Health and wellness direct selling company, AMWAY Malaysia, concludes its recent “Let’s Fight COVID-19 Together” donation campaign, having raised RM 326,940 to support the purchase of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) COVID-19 test kits for University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC).
AMWAY Malaysia handed over an additional RM170,940 on top of the initial handover of RM156,000 donated in May. The total donation value will be used to purchase over 6,500 RT-PCR test kits.
“With these test kits, we hope to help UMMC facilitate their COVID-19 testing capacity as we journey through the recovery period. As COVID-19 positive cases continue to fluctuate with sporadic clusters in the RMCO phase, we need to remain vigilant until a vaccine is found and made available,” shared Mr. Mike Duong, Managing Director of AMWAY Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
“We view the COVID-19 pandemic as a shared responsibility. As a company with a committed vision of helping people live better and healthier lives, this joint partnership with UMMC, reflects our desire to see the community we serve and operate in come out of this crisis, stronger together,” he added.
The campaign, launched on April 20, 2020 was in collaboration with AMWAY Malaysia‘s ABOs (Amway Malaysia Business Owners), due to the increased volume of testing that Malaysia has undertaken since the early stages of COVID-19 detection in the country. As of May 2020, more than 425,000 individuals have been tested and the volume continues to grow, hence the availability of test kits is crucial for healthcare facilities.
“The recovery phase is equally important for Malaysia, especially with businesses and daily life returning gradually. UMMC currently has a capacity of conducting up to 400 tests per day at our facility,” shared Prof Dr Tunku Kamarul Zaman Tunku Zainol Abidin, Director of University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC).
UMMC, he said, will initiate an order for more test kits with the funds received today, adding up to the purchase of over 3,000 test kits from the initial funds received from the campaign.
“We are deeply grateful for the assistance and contributions we received from AMWAY Malaysia. It is heartening to see how the company stepped up to the call for help, meeting our immediate needs and initiating the campaign to assist us,” said Prof Dr Tunku Kamarul Zaman Tunku Zainol Abidin.
UMMC, he added, will continue to be vigilant and on guard for the possibility of another wave of COVID-19 cases. “As people go back to their daily lives, albeit with relaxed-MCO SOP, the possibility and risks are still there. We certainly hope it will not happen, but it is better to be prepared than to take things for granted during the RMCO phase.”
“We would like to say a special thanks to all our ABOs and employees for consistently stepping up and standing by Malaysia. Their willingness to grow the campaign fund has given us the opportunity to support UMMC and continue our efforts in aiding the nation in times of need,” Duong concluded.
To date, AMWAY Malaysia has donated over RM2.2 million worth of in kind and cash donation towards COVID relief efforts. During the early stages of COVID-19 pandemic period, AMWAY Malaysia supported different healthcare facilities by donation of 250 Atmosphere Air Purifier units, worth RM1.4 million to the Ministry of Health (MoH). Apart from government hospitals, AMWAY Malaysia also donated 25 units of the same air purifiers to the National Cancer Council (MAKNA) centres and 71 units to rumah tunas harapan homes under the Social Welfare Department nationwide.