East African Breweries Limited (EABL) has donated Ksh. 50 million in cash to the Kenya COVID-19 Emergency Fund.
This is in addition to the Ksh. 50 million that the alcohol manufacturer provided to fund the production of 135,000 litres of hand sanitisers by two Nairobi-based industries in the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic. The company also invested Ksh. 20 million to distribute the sanitisers to various organizations.
This brings to Ksh. 120 million the amount the company has committed so far towards alleviating the crisis in Kenya. EABL had already spent Ksh. 70 million to fund the production and distribution of 1 million hand sanitiser packs to front line health workers and vulnerable communities. The company also undertook a public awareness campaign to help fight the spread of Covid-19.
EABL Group MD, Andrew Cowan, said the money would go directly to the Fund, whose efforts are concentrated on mitigating the impact of the coronavirus on the needy. “At this critical time, with our country in the middle of the biggest crisis since independence, EABL continues to partner the Government of Kenya to combat the spread of Covid-19 disease, to save lives. We are pleased to complement Kenya COVID-19 Emergency Fund’s role in helping frontline health workers and others in critical need during this time,” said Mr Cowan.
In March, EABL handed over a consignment to AMREF Health Africa and Kenya Red Cross Society for distribution to frontline health workers and vulnerable communities in the informal settlements of Kibera, Mukuru, Mathare and Kawangware in Nairobi and Kondele and Obunga in Kisumu.
The company also partnered with the Government and its agencies, such as the Kenya Pipeline Corporation, to distribute state-funded sanitiser across the country. Through twin projects (EABL’s and the KPC project), the company helped distribute sanitiser packs to dozens of counties across Kenya. These include Kisumu, Kisii, Migori, Nairobi, Kiambu,Murang’a, Kirinyaga, Nyeri, Nyandarua, Machakos, Makueni, Narok, Trans Nzoia, Kericho, Murang’a, Mombasa, Kilifi, among others.
Besides these, EABL also delivered hand sanitiser packs to the National Police Service and Kenyatta National Hospital, targeting more frontline health workers.