Mbabane: First National Bank (FNB) Eswatini Foundation has donated half a million towards the completion of the Luke Commission oxygen plant.
The Luke Commission Oxygen plant will be the first oxygen plant in Eswatini and is valued worth over 34 million. The plant is expected to produce about 1 000 litres of oxygen per minute. This was revealed during the donation handover ceremony held at The Luke Commission Miracle Campus in Sidvokodvo on Monday.
The donation was handed over by FNB Eswatini Foundation Chairperson Dennis Mbingo, who is also the chief executive officer of FNB Eswatini.
Mbingo said with the donation they hope to also encourage other businesses to throw their weight behind long-term solutions like what the bank has done.
Receiving the donations, the Minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi said Government is on to establish more oxygen plants across the country.
Minister Nkosi said a similar plant like the one at the Luke Commission is already under construction at Lubombo Referral Hospital. “Plans are underway to construct bulk oxygen plants at Nhlangano Health Centre and Mbabane Government Hospital to increase local production capacity,” she said.
Minister Nkosi added that the oxygen plants will provide oxygen not just for COVID-19 patients but for other ailments including snake-bites which result in a significant number of deaths annually that could be prevented. She said the donations liken the one from FNB towards the oxygen plants are a great investment for the future of the country’s health system.
The Luke Commission Executive Director Echo Vander Wal said they were very much thankful to the FNB Eswatini Foundation. She said Oxygen is a critical tool for the care and treatment of COVID-19 patients, saying the oxygen plan will benefit emaSwati.
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