We are our brothers’ keepers – Howard-Smith
The Erongo regional council’s Covid Task Force has received donations from local and German benefactors for setting up a free care facility in Tamariskia.
STAFF REPORTER
SWAKOPMUND
Erongo regional council chairperson Ciske Howard-Smith has declared the costs attached to the 15-bed Covid-19 care facility set up by her Covid Task Force.
This initiative is part of a larger plan by the task force to mitigate the virus.
The use of the facility will be free and it will be open to both state and private patients.
Howard-Smith said the task force received roughly N$1 670 000 in cash donations, of which N$1 245 000 was from Namibian donors and N$425 000 from German donors.
Equipment worth an estimated N$500 000 was received in the form of oxygen concentrators, hospital beds, linen, bedding, towels, oximeters, nebulisers, blood pressure monitors and personal protective equipment as well as container shower units.
According to Howard-Smith, N$585 000 of the cash donations were spent to procure necessary supplies, while roughly N$290 000 went into the procurement of medical machinery such as oxygen concentrators and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines.
Medical consumables and stationery took up a further N$45 000, while the preparation of the site cost N$45 000.
The Covid Task Force also extended financial support to other Covid-19 initiatives to the tune of N$65 000.
Public donations have made it possible for Howard-Smith to invest N$20 000 in multivitamins and Vitamin C tablets, which will be distributed to the elderly and needy.
‘We will not be unprepared again’
Howard-Smith said she hopes for quick approval of the facility – situated at the Tamariskia town hall - by the health ministry.
Despite the fact that the third wave of Covid-19 in Namibia appears to be trending downward, she noted that this facility will be kept ready and in wait of a possible next wave.
“We will not be unprepared again – we are our brothers’ keepers! We are not resting on our successes; there is more work to be done, and the task force volunteers are rising to the challenges in our community,” she said.
SWAKOPMUND
Erongo regional council chairperson Ciske Howard-Smith has declared the costs attached to the 15-bed Covid-19 care facility set up by her Covid Task Force.
This initiative is part of a larger plan by the task force to mitigate the virus.
The use of the facility will be free and it will be open to both state and private patients.
Howard-Smith said the task force received roughly N$1 670 000 in cash donations, of which N$1 245 000 was from Namibian donors and N$425 000 from German donors.
Equipment worth an estimated N$500 000 was received in the form of oxygen concentrators, hospital beds, linen, bedding, towels, oximeters, nebulisers, blood pressure monitors and personal protective equipment as well as container shower units.
According to Howard-Smith, N$585 000 of the cash donations were spent to procure necessary supplies, while roughly N$290 000 went into the procurement of medical machinery such as oxygen concentrators and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines.
Medical consumables and stationery took up a further N$45 000, while the preparation of the site cost N$45 000.
The Covid Task Force also extended financial support to other Covid-19 initiatives to the tune of N$65 000.
Public donations have made it possible for Howard-Smith to invest N$20 000 in multivitamins and Vitamin C tablets, which will be distributed to the elderly and needy.
‘We will not be unprepared again’
Howard-Smith said she hopes for quick approval of the facility – situated at the Tamariskia town hall - by the health ministry.
Despite the fact that the third wave of Covid-19 in Namibia appears to be trending downward, she noted that this facility will be kept ready and in wait of a possible next wave.
“We will not be unprepared again – we are our brothers’ keepers! We are not resting on our successes; there is more work to be done, and the task force volunteers are rising to the challenges in our community,” she said.
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