receive supplies. Then followed noncontact thermometers, pulse oxim-
