Business News: Mr. Priyantha Talwatte, Chief Executive Officer of Nations Trust Bank PLC symbolically handed over medical scrub suits for frontline healthcare workers combating the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka, to Director General of Health Services, Dr. Anil Jasinghe, at the Department of Health in Colombo on, 11th April 2020.
This simple event took place with the participation of Deputy Director General of Health Services Dr. Ananda Jayalal, the Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy Vice Admiral Piyal De Silva and Head of CSR, Nations Trust Bank, Theja Silva. Officials from Nations Trust Bank including, Ramanika Unamboowa – EVP Human Resources, Nisaja Aryasinghe – Vice President, and Sanjaya Senarath – Chief Marketing Officer, Health Ministry officials and hospital staff also attended the event.
In its endeavour to support the national cause against the Coronavirus outbreak, the Nations Trust Bank CSR team approached officials of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services led by Dr. Anil Jasinghe and Dr. Ananda Jayalal to understand the most pressing needs of the hour for the health services and healthcare personnel. Following these discussions, the Bank decided on manufacturing medical scrub suits to be distributed to all designated COVID-19 specialty hospitals for frontline health workers who put their health at risk for the benefit of all Sri Lankans, with the full support and backing of the Ministry.
The Sri Lanka Navy supported the Bank in this initiative, taking over the responsibility of tailoring the material to specification. The collaboration between the SL Navy and the Bank was facilitated by health ministry officials, whose support bolstered the Bank’s initiative. This has enabled the bank to channel the entire pledged donation of Rs. 5 million to purchase material from registered suppliers under the supervision of Ministry officials, to produce 4,500 medical scrub suits for frontline healthcare workers.
Nations Trust Bank announced that the handover of medical scrub suits is the first of several initiatives planned by the bank in consultation with Ministry officials to best support the fight against COVID-19. Bank officials are currently liaising with Health officials to understand future requirements such as Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) etc. and are ready to donate them based on available resources.
Nations Trust Bank PLC is among the top 15 business establishments in Sri Lanka as ranked by Business Today Magazine, ably providing a host of financial products and services to a wide range of customers. Nations Trust is also the bank behind Sri Lanka’s first fully-fledged digital banking experience, FriMi. The Bank operates 96 branches across the country, boasting an ATM network covering 127 locations and 48 Cash Deposit & Withdrawal Machines, plus more than 3,700 ATMs on the Lanka Pay Network and is the issuer and sole acquirer for American Express® Cards in Sri Lanka.
