Coca-Cola plans $20m safe birth initiative in Nigeria, Ivory Coast

Coca-Cola has disclosed its plan to launch a new programme to tackle high incidence of maternal and newborn mortalities in Nigeria and Ivory Coast, tagged, the Safe Birth Initiative.

The initiative which is in collaboration of the Ministries of Health in the two countries will focus on strengthening the capacity of maternity and neonatal units in selected public hospitals by sourcing essential equipment, kits and supplies worth about US$20million to enable safe deliveries and post-delivery emergency care for both mothers and their newborns.

The President, Coca-Cola, EMEA Group, Brian Smith who made the disclosure, said that the commitment to help promote sustainable development in host communities is a fundamental part of Coca-Cola’s strategy for sustainable business growth and “will help save the precious lives of many mothers and newborns” while supporting the remarkable efforts of the governments of the two countries in building vibrant countries.

The initiative will also include training of biomedical technicians and other appropriate hospital personnel by Medshare International on the operation, repair and maintenance of the donated equipment as well as reactivation of a huge stock of faulty or abandoned equipment in public hospitals which is a major challenge for the healthcare delivery system.