Prensa/Fundación SURA delivered protection supplies to 28 hospitals in Colombia and doubles investment in other Latin American countries

Fundación SURA delivered protection supplies to 28 hospitals in Colombia and doubles investment in other Latin American countries

Publicado el 22 May 2020 News

PPE kits consisting of coveralls, N95 masks, face masks, shoe leggings, alcohol, among other items, were distributed this week in Colombia for a total investment of COP 5,088 million (USD 1.2 million).
Besides this latest donation, the Sura Business Group has provided its economic support to various solidarity initiatives in all 10 countries where present, this totaling COP 15,318 million (USD 3.83 million) to date.
Another USD 510,000 (COP 2,040 million) was approved to further the solidarity initiatives being led by the SURA Foundation in Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Panama, Uruguay, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic.
The SURA Foundation in Mexico and Chile is helping to strengthen hospital infrastructure and education in both countries. In Colombia, we doubled the amount of money we are donating for providing the more underprivileged families with basic grocery staples.

Messages of relief, commitment, gratitude and responsible management in the face of the current situation were expressed by the medical staff of each of the 28 hospitals and clinics prioritized in Colombia by the SURA Foundation, who received 900 thousand biosafety items.

These supplies were acquired using the COP 5,088 million (USD 1.2 million) approved as extraordinary contributions from Grupo SURA, Suramericana and SURA Asset Management in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, and which are channeled by the Sura Foundation in Colombia. These resources include voluntary contributions on the part of the employees of all those Companies belonging to the Group here in Colombia.

Furthermore, the Foundation's Board of Trustees approved another USD 510,000 (around COP 2,040 million) for the solidarity work being carried out in Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Panama, Uruguay, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic. Already, the Foundation and our local subsidiaries have invested a total of USD 470,000 (COP 1,880 million) for the purpose of reinforcing hospital infrastructure and providing PPE kits for medical staff.

"Standing in solidarity with regard to the current situation, we have expanded our regional scope, in line with the Foundation’s purpose. This is why we have doubled our social investment in other countries throughout the region where SURA is present, so as to strengthen local capabilities in facing and overcoming the pandemic, because now, more than ever, we need to join forces in order to be able to move forward", stated Tatyana Orozco, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer for Grupo SURA.

Hospital donations in Colombia

PPE supplies were also provided to non-profit health care centers in the Departments of Atlántico, Bolívar, Sucre, San Andrés, Magdalena, Santander, Norte de Santander, Tolima, Caldas, Quindío, Valle del Cauca, Cundinamarca and Antioquia (see complete list attached). These charity hospitals are key players in combating the pandemic in their particular regions and this is why they were duly prioritized, this based on the needs of their medical staff and validated by SURA's Biosafety Committee.

"I think this donation makes us feel that we are all on the same side, sometimes you think you are alone, but this time and in the face of this contingency SURA has made us feel important," stated Germán Muñoz, from the Center for Excellence attached to the Clínica Santa Helena in Palmira (Valle).

For his part, Eduardo Cortés, General Manager of the Clínica Palermo in Bogotá, mentioned: "We are immensely grateful for this donation since we have managed to provide biosafety kits for all our areas, both direct and indirect (...). It is very important what the SURA Foundation is doing to help us. Furthermore, the Hospital de Caldas welcomed this initiative, which shall allow them to boost the care they are providing during this public health contingency.

"At the SURA Foundation we continue to provide our help on different fronts so as to mitigate and overcome this situation. We are aware of the very important role that our medical staff play today, because by taking care of them, we are taking care of ourselves, which is why we are helping them to protect themselves as they carry out their daily activities with the donation made to 28 hospitals in Colombia", added María Mercedes Barrera, Executive Director of the SURA Foundation. She also made special mention of the solidarity shown by our SURA employees in Colombia, who have voluntarily contributed a total of COP 422 million to date, COP 88.6 million of which is for medical staff supplies as well as for extending the impact of this initiative.

Food security and other initiatives

On the other hand, last month the Foundation and our employees donated a total of COP 400 million to ensure the food security of 100 thousand Colombian families, this in partnership with the Bancolombia, Nutresa and Grupo Argos Foundations. In addition to this initial help, the Foundation has added another COP 400 million to this initiative that now covers a total of 18 cities in Colombia, through ABACO (the Colombian Association of Food Banks) and other entities throughout the country.

Another COP 549 million shall be added to the economic support for freelance workers in the My Allies program (plumbers, electricians, painters, among others), as well as for microenterprises, organizations, and the small-scale suppliers of the SURA Companies as well as other humanitarian endeavors.

Contributions in other countries

Likewise, the SURA Foundation in Colombia doubled its contributions in seven countries throughout the region, this to be distributed among different initiatives that shall be defined and prioritized in conjunction with the local subsidiaries belonging to Suramericana and SURA Asset Management.

So far, our donations have covered: various initiatives that are raising funds for hospital supplies in Uruguay and the Dominican Republic; providing mechanical ventilators and hospital supplies in El Salvador; making a capital contribution to the Pixed social enterprise for the 3D printing of bio-protection material, in Peru; as well as improving hospital infrastructure, equipment and care at the Hospital Universitario Austral (Buenos Aires, Argentina), the Hospital das Clínicas da Universidad de Medicina de Sao Paulo (Brazil) and the Hospital Nacional (Panama), among others .

These initiatives are in addition to what the SURA Foundation is doing in Mexico, where 28 indigenous communities are benefiting from the resources provided to various health care centers in the states of Veracruz and Chiapas, plus six mechanical ventilators for a hospital in the capital city. The SURA Foundation in Chile is also allowing more than 100 students to continue their education by providing them with computers and Internet connections.

Attachment. Hospitals and clinics that received donations in Colombia