Strive Masiyiwa Offers US$50 Per Month For Covid-19 Patients Who Report Illness
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Strive Masiyiwa Offers US$50 Per Month For Covid-19 Patients Who Report Illness

Strive Masiyiwa

Zimbabwe telecommunications tycoon and philanthropist Strive Masiyiwa has started a great initiative which offers financial support to people who test positive for Covid-19. The philanthropist’s Home-Based Care Initiative is offering US$50 per month per family for up to 3 months as well as blankets, food, water and airtime for up to three months.Strive Masiyiwa Offers US$50 Per Month For Covid-19 Patients

Masiyiwa announced that his Higher Life Foundation (HLF) is launching the Home-Based Care after noting that most people who get sick, suffer at home. Masiyiwa announced the US$50 monthly support in a blog post in which he said,

I served on the board of the world’s greatest foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, for 15 years. I went there to learn about philanthropy. One of the things I learnt was that philanthropists try to catalyze the change they want to see. They know they don’t have the money to do it by themselves, but they hope to demonstrate a solution which can then be scaled by others.

My initiative called #ReImagineRural is a classic example of trying to catalyze change. Our solar power initiative in Zimbabwe called Ndolwane Mini-grid is one example of what can be done in every village around the world.

A very progressive Head of State of a country in West Africa recently read about our mini-grid and asked for details, as he wants to roll out such mini-grids throughout his country. I was completely blown away and offered them all the technical assistance.

FastForward: Our new #Home-Based Care Initiative:

When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, I realized that most of the people who get sick in Africa will suffer from their homes, rather than in hospitals, simply because our hospitals cannot cope. I said there just was not enough time in most instances to get hospitals ready, even though we should try. India and China have built hospitals in weeks that can handle 10,000 people!

I proposed that African governments adopt what I called #Home-Based Care Initiatives. Here is how it works: When someone gets sick, the government, working with faith organizations and professional healthcare volunteers (ALWAYS wearing appropriate PPEs and taking proper precautions) should visit the person’s home, and offer the following assistance for a period of up to three months whilst they recover:

#1. Ensure that the COVID-positive person’s home is warm and dry, even if it is a shack;

#2. Ensure that the COVID-positive person has access to warm healthy meals every single day;

#3. Ensure that the COVID-positive persons have access to freshwater every day;

#4. Ensure that COVID-positive people have access to medical assistance, even if it is simply the ability to talk to someone on the phone. At Econet in Zimbabwe we have a “Dial A Doc” hotline (147) to call to talk to doctors;

#5. Give support to the COVID-positive person’s family, particularly if they are living with children, who may also be infected. Such support is required for a period of up to three months and would cost be up to US$50. It is not very much but it also helps the country to contain COVID-19 effectively.

Remember my formula for fighting COVID-19:
I-Inform;
T-Test;
T-Trace Contacts;
I-Isolate;
T-Treatment [however limited the medial options]

#ITTIT

Strive Masiyiwa Offers US$50 Per Month For Covid-19 Patients

This week I’m pleased to announce that the Higherlife Foundation is launching a pilot of the Home-Based Care Initiative, which I hope the whole of Africa will consider adopting. Under the program, we will offer a package of support to every single person who has tested COVID-19 positive. (We already offer free testing, for anyone who thinks they are positive). In particular, we are interested in anyone suffering at home who is doing so quietly and unreported.

They must first call us on our Dial A Doc Hotline: 147. We will immediately test them and their families for free. If they test positive for the coronavirus, we will activate our free Home-Based Care Support Initiative which includes:

# Family support valued at up to up to US$50 per month per family for up to three months.
# Blankets, food, water, and free airtime (to call us for assistance) for up to three months.

Our only interest is to help people and stop the disease from spreading to others, including to loved ones at home who could be more vulnerable to the worst symptoms of the coronavirus.

Make no mistake, this is a fight for our lives.

Yes, this initiative is only in Zimbabwe, but I want you to engage those in your own community who are able to do the same. It’s important to do this safely, and it’s critical we plan ahead urgently!

#SolutionSeekers across Africa, we need you, too, to do your part…

This thing is spreading fast, and we have to all raise our game before it is too late.

#ThisIsHowWeFight!

Since the coronavirus started, Masiyiwa has been at the forefront in fighting the virus and has sourced and donated ventilator suites to Zimbabwe hospitals. He has also set up funds ensure that nurses and doctors are able to go to work and are protected during this critical period.

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