The PepsiCo Foundation has teamed up with the Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society (SEEDS), a non-profit organisation, to launch an extensive community relief outreach programme, in order to support the Indian government’s ongoing efforts to combat Covid-19. SEEDS will promote Covid -19 vaccines to the general public and establish Covid care centres with beds and medical equipment, including oxygen cylinders, as part of the agreement. Furthermore, oxygen concentrators will be given to the Central Government for distribution to government hospitals. The entire community relief programme will be implemented across the country with Maharashtra, Punjab, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Telangana receiving special attention.
As part of the programme, large-scale public awareness campaigns will be held in different states to encourage people to get vaccinated. These sessions will be held in collaboration with NGOs, including SEEDS as well as local government officials. Over 1,00,000 vaccine doses will be distributed to the general public in the first phase of the programme, which will be administered through the local healthcare system. In addition, five Covid care centres would be set up for three months in key states. Each centre will have beds and all necessary medical supplies such as oxygen cylinders for emergency use, medical equipment, and meal preparation among other things. In addition, over 100 state-of-the-art oxygen concentrators are being procured, and will be distributed to various State Government agencies to support their on-the-ground needs. In the second step, the PepsiCo Foundation will form collaborations with other NGOs to provide PPE kits, N95 and surgical 3 ply masks, pulse oximeters, sanitizers, and other items to frontline Covid warriors.
“As India navigates through the second wave of Covid-19, we need to unite and look at ways to offer all the possible support to the ongoing efforts,” Manu Gupta, Co-Founder, SEEDS, said of the partnership with PepsiCo Foundation for the intervention programme. “Access to medical infrastructure in the affected marginalised communities is limited, making survival rates much lower. As a result, the urgent need is to ramp up a vigorous vaccination campaign, establish Covid care centres and assist in the provision of vital needs such as oxygen. We are prepared to collaborate closely with the PepsiCo Foundation in order to reduce the effects of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.” he added.
“India is battling the second wave of the pandemic, and we are all facing a challenging situation. In these trying times, it’s more important than ever for businesses to band together and work with the federal and state governments, civil society, non-governmental organisations and healthcare institutions to help communities in need. We are grateful to have partners like SEEDS to front-end neighbourhood vaccination drives and set up Covid care centres, as vaccination is one way to help us fight Covid-19. In these unprecedented times, we will continue to do our best as an organisation and stand with the nation.” said Ahmed ElSheikh, President, PepsiCo India.
PepsiCo India has pledged to cover the cost of vaccination for its workers and their families, in addition to community service programmes. Vaccination drives are being held in collaboration with leading healthcare providers as part of the same programme.
