Excelerate donates to Covid-19 Relief Effort at World’s Largest Refugee Camp
JUNE 16, 2020
Dhaka, Bangladesh – Excelerate Energy L.P. (Excelerate) today announced that it has become a key sponsor of the HOPE Foundation for Women and Children of Bangladesh (HOPE Foundation) to support the organization’s COVID-19 relief efforts at the Rohingya camp outside Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh – home to more than one million refugees. The donation will help fund the HOPE Isolation and Treatment Center, which is expected to open in late June.
With the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 appearing in mid-May, the HOPE Foundation, along with the Government of Bangladesh and other non-government organizations, has been rapidly working to establish community awareness programs and health facilities to reduce the risk of widespread infection to the vulnerable Rohingya population. The HOPE Isolation and Treatment Center will be a 50-bed isolation and treatment facility located adjacent to its existing 50-bed field hospital in the refugee camp. Excelerate’s donation will provide up to 10,000 patients a year with outpatient and in-patient services, diagnostics, critical care, emergency transportation, PPE for staff and the surrounding community, staff training, and awareness programs. The project has also received donations from other key co-sponsors, including World Bank, Islamic Development Bank, and Direct Relief USA.
“We are honored to support the people in Bangladesh during these unprecedented times,” stated Excelerate’s Managing Director Steven Kobos. “We have worked in this community since 2018 and feel deeply for those impacted. We hope our contribution will provide the HOPE Foundation with the necessary means to help combat this pandemic in the communities that need it most.”
“We would like to thank Excelerate Energy for their generous contribution and strong support of the HOPE Foundation’s efforts in combating the effects of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases to the most vulnerable communities of Bangladesh,” said the founder and President of HOPE Foundation, Dr. Iftikher Mahmood. “This substantial donation will have a significant impact during these challenging times and creates a platform from which Excelerate and HOPE Foundation can continue to grow its partnership to provide lasting benefits to the communities we serve.”
Since 1999, HOPE Foundation has been providing quality health services to the most marginalized population in rural Bangladesh through education, community outreach, and compassionate healthcare. The foundation operates 20 facilities in the southern region of Bangladesh in the Cox’s Bazar district. The facilities include a 40-bed community maternity hospital, a 50-bed field hospital in the refugee camp, nine Sexual and Reproductive Health centers for refugees, and nine birth centers.
Excelerate began operations in Bangladesh in 2018 with its Moheshkhali Floating LNG (MLNG) terminal – the country’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facility. The terminal provides much needed natural gas to the Chattogram region of Bangladesh to power homes and industry in the region.