MTN donates pads to women in COVID-19 isolation centres

 

 

This donation closely follows the world menstrual hygiene day that was observed recently across the world to challenge the social stigma associated with menstruation. This year, the day was marked under the theme ‘Periods in Pandemic' to highlight how the challenges faced by women during menstruation have worsened during the pandemic.

 

Executed by MTN's Corporate Social Responsibility arm, the MTN Foundation, this donation of sanitary pads is in response to a request from the ministry of health in a bid to provide for the sanitary needs of the women who are in mandatory isolation at the national Covid19 quarantine centres.

 

 

Today, many women are held up in different quarantine and isolation centers around the country. The number keeps growing as more people suspected to have the virus are identified and consequently quarantined. 

 

It is against this background that MTN Uganda donated 6,000 pads that will be distributed to 135 quarantine and isolation centers around the country by the Ministry of Health.

 

While handing over the sanitary pads at the Ministry of health in Kampala, Ms Rhona Arinaitwe, the Senior Manager Corporate Communications for MTN Uganda, said that MTN recognizes that yesterday May 28th was World Menstrual Day and as such, found it gratifying that the Ministry recognized the menstrual hygiene needs of women in quarantine centers. 

 

"Today, MTN reaches out to our daughters, sisters and mothers in 135 mandatory quarantine centers across the country. We are pleased and honored to respond to the very personal needs of these women through providing 6000 packets of high quality sanitary pads, of the Always brand, that any one of us here would be able to use. We believe that this will help our sisters go through the mandatory quarantine with one element of their life made easier and their dignity intact," Arinaitwe said. 

  

Dr. Diana Atwiine, the Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary, thanked MTN for being a dependable stakeholder in Uganda's fight against COVD-19.

 

"I thank MTN Uganda for responding to our plea regarding the sanitary needs of the women who are under mandatory quarantine. As we all know, sanitary materials are a big challenge especially in extraordinary situations like this pandemic. So MTN has done a noble thing by reaching out to them and we are very appreciative of their support towards this struggle," Dr. Atwiine said.

 

At the onset of the COVID19 crisis in the country, MTN Uganda allocated media space worth shs316million to the ministry of Health to run the much needed COVID-19 communication across different media. To facilitate a free flow of information, the Telecom zero-rated the Ministry of health website to enable people get timely information without the need for data.

 

When the country started registering cases of COVID19, MTN set up a fully equipped call center at the MTN Head offices to support the Ministry of health work force in terms of receiving calls from members of the public seeking referrals and those seeking general information about the deadly coronavirus.

 

As the ministry of health continues to spearhead the fight against the deadly corona virus, MTN Uganda remains committed to supporting and complementing its efforts.