Africa-Press – Mauritius. As part of its CSR initiative aimed at supporting its Member States’ efforts to combat and prevent the spread of the COVID-19, the Trade and Development Bank (TDB) has donated, this morning, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the tune of some USD 50,000 to the Ministry of Health and Wellness.
The PPE comprises 100,000 nurses’ caps, 100,000 disposable face masks, and 32,000 pairs of disposable surgical gloves. The donation ceremony was held at the seat of the Ministry, in Port-Louis, in the presence of the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal, the Director of the TDB, Mr Buissier, and representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development.
In his address, Minister Jagutpal expressed gratitude to the TDB for the donation of the PPE and added that it will help Mauritius in taking the necessary precautions to address and handle the effects of the pandemic.
He recalled that securing medical supplies and disposables is not an easy process due to disruption in the supply chain, irregular availability of freight forwarders, and decrease in production worldwide brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
He therefore lauded the initiative of the TDB for providing the country with the much-needed materials required for the protection of the front-liners. For his part, Mr Buissier recalled that the TDB is a multilateral, treaty-based development financial institution set up in 1985.
The Bank finances and fosters trade and regional economic integration and sustainable development via trade finance, project and infrastructure finance, asset management and business advisory services, he said.
He indicated that the TDB has set up its headquarters in Mauritius which will have a positive impact for the further development of the country’s international financial centre.
He added that Mauritius has been a TDB Member State for 30 years now since 1991. TDB has been active in Mauritius and has financed up to USD 160 million across various projects, he indicated.
As regards the CSR initiative of the Bank, Mr Buissier highlighted that the objective is to support Member States in containing and mitigating the profound health and socio-economic impacts in the region.
He further commended the TDB and the Ministry of Health and Wellness for having engaged in this CSR initiative which will serve to prevent the spread of the virus and limit fatalities and ultimately alleviate some of the pressure in the healthcare system in Mauritius.
