Joint Medical Store (JMS), a Ugandan not-for-profit organisation, established in 1979 with a license by the National Drug Authority (NDA) to engage in the import, export, and wholesale of medicines and related health supplies, has made a drawdown under Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), to help fight against Covid-19.
Its drawdown of $2.2 million on a loan facility will help in providing healthcare facilities and supply masks, sanitisers, and medicines to those living in Uganda. SCB launched the programme on 30 March, 2020, to provide financing on a not-for-profit basis to companies making products and services that help the front line fight the virus and its impacts.
The CEO of Corporate and Institutional Banking at SCB, Simon Cooper, said, ‘Our priority is to help get much-needed products and services to the front line and we’re extremely proud to start rolling out the financing on this program with [JMS]. Africa is a very important part of our [g]roup strategy and I’m particularly pleased that we’re able to use our network there to make an impact in the fight against Covid-19’.
The Executive Director of JMS, Bildard Baguma, said, ‘We have been supplying the Government of Uganda, NGOs, and the private sector with medical supplies for over 40 years in Uganda, however, the [Covid-19] pandemic has increased the urgency for provision [of] medical supplies in the country. With the [$2.2 million] facility provided by [SCB], it will enable us to respond to this urgent need to provide the front line [h]ealth workers with high-quality Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) which is integral in maintaining health and safety during the pandemic. We will also be providing critical care equipment to hospitals (ICUs)’.
Baguma added that the rates provided by SCB will help the organisation pass on lower costs of the PPE and critical care equipment to their clients.
Source: CIO East Africa
Photo source: EpicTop10.com
