Pope Francis has donated four thousand Covid-19 test kits to the homeless and the poor in Rome as their Christmas gift.
The swab kits were donated to the Holy Father from Slovakia.
The initiative led by the Office of Papal Charities, in collaboration with the Institute of Solidarity Medicine and IFO San Gallicano and in agreement with Rome municipality, will make Covid-19 tests available for the homeless in the Italian capital.
In a statement, the Institute of Solidarity Medicine expressed its heartfelt gratitude to Pope Francis and to Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almsgiver who heads the Office of Papal Charities for the charitable gesture.
For over sixteen years, the non-profit making organization with its highly-qualified medical staff, health workers and volunteers has been committed to combating poverty and improving access to health for the poor and marginalized social groups living in and around Rome.
Seventy percent of its patients are immigrants and the Roma people. Thirty percent are Italians and seventy percent are women. END
