Delta Philanthropies’ (Delta) response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been marked by innovation, agility and resilience. Through its implementation partner, Higherlife Foundation (Higherlife), Delta has been doing its part to curtail the spread of the disease and the social and economic impact on the most vulnerable communities.
Alongside the Econet Group, Delta launched an unprecedented campaign, #LetsKeepCoronavirusOut, to help Zimbabweans know more about the coronavirus disease. The campaign shared verified and accurate information and public health advice from credible sources such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) through social media, radio jingles and billboards.
Building on the awareness campaign, a crowdfunding campaign #OneFightAgainstCorona was launched to mobilise funds towards combating the disease in Zimbabwe. Through the campaign, over 2,400 personal protective equipment (PPE) kits consisting of PVC overalls, overshoes, latex gloves, goggles, disposable surgical masks and other protective items were purchased for health workers at the country’s major COVID-19 referral hospitals.
In addition, 45 full Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ventilator suites and 100,000 test kits were distributed to Zimbabwe’s public hospitals.
Delta also assists key health institutions such as the Epidemiology and Disease Control (EDC) department and National Coordination Unit (NCU) for WASH with PPE.
In-house, Delta has put in place a robust telecommuting support system and distributed PPE to staff and their family members. In line with statutory regulations, the organisation has also facilitated employee testing through MARS (one of the Econet Group’s health care subsidiaries).
To date, Delta has raised over USD 5 million on various COVID-19 initiatives.
