Romanian minister complains about lack of support against COVID-19 as private donation for local hospitals reach over 20 mln

Romania’s labor minister Violeta Alexandru complained in a Facebook post about the “feeble” support the Government has received from local communities and NGOs in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, companies and individuals in Romania have donated over EUR 20 mln in little over a month to help local hospitals.

“Unfortunately, the help from the community, including through the contribution of non-governmental entities, has been weak so far. We have seen few communities mobilizing, putting together resources and a desire to fight together,” the labor minister wrote in her post. She also complained that the Government and president Klaus Iohannis have been left alone in managing the crisis.

Meanwhile, donation campaigns initiated by large NGOs such as the Red Cross, Save the Children, Daruieste Viata and the Magic Association, as well as smaller community donation campaigns initiated by individuals and associations in various cities, have raised over 20 million since the COVID-19 pandemic reached Romania, according to the latest estimates.

At least 50 companies in Romania have announced donations of over EUR 100,000, according to data centralized by Romania-Insider.com. Their total contribution amounted to over EUR 15 million in cash and equipment and materials.

The biggest donation campaign, Romania saves Romania, carried out by the Red Cross, has raised over EUR 5.3 million in donations alone.

However, there are probably hundreds of companies that have supported local initiatives such as the ones carried out by Stefan Mandachi in Suceava or Bogdan Tanasa of Casa Share in Iasi.

The money raised by these campaigns has been used to buy protective equipment for medical personnel, real-time PCR testing equipment, and medical ventilators for ATI units that treat COVID-19 patients.

Moreover, these initiatives were the first to respond to the calls for help from local hospitals as doctors and nurses were complaining about the lack of protective equipment and COVID-19 testing equipment.

At the same time, dozens of companies, even among those most affected by the restrictions imposed by the authorities, have mobilized to provide free meals, free rides, free accommodation to first-line personnel, and food packages to vulnerable people, in an unprecedented solidarity effort that the authorities have failed to acknowledge so far.