Ecobank Managing Director George Mensah-Asante (right) presents symbolic check to health officials. Ecobank Libera has donated the amount of US$20,000 (Twenty Thousand US Dollars) to the Government of Liberia through the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL).
The donation is intended to assist Government in procuring COVID-19 test kits to be used at all entry points in the country.
The funds will also support efforts to curb the transmission of COVID-19 that was discovered in China late last year. The test kits will be added to the available kits in the country to speed up the COVID-19 screening process.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony, the Managing Director of Ecobank, George Mensah-Asante said; “As a Pan African bank with a presence in thirty-three African Countries and other countries around the world, we are aware of the potential business and human threat posed by this virus globally. We will do all we can to buttress the efforts of the Government in ensuring that the spread of the virus is contained and subsequently eradicated. This is our way of showing our commitment to our customers, our employees and the general public at large”.
“A number of the countries in which we operate have recorded cases of coronavirus and this continues to spread, with Liberia now having 3 cases. It is our hope that we can come together as a nation and deal collectively with this serial threat to social and economic progress” Mensah-Asante added.
Worldometer reports as at 10:00 hours GMT of March 23, 2020, indicates that there are over 343,414 confirmed cases, 14,775 deaths across 176 countries. This, according to Mr Mensah-Asante, is very alarming.
He urged Liberians to adhere to the preventive measures put in place by the World Health Organization (WHO), Ministry of Health and the National Public Health Institute by avoiding overcrowded areas, ensuring social distancing, checking of temperatures, and regular washing of hands with soap and running water as well as the regular use of hand sanitizers.
The Managing Director, however, encouraged customers and employees to minimise the use of cash in favour of the bank’s digital platforms during this period for their transactions. He named the Ecobank Mobile App, Ecobank Online, Ecobank OMNI, as well as EcobankPay amongst others as some of the available digital channels.