The Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) has donated Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and sanitary items worth GH¢800,000 to selected state institutions to facilitate their work in the fight against COVID-19.
The amount forms part of the GH¢1 million package the Bank pledged to invest into the national fight against the global pandemic.
The items included face masks, pairs of hand gloves, hair nets, Veronica buckets and alcohol-based hand sanitisers, the liquid soap, paper towels and thermometer guns.
The beneficiary institutions included the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital and selected regional and district hospitals.
Presenting the items to the beneficiary institutions, the Managing Director of the Bank, Dr John Kofi Mensah, said GH¢ 200,000 was earlier paid into the COVID-19 Trust Fund, bringing the total sum of donations to GH¢1 million as promised.
Dr Mensah said the decision was taken by the board and management of the bank in response to the President’s call on institutions to support the national fight against the pandemic.
“Our major focus will be on health institutions in mainly the peri-urban and rural areas, our customers and also our hardworking farmers and traders who are vulnerable to attack due to the nature of their work,” he said.
Dr Mensah said aside from contributing the GH¢1 million towards the national response, the bank had also contributed towards the Ghana Association of Bankers GH¢10 million donation to government , waived all charges on its electronic banking transactions below GH¢100,” he said .
In addition, he said the bank had waived all interbank transfer fees on its digital platforms and mobile wallet transaction fees for transactions below GH¢100.
He disclosed that the bank would soon announce a special package for its customers to further ease the pressure on them.
In relation to safety protocols to prevent the spread of the disease, he said the bank had put in place measures to ensure that all health protocols as outlined by health authorities were adhered to.
Representatives of the beneficiary institutions expressed gratitude to the Bank for the gesture and said it would go a long way in pushing the national response higher.
Dr. John Kofi Mensah (MD,ADB) presenting some items to officials from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.