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THE Coca Cola Foundation has joined hands with the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society in alleviating the adverse impact of Covid-19 at charity homes under a US$100 000 funding facility.
As the global pandemic continues to spread in the country, children and old people’s homes are among the hardest hit.
Through the partnership, the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society (ZRCS) is providing services to prevent and alleviate human suffering and health emergencies induced by Covid-19. In a media update ZRCS said their intervention with Coca Cola Foundation was guided and complements the National Covid-19 Response strategy with particular focus on four aspects.
The first element covers dissemination of Covid-19 awareness messages for people to know the risk and adopt practices that reduce the risk infection.
The second covers health and hygiene promotion, which entails distributing Covid-19 materials to institutions and communities such as handwashing equipment, sanitisers, and handwashing soaps.
“With funding from our partner the Coca Cola Foundation, we are distributing PPE to 35 old people’s homes around the country reaching approximately 1 293 old persons at these institutions,” said ZRCS. Under the programme Matabeleland region has seven beneficiary centres that include; Edith Duly, Barbra Barely Centre, Entembeni, Ekuphumuleni, Mustard Seed Children’s Home, Savgon Lodge and the Gwanda Association of the Aged. Masvingo has three beneficiary centres while the Midlands province has seven, three in Gweru and others in Kwekwe, Shurugwi and Zvishavane. There are five beneficiary centres in Mashonaland West, three in Mashonaland East and four in Mashonaland Central.
The ZRCS is also undertaking Covid-19 case identification and screening.
“Supported by our partner the Coca Cola Foundation, we are setting up a GenXpert machine at the Zimbabwe Red Cross Clinic in Harare specifically for Covid-19 testing. Through this partnership, our laboratory staff have been trained at the National Microbiology Reference Laboraton,” said ZRCS.
The partnership also offers psychosocial support to the affected and infected through a network of staff and volunteers trained to assist in pyscho-social adjustment and mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“For the provision of PPE to old people’s homes, we specifically targeted the older people because the global experiences so far shows a higher mortality ratio among the elderly,” said ZRCS.
“Older people don’t have as strong an immune system so they are more vulnerable to infectious disease. They’re also more likely to have conditions such as heart disease, lung disease, diabetes or kidney disease, which weaken their body’s ability to fight infectious disease.
“In institutionalised settings like a nursing or retirement home where they live in a more crowded situation, there’s a greater risk of infection”.
Often some of these institutions are poorly resourced and excluded from mainstream Covid-19 response interventions which increases their vulnerability.
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