Amref Health Africa in Kenya Partners with the Coca-Cola Foundation to Enhance Personal Protective Equipment Production

Nairobi, Tuesday, 19th May 2020… Amref Health Africa in Kenya with support from The Coca-Cola Foundation and Coca-Cola Beverages Africa Kenya (CCBA Kenya) has today commenced the manufacturing of quality and affordable personal protective equipment (PPE) to fight COVID-19 at its Dagoretti Fashion and Design Centre in Nairobi.

The initiative is supporting young women and girls from informal settlements around Nairobi to produce masks and surgical gowns to be affordably sold to local communities and hospitals across the country to help in preventing the spread of COVID-19.

“We expect to sell the masks at subsidized prices of up to 50% discount within Dagoretti, working with community health workers as the primary distribution channel. We will also make use of Amref programmes across the country to distribute the masks in their areas of implementation,” said Dr Meshack Ndirangu, Amref Health Africa in Kenya’s Country Director.

“The support from the Coca-Cola Foundation is assisting to meet the country’s urgent need for quality-assured PPE for use by the community and health workers. It is also creating an opportunity for young women to gain skills that are enabling them to earn a living at a time when many businesses have been disrupted. We look forward to seeing them make use of these new competencies to start their own enterprises,” said Xavier Selga, Managing Director, Coca-Cola Beverages Africa Kenya.

The Coca-Cola Foundation is providing Amref Health Africa with a total of Kshs 17.5 million to support several health initiatives in the fight against the spread of Coronavirus in the country. In addition to the production of PPEs, Amref Health Africa will use the funds to provide access to enhanced hand hygiene and sanitation to communities in need across the country.

“The private sector continues to play a big role in supporting initiatives that seek to control the spread of this pandemic. We are pleased to have received funds from The Coca-Cola Foundation that will enable us to reach communities in Kibera, Muoroto and Kisumu Ndogo in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kilifi counties respectively with water, hygiene and sanitation services including handwashing points to prevent the spread of this disease in these populous areas,” added Dr Ndirangu.

Other activities under this initiative include building the capacity of the Ministry of Health staff to undertake disinfection and decontamination of public premises, providing basic diagnostic and screening equipment, and supporting women and youth groups to make hygiene products such as soap.

The support is part of Coca-Cola’s global efforts to help control the spread of COVID-19 with Kenya being among the 13 African countries in East and Central Africa receiving support.

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About Amref Health Africa in Kenya

Amref Health Africa is a non-governmental organization headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, and established in 1957. Our vision is Lasting Health Change in Kenya, with operations in all 47 counties. Building on over six decades of experience, working closely with communities, county, and national governments, and other stakeholders, we provide a broad range of services designed to empower communities and strengthen health systems.

We believe that health is a basic human right. Everything we do ensures lasting health change for all.

For more information on Amref’s work, please visit our website: https://amref.org/kenya

About the Coca-Cola Foundation

The Coca-Cola Foundation is the global philanthropic arm of The Coca-Cola Company. Since its inception in 1984, the Foundation has awarded more than $1 billion in grants to support sustainable community initiatives around the world. For more information about The Coca-Cola Foundation, please visit https://www.coca-colacompany.com/shared-future/communities/the-coca-cola-foundation

About Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA)

CCBA bottles and distributes beverages whose trademarks are owned by The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) or TCCC’s affiliated entities and is the world’s 8th largest Coca-Cola bottler by revenue. CCBA has over 16 000 employees across its operations in Africa with almost 40 bottling plants in 13 countries.

The creation of CCBA in 2016 was designed to advance a consolidated, more successful Coca-Cola system on the continent, and also in Ethiopia. Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) accounts for about 40% of all Coca-Cola volumes sold in Africa.

CCBA began its operations as a legal entity from July 2016 having been created as a direct result of a merger between non-alcoholic ready to drink bottling operations of The Coca-Cola Company, (then) SABMiller and the Gutsche Family Investments. CCBA shareholders now are The Coca-Cola Company 66.5% and Gutsche Family Investments 33.5%.

CCBA boasts a diverse pan-African footprint servicing over 650 000 outlets that serve a combined population of over 249 million people across the continent. Our operations in sub-Saharan Africa comprise the following markets: South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Namibia, Ghana, Mayotte, Comoros, Botswana, Zambia and most recently, Eswatini.

CCBA is a world-class, customer-orientated, socially, and environmentally conscious fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company. Sales and distribution excellence are our core strengths.

Aligned with The Coca-Cola Company’s 2020 Vision, CCBA is pursuing an ambitious growth strategy that will be supported through investment in manufacturing, sales, distribution, and marketing.

CCBA aspires to refresh Africa every day and to make the continent a better place for all.