Johannesburg - MTN South Africa joined the global drive to assist survivors of Cyclone Idai and pledged R500 000 to medical humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders.
This comes after the cyclone had displaced and led to the loss of thousands of lives in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
MTN in a statement said the contribution will be used to provide emergency medical assistance to the survivors of the floods.
Doctors Without Borders has already dispatched emergency medical teams to Mozambique, and has set up a mobile clinic in the coastal city of Beira, one of most severely affected areas.
"Our hearts go out to all those who have been affected by Cyclone Idai. The devastation left in its wake is a tragedy that will be felt for generations to come. A human calamity of this magnitude calls upon all of us to assist in whichever way we can to alleviate the challenges being faced by those impacted. At MTN, we felt that the least we could do was to make a speedy contribution," General Manager: MTN SA Foundation, Kusile Mtunzi-Hairwadzi said.
The donation, according to MTN, will go towards assisting Doctors Without Borders to improve capacity at its mobile clinic, install makeshift roofs at two healthcare centres and also dispatch more medical and other essential supplies to areas that are adversely affected.
"We are encouraged and touched by the outpouring of support from South Africa - ranging from individuals and non-governmental organisations to other corporate companies. At MTN, we hope that our contribution will, in some small way, improve the ability of emergency medical teams to offer much-needed support to the survivors, many of whom are the most vulnerable members of society, including women, children and the elderly," said Mtunzi-Hairwadzi.