Coca-Cola Beverage Africa has finally fulfilled its pledge to the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga.
Over the weekend, the soft drinks giants in partnership with Medshare International delivered vital medical supplies worth Sh1.4 billion ($ 417,093) to Kamuli Hospital, as earlier promised by Kadaga.
Kadaga, who was the guest of honour at the hand over of the equipment, made the request to Coca-Cola in 2014. The agreement to secure the equipment was between Medshare, Coca-Cola and the Ministry of Health together with the Office of the Speaker of Parliament. It was to deliver medical equipment to hospitals in Kamuli, Kakuuto and Kalangala.
“The private sector has a vital role to play in the development of our country. When we come together, we can develop our communities a sector at a time. Today, the health sector in Kamuli has received hi-tech medical equipment, thanks to Medshare who donated this equipment and CCBA who covered the costs and handled all the logistics,” she said.
“By harnessing the power of this coalition to get life-saving medicines to the people that need them most, we can help to bend the curve and accelerate reductions in child and maternal deaths,” she added.
With a focus on maternal health and infant care, CCBA delivered machines such as fetal scanners, infant warmers, delivery beds, an electrical surgery unit, an anesthetic unit, an oxygen concentrator, lab equipment, wheel chairs and many others. They also renovated the maternity and pediatric wards of the hospital.
Speaking at the handover ceremony in Kamuli, the CCBA Uganda Human Resource Director, Martha Munnu Omer said: “We know that our business can only be as strong as the communities we serve, and we’re honored that we could use our expertise to improve the distribution of medicine and medical supplies. This project has been a great and growing success so far, and we look forward to working with our partners to improve lives across more communities in Uganda, and Africa at large.”
She added that CCBA is privileged to be able to help more people enjoy better access to life-sustaining and life-enhancing medical facilities.
Sarah Opendi, the State Minister for Health applauded CCBA for the initiative and called upon the district leaders to ensure that the equipment is put to good use.
“This donation of medical equipment is an excellent example of partners coming together to develop an innovative solution that provides access to critical medicines and medical supplies in remote Ugandan communities,” she said.
Commenting about this initiative, Nell Diallo, the Vice President – Corporate & International Relations at Medshare International said: “….as a global community, we have set ambitious goals of ending preventable child and maternal deaths and creating an AIDS-free generation.”
