Standard Chartered contributes US$ 500,000 to support the fight against COVID-19 in the local community

Standard Chartered Sri Lanka has announced donations totalling USD500,000 (approximately LKR 92.5 million) to support the fight against COVID-19 in the local community.

The donation, which will flow through the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS), is in keeping with its brand promise to be ‘Here for good’ and is part of the Bank’s wider response to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The funding is made up of two parts: USD300,000 from Standard Chartered PLC will support emergency relief activities that target the control and containment of coronavirus, precaution against infection, and public awareness to combat misinformation on COVID-19. These funds are part of the Group’s USD5 million donation to Red Cross to support urgent medical and humanitarian support in countries across Africa and Asia from its USD50 million COVID-19 Global Charitable Fund; and USD200,000 from Standard Chartered Sri Lanka for the procurement of approximately 13,000 COVID-19 testing kits to assist in identifying suspected patients of the virus.

Commenting on the donation, Bingumal Thewarathanthri, CEO, Standard Chartered Sri Lanka said: “Standard Chartered Sri Lanka is proud to be able to contribute to the fight against COVID-19 in Sri Lanka and we are glad to partner with Red Cross programmes that reach the most vulnerable people in our communities. By working together, we are able to support the delivery of rapid and effective relief that aims to address some of the current and future challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to supporting our communities at this time of need, we have also gone an extra mile in contributing to the country’s economy in a holistic fashion in the wake of this pandemic.”