StanChart Bangladesh pledges further supports to tackle Covid-19

Standard Chartered Bangladesh has pledged another support to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic in Narayanganj, a coronavirus epicenter in the country. 

The bank, in this regard, has pledged to convey the partial daily treatment cost of 80 Covid-19 patients undergoing treatments at the Sajida Hospital Narayanganj, a Covid-19 dedicated treatment center. 

The bank had previously funded the daily treatment cost of 40 Covid-19 patients at the same hospital.

Bitopi Das Chowdhury, head of corporate affairs, brand and marketing at Standard Chartered Bangladesh, said, "Covid-19 is first and foremost a health crisis of an unprecedented scale, requiring a concerted and sustained response." 

"We are proud to be expanding our partnership with Sajida Foundation through this new initiative. I would also like to express my sincerest gratitude to all the health workers who are bravely leading the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic from the front," she said.

Zahida Fizza Kabir, CEO at Sajida Foundation said, "We are working every day to improve our healthcare services. We will introduce a tiered treatment model which will support mildly and moderately affected patients through remote consultation, community health workers and address severely affected and critical patients through our hospital in Narayanganj."

"We expect to serve over 5,000 Covid-19 patients in the coming months. We are thankful to Standard Chartered for their continued support to address the Covid-19 patient treatment in Narayanganj." 

Prior to this, Standard Chartered contributed $300,000 to the Red Cross for the provision of urgent medical support and $1.3 million to Unicef for the immediate protection and education of vulnerable children in Bangladesh. 

The Bank is also collaborating with Brac to deliver support packages to 25,000 people from 5000 low-income families, residing in locked-down areas, the media statement read.  

At the same time, Standard Chartered Bangladesh, Kumudini Welfare Trust and City Group are working together to deliver essential food items to 5000 distressed families from semi-urban and rural communities in Mirzapur, Tangail.

Standard Chartered has announced a broad range of support measures for its retail customers and businesses, including loan repayment holidays, fee waivers or cancellations and loan extension facilities. 

It has initiated a $1 billion global financing programme for companies that provide goods and services to help the fight against the Covid-19. It has also launched a $50 million fund aiding communities affected by the pandemic across its global footprint, including Bangladesh.

On the other hand, Sajida Foundation is one of the first responders to the Covid-19 crisis. The Foundation has served more than three million individuals through awareness raising, food and hygiene package distribution, agriculture value chain support, slum disinfection, portable handwashing device setup and PPE disbursement. 

SAJIDA's two hospitals located in Covid-19 hotspots have treated over 20,000 patients since March 2020.