Lafarge Zambia and Zambian Breweries – ZB have donated K100,000 to the University of Zambia – UNZA School of Engineering to help develop the nation’s first prototype ventilator.
The two giants of industry are backing the UNZA innovation as part of their wider support to the fight against COVID-19. Lafarge Chief Executive Officer Jimmy J Khan says health and safety is Lafarge’s core value, thus the health and safety of its communities, customers, suppliers and transporters is of great importance to the company.
“With the increase in COVID-19 cases around the country, the need for ventilators has never been as compelling as now. That is why Lafarge Zambia sees the importance of being part of this project. The project will not only assist in relieving certain pressures off our health system and help save lives; but it would also instill national pride, as this would be the very first ventilator that would be manufactured by Zambians in Zambia,” he said.
And Zambian Breweries Country Director Jose Moran said the company believed in working together for a better Zambia, and the collaboration with Lafarge fitted well with its dream to improve the lives of local people.
“The people of Zambia are at the heart of what we do. Their safety and wellbeing are paramount to us. We also have a track record of supporting entrepreneurs and innovation, so we will be backing UNZA and look forward to the ventilator being perfected and potentially saving lives,” he said.
In a statement made available to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT on June 1, 2020, Both Zambian Breweries and Lafarge has implemented a number of initiatives internally and externally to ensure the health and safety of their employees, transporters, customers and suppliers.
Internally, Lafarge has installed temperature checks, hand sanitisers and mandatory wearing of masks for all employees, transporters and guests that enter its plants.
In the communities near its plants in Chilanga and Ndola, Lafarge has provided vehicles branded with COVID-19 messages and public announcement systems to sensitise people on preventive measures, to help curb the spread of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Zambian Breweries has developed a hand sanitiser formula and is manually bottling it for donation only to healthcare workers and staff, as well as importing 5,000 face shields made from recycled plastic for use by healthcare workers, and donating over 6,000 posters and 10 billboards for COVID-19 communication to government since the breakout of COVID-19 in March this year.
