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Herald Reporter
As Zimbabwe – along with the rest of the world – battles the COVID-19 Corona virus global pandemic, EcoSure has announced plans to immediately support the country’s national health delivery system by equipping frontline medical staff with protective personal equipment (PPE), providing them with life and health insurance and offering them safe transport to and from work daily, for the coming 12 months.

“In the situation we find ourselves in as a nation, we want to ensure all frontline medical staff are fully protected and we are putting in place measures that give them confidence as they carry out their noble duty of primary patient care and as they save lives,” said Mr Eddie Chibi, the CEO of Cassava Smartech, the parent company of the EcoSure insurance business.

Giving details of the offer yesterday – which comes at a time there are two confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country, and one confirmed death – EcoSure General Manager Mr Godwin Mashiri said his organization would immediately begin the process of providing support for all medical practitioners – doctors and nurses – who go to work and attend to their duties at this critical time.

“We are offering free Personal Protective Equipment for all doctors and nurses who attend to their duties at this very critical time. We are also offering free Vaya transport to both nurses and doctors, so they can commute to and from work in safe and sanitized vehicles,” Mr Mashiri said.

Vaya recently announced that it had taken the lead in promoting safe transportation during the COVID-19 epidemic by training its drivers in strict health and safety protocols, and equipping them with sanitizers and face masks, among other interventions.

“We will also be immediately offering life and health insurance in the form of a cash benefit of Z$500 per day, for each day of hospitalization, and a lump sum benefit of $50 000 in the event of permanent disability and eventual death caused by any accident,” said Mr Mashiri. He added that the package would include a cash benefit of up to $30 000 in the event of death arising from any other cause apart from accidents.

“On top of that, we will also be offering 100 percent education scholarships for the children of any medical practitioner who takes up this offer to work in public hospitals or clinics at this time, should they pass on during this period.

Mr Mashiri said the education scholarship would be administered by Higherlife Foundation through its Capernaun Scholarship.

Higherlife Foundation – which is funded by the Econet group of companies and by Delta Philanthropies, the social impact vehicle of the Econet founder Mr Strive Masiyiwa and his family – has already been supporting hundreds of doctors who signed up to a Fellowship scholarship launched late last year.