International Breweries (IB), a member of the Anheuser-busch INBEV has donated medical supplies to five states and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
IB has joined the efforts of other leading private organisations to support states and the Federal Government initiatives geared at alleviating the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The organisation has donated 30,000 bottles of hand sanitisers, Personal Protective Equipment (PPES) for front-line workers, test kits, N10million to NCDC, and 60,000 bottles of nutritious non-alcoholic Malta drinks among others.
Building on the company’s longstanding commitment to its vision of ‘Bringing People Together for a Better World’, IB, in a statement, said its COVID- 19 support efforts have been based on a collaborative approach of gathering insights from communities and stakeholders needed to provide tailored interventions with great impact.
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“As an organisation, we are always looking to support our local communities and are positive that our donation will assist and support the government and our communities greatly in the fight against the spread of this pandemic,” said Hugo Dias Rocha, managing director, International Breweries Plc.
“We appreciate and lend our voice to the various initiatives by the Federal Government of Nigeria, the State Governments, the private sector to which we belong and all other sectors, organizations, individual and players that have all teamed together to assist in curbing the spread of COVID-19,” said Rocha.
“We stand with you, and indeed the world, in the joint resolution to eradicate this virus and its impact on communities and economies,” he added. He further said that the organisation is pleased to be part of the solution for its communities and would continue to explore other areas collaboration and support.
In the same vein, Temitope Oguntokun, legal and corporate affairs director, said, “Our longstanding commitment to our core values of Health, Safety, Environment and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), readily serves us in this trying time. We will continue to drive COVID-19 awareness and interventions with our employees and in our communities.”
“A number of the donations have been distributed across the states and communities while some are still ongoing,” Oguntokun said.
Oguntokun stated that aside from the donations, IB has been supporting its employees with resources and consistent COVID- 19 information to stay safe and healthy.
She also said that as part of the company’s other ongoing collaboration to curtail the spread of the virus, the company, through its International Breweries Foundation is currently engaging with government and other stakeholders on the production of local face masks.
“We believe this intervention will go a long way to reduce the further spread of the virus while also boosting our already challenged economy through youth entrepreneurship,” she said.
