Nine banks donate Tk 15.92 crore to Brac's Covid-19 prevention campaign

Nine private banks have partnered with BRAC in its campaign to strengthen its public awareness and emergency support across the country amid the fresh wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The banks are BRAC Bank, Eastern Bank Limited, Mutual Trust Bank, Standard Bank, Dhaka Bank, Bank Asia, Mercantile Bank, United Commercial Bank and Dutch Bangla Bank.

These banks are collaborating with BRAC's 'Dakcche Abar Desh' and 'Community Fort for Resisting Covid-19' (CFRC) projects following the instruction of the Bangladesh Bank.

Amid a spike in COVID-19 cases, Bangladesh Bank last month asked all the scheduled banks to launch special corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity to assist the people affected by the pandemic.

The banks have committed around Tk 15.92 crore in which Tk 13.57 crore will deliver cash support to 72,160 families while the rest of the amount will be used to provide masks and other Covid-preventive services to 1.8 million people and reach healthcare services to 10,000 patients with Covid symptoms, said a press release of BRAC.

The campaign will particularly focus on 20 districts with the highest rate of Covid-19 spread, mostly in Rajshahi and Khulna divisions, it said.

Out of the nine banks, the agreement is under process with Bank Asia and Dhaka Bank.

Asif Saleh, executive director of BRAC, said, "We wholeheartedly welcome this much-needed support from these nine private banks."

This collective contribution will go towards two of our key Covid-19 projects -- Community Fort for Resisting COVID-19 and Dakcche Abar Desh -- two projects to build community resilience through masks distribution and medical support, and provide emergency cash support to the most vulnerable households for whom the lockdown continues to prove particularly harsh, he said.

"I hope this will encourage more private actors to come forward to collaborate in this difficult time, so we can work together to combat this pandemic and help the most vulnerable households," he added.