When Zambia entered a third wave of Covid-19 in about June 2021, the club agreed that urgent support was needed and decided to act. Meetings were held to discuss what they could do to help. Two Zambians living in the UK, Dr Lloyd Lukama and Dr Emmanuel Zyambo who are owners of businesses providing care services in the UK volunteered to donate excess PPE in their possession. During the UK’s first Covid-19 wave in March 2020 the two had ordered containers of PPE from China to protect their staff and clients. Roll forward to July 2021 when Zambia is at the height of a third wave and things relatively more settled in the UK, Dr Lukama and Dr Zyambo kindly offered to donate excess PPE from their businesses and managed to put together 23 boxes containing various PPE (face masks, face shields etc).

In the first week of July, Rotary E-Club of Zambezi’s chair Mulemba Kandeke and club members set up a target to raise £500 to urgently ship some of the PPE to Zambia, liaising with Rotary Club of Lusaka to receive the items. Mulemba also started looking for other sources to fund the shipment and contacted Dr Alick Nkhoma of GAZHP. Dr Nkhoma advised Mulemba to put their request in writing to GAZHP for the executive’s consideration. GAZHP agreed to make up the shortfall required for the shipment of all 23 boxes.

Following arrival of the PPE in Lusaka, at the time of writing Mulemba is currently liaising with Lusaka Rotary Club, Dr Naeem Dalal from the Zambia Medical Association (ZMA) and a GAZHP member to coordinate the clearing and distribution of the PPE to hospitals and healthcare centres.

Rotary E-Club of Zambezi working with GAZHP have organised the collection of 35 more boxes of PPE to ship to Zambia and are currently working with GAZHP who will be paying for the shipment of the second consignment.