Nepal Red Cross Society and Coca-Cola Nepal Start Second Phase of Distributing Ventilators and Safety Gears

Coca-Cola and Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) have commenced the second phase of handing over safety gear and equipment to various hospitals and volunteers to enhance the safety of health workers, patients and volunteers working at the frontline amidst Covid-19 pandemic.

The total value of the equipment to be handed over to the Government of Nepal for use in various hospitals is approx Rs. 1.4 crores. Under this partnership, ventilators will be handed over to the major hospitals in all the seven provinces of the country and personal safety equipment will be handed over to the health workers and volunteers.

The second phase of the safety gears & equipment distribution campaign kicked off today in the presence of the Honorable Minister for Health and Population Bhanubhakta Dhakal at the Ministry of Health and Population premise.

Appreciating the joint efforts for the second phase, Honorable Minister Dhakal expressed his commitment to distribute ventilators provided by Red Cross in collaboration with Coca-Cola. The plan is to provide ventilators in major hospitals of all seven provinces. Expecting the health ordinance brought by the government to ease the fight against the pandemic, Minister Dhakal said at the handover ceremony, “The cooperation and support of all stakeholders as our obligation to fight the pandemic amidst various shortages is commendable.”

Minister Dhakal handed over the equipment provided by NRCS and Coca-Cola to the Sagar Rajkarnikar, Director, Sukraraj Tropical and Communicable Diseases Hospital, Teku. The handover ceremony was held in the presence of Acting Chairperson of Nepal Red Cross Society Ms. Sarmila Karki, General Secretary Mr. Pitamber Aryal, Executive Director Mr. Umesh Prasad Dhakal, Central Member Dipendra Dhakal, Director Pawan Gupta and Ms. Irina Karki, Country PACS Manager and Mr. Hari Sharma Neupane, Human Resource Director on behalf of Coca-Cola including 100 set safety glasses, 120 Box Surgical mask, 150 set PPE, 50 box gloves and 200 set KN 95 masks.

Similarly, 48,000 units of surgical masks, 1,600 units of KN-95 Masks, 550 sets of PPE, 400 pairs of safety glasses, and 10,000 pairs of gloves along with one ventilator each will be handed over to the designated hospitals in seven provinces within the next two weeks. Arrangements have been made to handover the equipment to Koshi Zonal Hospital Morang, Narayani Sub-Regional Hospital Parsa, Bharatpur Hospital Chitwan, Pokhara Health Science Hospital Kaski, Bheri Zonal Hospital Banke, Midwest Regional Hospital Surkhet, and Seti Zonal Hospital Kailali.

“As Nepal fights to contain COV1D-19, we all need to ensure there is ample support provided to the Government. Coca-Cola’s partnership with Nepal Red Cross provides safety gear for front line workers and ventilators for the treatment of patients”, said Pradip Pandey, Managing Director of Bottlers Nepal Limited.

"This partnership between Nepal Red Cross Society and Coca-Cola in Nepal is an effort to prevent and control the spread of Corona and protect frontline health workers and patients," Nepal Red Cross Society’s Acting Chairperson Sarmila Karki said.

Speaking on the occasion Nepal Red Cross Society, General Secretary Pitamabar Aryal said that they were working in collaborations with the Nepal Government and other stakeholders to prevent and control the spread of Covid-19. The partnership with Coca-Cola is to support with safety gears to frontline health workers and to all people who come for Covid treatment.

About Coca-Cola in Nepal

Coca-Cola in Nepal refreshes consumers across the country through its core product offerings of Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta and Kinley, and impacts thousands as a System. The Company works with WWF Nepal, WaterAid Nepal and Smartpaani on innovative integrated water management solutions for water conservation, water replenishment and to improve livelihoods of communities. As part of The Coca-Cola Company’s commitment towards a ‘World Without Waste’, Coca-Cola Nepal has been working with Himalayan Climate Initiative and GIZ for a PET Recollection Social enterprise that encourages recycling of PET waste in Kathmandu and recently partnered with Creasion to establish a responsible PET recovery and recycling hub in Chitwan. Through the STAR Retailer training program, Coca-Cola Nepal is also empowering women retailers, in line with The Coca-Cola Company's global 5BY20 initiative. Coca-Cola Nepal continually engages in locally relevant initiations to bring about a positive difference to the lives of communities across the country.