Bartsits on the movement ‘We (Are) Together’: united, we have a chance to cope with coronavirus
Boris Bartsits
SUKHUM -- Boris Bartsits, a member of the Inter-departmental Operational Headquarters for the Protection of the Population from the Coronavirus, and a representative of the ‘We Are Together’-movement, spoke about the goals and principles of the movement's work in the fight against the infectious disease.
About 50 million roubles ($656,250.00) have been collected by entrepreneurs in Abkhazia and the Moscow Abkhazian diaspora to acquire equipment: protective items and test-systems necessary for the fight against the coronavirus infection.
“The main goal of the ‘We-Together’-movement is to provide financial assistance in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus-infection in Abkhazia,” said Boris Bartsits, a member of the Inter-departmental Operational Headquarters for the Protection of the Population from Coronavirus, and a spokesman for the movement in Abkhazia.
“Funds are needed to purchase vital medical equipment, supplies, various personal protective items, disinfectants, test-systems for detecting COVID-19. Our republic’s entrepreneurs initiated the idea of creating the ‘We Are Together’-movement and published an appeal to citizens to participate in raising funds. We have already experienced the phases of denial and awareness of this problem, and we understand that we must act quickly and in conditions of limited resources,” said Bartsits.
+ First orders of the Ministry of Health paid from funds collected by entrepreneurs of Abkhazia
+ Businessmen of Abkhazia will create a fund to fight against coronavirus
According to him, it was decided to create a fund-raising mechanism that meets two principles: openness and efficiency.
“We must be guided by these two principles, since fund-raising is a very difficult matter. It requires not only the desire of citizens to participate in the process, but also there must be trust. For this, we need openness and efficiency. We created a dedicated site (‘We – Together’). Now, more than ever, we all need to join forces; we have the opportunity, the chance to cope with the situation that may arise in Abkhazia," said Bartsits.
On 26 March, entrepreneurs of the republic met with the acting President of Abkhazia Valeri Bganba. They discussed issues related to the threat of the spread of the coronavirus-infection COVID-19 in Abkhazia. Then, an initiative group of entrepreneurs created the platform ‘We Are Together’, on which you can find out all the details for transferring funds to help Abkhazia in the fight against coronavirus.
According to official data, no cases of coronavirus-infection have been detected in Abkhazia.