‘Care for Heroes’ campaign: Getz Pharma to disinfect over 8,000 clinics, 650 wards across country

KARACHI: Leading pharmaceutical company Getz Pharma under its ‘Care for Heroes’ initiative to combat coronavirus in healthcare facilities, is disinfecting over 8,000 clinics, 650 hospital wards and conducting free screening tests of more than 25,000 doctors across Pakistan.

In order to minimise the risk of this contagion at clinics and hospitals, Getz Pharma will regularly be disinfecting these venues for the next 6 months using CHEMGENE HLD4, a WHO approved chemical, which is a proven disinfectant against coronavirus. This is to ensure that our frontline heroes (medics, nurses and paramedics) work in the safety of a sanitised environment, says a press statement released on Tuesday.

The company is also providing protective equipment such as PPEs, masks, sanitisers and gloves and conducting free coronavirus antibody screening tests of over 25,000 doctors especially in isolation centers to ensure the safety of healthcare professionals (HCPs) fighting on the front-lines to combat this pandemic.

So far, more than 100 clinics across Karachi have been disinfected under this initiative and the company will soon be extending this effort to other cities. The first hospital disinfection drive was started from Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) Karachi covering 28 wards, 96 doctor’s hostel rooms, around 200 houses in doctor’s colony, out-patient departments (OPDs), emergency rooms, and duty rooms. Appreciating this initiative, Dr Seemin Jamali, Executive Director JPMC, said: “We at JPMC are very grateful to Getz Pharma who has come forward in arranging holistic sanitisation of our premises in the wake of COVID-19. We truly appreciate Getz Pharma’s help in order to handle this pandemic.”

Earlier this month, Managing Director and CEO of Getz Pharma Khalid Mahmood met Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho to discuss strategies to help those affected by the pandemic. The company has donated more than 1.9 million Hydroxychloroquine tablets, 15,000 testing kits and over 1,500 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the Sindh government and is also supporting research on the fast-track development of COVID-19 treatment in Pakistan. “During these unprecedented times, the private-sector should step up and shoulder the responsibility of the government to control the spread of this virus especially from the hotspots like clinics and hospitals,” said Khalid Mahmood.

Getz Pharma is Pakistan’s leading pharmaceutical company with operations in over 25 countries. It is the only company whose manufacturing facility is pre-qualified and approved by the World Health Organisation, Geneva, as well as member countries of PIC/S. Getz Pharma is the largest investor and the highest taxpayer in the pharmaceutical sector of Pakistan, and the 33rd highest taxpayer of Pakistan. It is also the highest exporter of pharmaceutical products and has received for 14 consecutive years the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) Export Trophy, from the presidents and prime ministers of Pakistan.