Solidarity Fund gets R14m boost from Netherlands govt donation

NPO The Solidarity Fund has received a sizeable €750,000 (R14 million) donation from the Netherlands government to help fight Covid-19, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) confirmed in a statement on Friday. 

The donation formed part of a meeting between Dirco minister Naledi Pandor and Netherlands foreign affairs minister Ben Knapen in November, in which the country made its donation intention known. 

The decision has been welcomed by Pandor, who said the Netherlands had been an “important partner” for South Africa in the battle against Covid-19.

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“It was one of the first countries to donate test kits to South Africa at the start of the pandemic and has been consistent in its support since then.”

Nearly 86 percent of all adults in the Netherlands have been vaccinated, AFP reports.

Solidarity Fund and Covid-19 projects

The Solidarity Fund has so far received R3.45 billion in funding for Covid-19 relief efforts, and has disbursed R2.9 billion across its health, humanitarian and behavioural change projects. 

The Fund said many projects were also in the pipeline. 

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R171 million has so far been allocated to provide vaccines to those living in hard-to-reach areas, with 183 outreach sites set up. This has resulted in more than 427,000 vaccine doses being administered since August 2021. 

The Fund also assisted the National Department of Health, in the form of R69 million, along with other donors, to assist with technical expertise and human resource capacity to coordinate the Covid-19 vaccine rollout programme. 

A further R40 million has also been spent on a Covid-19 antibody survey earlier this year. 

Compiled by Nica Richards