The University of Pretoria’s (UP) Faculty of Health Sciences has received a generous donation of 20 000 COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) from OUTsurance to help keep healthcare workers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The poor availability of personal protective equipment has been a challenge for the academic and medical staff at the Department of Infectious Diseases at UP’s Faculty of Health Sciences.  The PPE donation was made as part of OUTsurances’ Staff Helping SA OUT initiative and will be used to support the Faculty of Health Sciences, Tshwane District Hospital and Steve Biko Academic Hospital.

“This donation is important because without PPE our doctors cannot work. It is at the heart of everything, and without personal protective equipment doctors can’t be on the frontline, therefore, meaning that we can’t save lives,” said Prof Anton Stoltz, Head of Infectious Diseases Department at the UP.  

The delivery of personal protective supplies included 20 000 surgical masks, 20 000 FFP2 masks and sanitisers.

“As OUTsurance, we wanted to partner with an institution in our area, given the challenges of poor availability of personal protective equipment. We look forward to keeping the relationship open with the University of Pretoria so that we can assist where we can in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mr Suren Naidoo, Chief People Officer at OUTsurance.

The Faculty of Health Sciences is involved in over 30 projects to help curb the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the projects include clinical trials and testing, community health, counselling, capacity support and volunteering.

“This pandemic has opened up collaborative opportunities between the University and various organisations. We are grateful for the donation from OUTsurance, and we hope that other organisations will be encouraged to pay-it-forward,” said Professor Tiaan de Jager, Dean of UP’s Faculty of Health Sciences.