The list of donations of the business sector, business and sports associations, charities and individuals is getting longer daily, with the donors allocating significant funds in response to the Serbian government’s appeal for assistance in procuring medical and safety equipment in the fight against coronavirus.
The most recent and one of the largest corporate donations so far, in the form of medical equipment for healthcare centres in Serbia, is coming from Philip Morris, in the total value of around 400 thousand euros. This donation includes video laryngoscopes, standard laryngoscopes, patient monitors for central monitoring, aspirators and inhalation sedation devices. The list of required equipment for the donation to healthcare centres treating COVID-19 patients is produced in an agreement with the relevant institutions for determining needs for the vital treatment items since in addition to respirators, other medical equipment s also required so that doctors can save lives of infected patients.
Therefore, the authorities are appealing to all donors willing to join the campaign of curbing this pandemic to allocate funds in accordance with their capabilities and needs of medical institutions.
Due to a large number of calls and proposals for delivering humanitarian aid and allocation of various donations for the fight against COVID-19, the Serbian government created a special email address and phone number for all questions and suggestions related to donations.
Since the launch of campaigns for procuring equipment for medical institutions across Serbia, the best tennis player in the world, Novak Đoković, donated one million euros for the purchase of respirators and other medical equipment, while tennis player Ana Ivanović, as a UNICEF ambassador, supported this organisation’s initiative for donating a total of 50 respirators, safety equipment and hygiene packages. Employees of the Belgrade-based Nordeus IT company, Vojvođanska banka, Raiffeisen Bank, Phi Beauty Academy and other regular UNICEF donors participated in this donation in the total amount of 500,000 dollars.
One of the first to help in procuring necessary medical equipment and respirators was a renowned football star and the Red Star Football Club coach, Dejan Stanković, while funds were also donated by Partizan Football Club, Heineken and Imlek, AIK banka and Direktna banka.
Donations in the form of medical equipment or funds allocated for their purchase were also received from Nelt, Mozzart, Kappa Star, MK Group, Moji brendovi, Alkogrupa and others.
For the purpose of accommodating patients, Serbia’s hotel businesses made part of their capacities available to the government. Thus the MK Group put at disposal accommodation capacities of its hotel in Novi Sad to the Institute for Public Health of Serbia “Dr Milan Jovanović Batut”, the Hotel Putnik company its “Tulip In” Hotel in Belgrade, and “Mona” all of its hotels in Belgrade, Mt. Zlatibor and Mt. Javor. In addition, all factories of this domestic fashion company are now sewing masks for healthcare professionals exclusively.
Masks are also being sewed by a large number of domestic SMEs, with some of them also helping in procuring other medical equipment – Tami Trade is using 3D printers to produce safety visors, which will be donated to healthcare institutions in the city of Niš.
Furthermore, numerous volunteer campaigns for purchasing provisions for the citizens older than 65 were launched, and many humane individuals wishing to help make the quarantine period and overcoming the epidemic easier joined campaigns of donating food, hygiene and other items, in accordance with their capabilities.
All those wishing to send humanitarian aid or having related questions can send an email to ironfriendship@gov.rs or dial +381 64 8350 478 and +381 11 292 7499.
Details about joining the “Be a Volunteer” campaign, executed by the Ministry of Interior Affairs and the Serbian government are available at www.budivolonter.gov.rs.