Interactive online platform to serve mental wellbeing of community during crisis



KUWAIT:  Zain, the leading digital service provider in Kuwait, announced its support to the National Counselling Program for COVID-19 (Corona Care Kw), a volunteer program that offers a free online interactive platform for mental health support to the Kuwaiti community during the exceptional circumstances to fight the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Kuwait.

Zain’s support to this volunteer initiative came as part of the company’s commitment towards the nation during this crisis and in line with its comprehensive corporate sustainability and social responsibility strategy. Zain was keen on reflecting the Kuwaiti private sector’s role in supporting volunteer efforts exerted by Kuwaitis to shoulder the country’s tremendous efforts in protecting the health and stability of the nation.

Zain supports this program by offering FREE lines to the program’s team to facilitate their communication and coordination, as well as sending FREE bulk SMS messages to the public to introduce the program and spread its cause. Zain also supports the program by posting its goals on the company’s official social media channels to reach the biggest number of people and contribute to the mental wellbeing of the community as much as possible.

The National Counselling Program for COVID-19 (Corona Care Kw) offers an interactive online platform to serve the mental wellbeing of people in Kuwait during the current exceptional situation. The program offers two main means of support; the first being through recorded content produced by experts in their fields who address frequently asked questions related to mental health during the pandemic. The second is one-on-one virtual consultations to three priority segments: doctors and medical staff working in the frontlines, people who tested positive with COVID-19, and people who are currently in institutional quarantine.

All the services offered by the program are executed and supervised by a team of mental health experts. The initiative’s team includes over 900 expert volunteers, including over 70 counsellors. The program follows standards that are adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO), and can offer a capacity of over 300 sessions per week to offer the required results and contribute to supporting anyone who may need mental support during this crisis.

As part of its national commitment during this crisis, Zain recently offered nearly 30,000 meals in collaboration with the Kuwait Food Bank, where a large number of the meals was distributed during the week dedicated by the Ministry of Health at Kuwait International Fairgrounds in Mishref to conduct tests for residents who recently entered the country. The meals were a contribution by the company to ease the long waiting times while waiting in line. Many meals are also being continuously distributed at Kuwait International Airport’s gates dedicated for residents who are returning to their countries because of this crisis.

Zain also offers many smartphone charging stations at Kuwait International Airport to serve Kuwaiti citizens who are returning home as part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ evacuation plan to bring Kuwaitis back home from all over the world during this crisis. This contribution aimed at facilitating communication between returning Kuwaitis and their families as soon as they arrive to Kuwait. Zain is also continuously distributing a large number of meals to them in collaboration with the Kuwait Food Bank and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

As part of its commitment to the nation during this crisis, Zain recently announced offering free Internet caps and local voice calls for a period of one month in collaboration with the Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA). The initiative came as part of the company’s commitment towards its customers during these exceptional circumstances. Zain also changed its network’s name to STAY HOME in line with the directives of the Council of Ministers to remind its valued customers to commit to staying at home as much as possible and contribute to ending this pandemic together.

The company also launched a social media campaign entitled “This is Your Time” to send positive messages to the public about the importance of being a responsible citizen in this time of crisis, not listen to rumors nor spread them, take part in volunteer efforts, commit to staying at home, as well as abiding by the authorities directives.

Since the beginning of the crisis, Zain collaborated with the Ministry of Health to offer its customers FREE calls to any of MOH’s three hotlines; 24970967, 96049698, and 99048619 in order to enable them to inquire about any health or medical information related to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) directly from the ministry’s specialized team and ensure taking the correct information from the official and certified sources.

As part of its continuous collaboration with the various ministries, Zain also provided the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Interior with FREE bulk SMS messages to send medical and awareness content to the community during this period. In addition, the company sent a number of awareness messages in collaboration with MOH’s team through its official social media channels. Zain also broadcasted official MOH awareness videos on coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in seven languages: Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Farsi, Filipino, Bengali, and Santhali.

Zain affirmed its utmost commitment in all the instructions and precautionary measures outlined by the Ministry of Health to contribute to fighting the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Kuwait. Zain supplied all its branches that are operational during the official break, as well as all its kiosks and self-service machines in all of Kuwait’s areas with sanitizers, and the company’s team continuously and periodically sanitizes all operational branches and all machines and products to ensure the safety of customers and staff. Zain also notified all sales staff to wear medical gloves, stop the use of biometric devices, and more.

Zain also launched an internal awareness campaign for the safety of its employees, through which the company distributed precautionary items and sanitizers to all staff and sent periodic awareness content.