Hyundai donates COVID-19 PPEs to Korle Bu

Hyundai Motor Company of Korea on Thursday put smiles on the faces of medical workers at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital with the donation of personal protective equipment.

The items worth more than $50,000 include 15,000 face masks and 1,000 protective suits are meant to shield the healthcare professionals against the virus.

The Brand Manager of Hyundai Motors and Investment (Ghana) Limited, Mr Ganesh Phadale, commended the government and the country’s frontline workers for their efforts to contain the disease.

 “Thank you very much for your courage and the sacrifices you make. In this situation, we need to give each other the support, “he said.

According to him, the decision to choose the hospital out of many in Ghana was because “it is one of the largest hospitals in Africa, and this increases the risk of patients, nurses and doctors getting infected. Therefore, we decided that Korle Bu is the best place to make this donation,” he said.

This is not the first time the company is donating part of measures to contain the disease. In April, Stallion Motors, its mother company, donated an ambulance to the National COVID-19 Trust Fund.

In a speech read on his behalf, the Vice President, Head of Hyundai Motor Company Middle East & Africa, Bang Sun Jeong, stated that Ghana is one of the 37 countries that benefitted from Hyundai’s contribution of 16,000 items to assist front-line medical workers and the public during the global pandemic.

 “Caring for humanity has always been at the heart of Hyundai’s vision and having assisted those in need in countries around the world, we are proud to expand our support to countries across the Middle East and Africa region that have been hardest hit by the pandemic.

“The contributions of personal protection items are another step forward of making a positive difference and we believe if we work together, we can overcome anything. We hope this pandemic can soon come to an end and we can help people get back to their daily lives,” he said.

The Director of Medical Affairs of the hospital, Dr Ali Samba, commended the company for supporting the government’s efforts to contain the disease, which has infected more than 26,000 people and killed 149 others, ever since the country recorded its first case on March 12.

He said although the country had a good recovery rate, patients were still dying from the disease.

“It is a fight that everyone must support. The protocols are there, hand-washing under running water, using hand sanitisers and the use of face masks.

“We don’t want people to get it. If you get it and recover, there are still some long- term effects because of other conditions that we are not sure of. Prevention is better than cure. We employ everybody to go by the protocols of prevention,” he said.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motors Korea has set as aside $2.4 million to support the campaign against COVID-19 in Africa and the Middle East.