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HSBC helps rebuild Aceh with new clinic
10 March 2005
HSBC has donated US$470,000 to build an innovative new medical centre on the west coast of Aceh, Indonesia, as part of its commitment to help rebuild the area after the devastation caused by the tsunamis on Boxing Day last year.
The new clinic – which can treat up to 100 people every day - will be funded by a US$200,000 donation from HSBC in Indonesia and US$270,000 from a US$1 million pot pledged by HSBC Holdings plc following the disaster.
Although the clinic will initially be staffed by a small number of staff, its design allows it to be adapted over time to produce a fully functional 40-bed hospital. It can also be relocated once reconstruction works in the region have finished.
Chief Executive of HSBC Indonesia, Richard McHowat, said: "For us, this represents a very innovative way to bridge the period between army field hospitals leaving Aceh and a more permanent reconstruction of healthcare facilities in the future.
“We understand that up to 70 of such facilities could be used along the coast, and we hope that this pilot project of an Indonesian-built clinic will be the catalyst for more to be built."
The Aceh Province in Sumatra was decimated by the tsunamis, with around 220,000 of its population estimated to have been killed. The clean-up operation and reconstruction work is still ongoing, 73 days after the tragedy.
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