On Friday May 1st, Airtel Rwanda delivered its contribution of Rwf135 million to the Ministry of Health to support Rwanda’s ongoing efforts to combat COVID-19 pandemic. The event was attended by Amit Chawla, Managing Director of Airtel Rwanda and Dr. Daniel Ngamije, Minister of Health. In his remark, Dr. Ngamije expressed his gratitude to Airtel Rwanda for their solidarity. “We are thankful for the support from Airtel Rwanda. This is a good sign of solidarity and humanity from Airtel staff and it will help to support our national COVID-19 response plan. We will continue partnership and collaboration for the good of our people,” he noted. He added: “Airtel has already taken several steps to help mitigate the impact of social distancing on its customers during the coronavirus outbreak.” Managing Director of Airtel Rwanda emphasized both parties and appreciated the work and efforts of the ministry and frontline workers to fight the pandemic. “Today, we are grateful for the opportunity to present our donation and be part of the national efforts to combat the COVID-19. This contribution is a token of our gratitude towards the role played by the Frontline workers who are executing the Governments effort to end the Global pandemic,” he said. Airtel Rwanda recognizes the plight that is affecting frontline health workers, and wished to extend its support in battling against COVID-19. The telecommunication company has sustained its effort to support the government through different initiatives. Among them is a toll free line 114 that Airtel subscribers can call, free of charge, to give information on the COVID-19. It has also waived internet fee to access e-Learning platforms under Rwanda Education Board, University of Rwanda and Rwanda Polutechnic, to facilitate students’ continues remote learning. Recently, 5 additional private universities were added to the list and their e-Learning portals were made freely-accessible. These include INES, UOK, ITAB, CHUR, KP and AUCA. In addition, Airtel made person-to-person money transfer free to support social distancing and foster the use of digital payments among communities. It has also made SMS service free to allow families and friends remain in touch. Airtel Rwanda is a provider of telecommunications and mobile money services, with a presence in 14 countries in Africa, primarily in East, Central and West Africa. It has been operating in Rwanda since 2012.
