Photo By Lt. Col. Al Phillips | Officials involved in the handover of medical personal protective equipment from the...... read more read more
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PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA—On a chilly morning here in South Africa, members of the Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa, and the South African Military Health Service joined the U.S Ambassador, Her Excellency Lana Marks for a Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Handover Event at the American Community Center here.
This is the fourth PPE installment from the American people to the people of South Africa.
Today’s handover, a partnership between Ford South Africa and the United States African Command Humanitarian Assistance program, consisted of 11,064 Face Shields earmarked for the South African Military Health Service, which is on the frontline to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
"The whole of the United States, from our government to individuals, the philanthropic sector, and US businesses are mobilizing support to fight COVID-19 globally and alongside South Africa,” said Marks.
The face shields are being produced in a specially prepared and sanitized facility at Ford’s Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria. All funds received are used to purchase the face shield materials. Ford sponsors all the labor costs for its employees involved in the assembly and packaging of the shields.
“Ford's local production of these face shields is a shining example of an American company pivoting its mission and adjusting its value-added to make an effective and generous contribution to fighting this pandemic in South Africa, Marks added.”
“The South African Military Health Service values working together with the United States and is very appreciative Ford’s efforts to answer the call of our President, Cyril Ramaphosa to stop the spread of COVID-19,” said South African National Defence Force Maj. Gen. Peter Maphana.
“As an American company with a heart firmly in South Africa, we are exceptionally proud to be playing a key role in the national response to this COVID-19 pandemic through producing and supplying the face shields to help protect medical and essential services personnel,” said Dhiren Vanmali, Ford’s Executive Director of Government Affairs for Africa.
“As much as this crisis has had major economic and health implications for South Africa and the African continent as a whole, it has also seen extraordinary commitment from doctors, nurses and healthcare workers, along with numerous non-profit organizations, companies and individuals, stepping up and going further to support and assist the most vulnerable citizens," Vanmali said.
Combined with the 48 000 units supplied to the US Department of Defense to be divided between South Africa, the Kingdoms of Eswatini and Lesotho, Botswana, and Namibia, Ford has produced over 256,000 face shields to date.
This includes almost 140,000 units that Ford has already donated directly to the Department of Health’s centralized warehouse and distribution center in Centurion, as well as direct donations to a variety of hospitals, clinics and humanitarian organizations.
The face shields project, which commenced at the beginning of April, has been led by Ockert Berry, vice president of operations at Ford.
“The order from the US Department of Defense, through the US Embassy, has provided a valuable additional boost to our efforts to address the critical shortage of personal protective equipment during this crisis,” he said.
“All of our employees and suppliers involved in the project have demonstrated amazing dedication to the cause, even with the challenging restrictions imposed during the initial five-week lockdown,” Berry said.
“The confidence and support that the South African government, and now also the US government, has shown for our face shields project gives all of us great personal satisfaction and a sense of achievement in having made a difference during these challenging times.”
“The donation by Ford Motor Company underscores the immense value that this American company brings to the people of South Africa,” added US Embassy Economic Counsellor, Alan Tousignant.
“This is in addition to the significant contributions it continues to make to the country’s economic development and prized reputation as an attractive destination for foreign direct investment,” he said.
The decision to hold the handover event at the American Community Center was deliberate. With various global challenges such as COVID-19 and social unrest, today’s event represented a communal example of coming together as a unified force for good.
Today’s event is a call to remind the public of how they could support the production and donation of face shields are welcomed from individuals and businesses. Any donations, big or small, will help protect our valued medical and essential services personnel and limit the spread of COVID-19 to those most at risk.
Ford has partnered with the Gift of the Givers Foundation, which has kindly provided the banking facility for all donations, which can be made as follows:
Account Name: Gift of the Givers
Institution: Standard Bank
Branch: Pietermaritzburg
Account number: 052137228
Branch Code: 057525
Deposit Reference: Ford
The US Department of Defense via the US Embassy’s interagency partners has no intention of decreasing its efforts against the spread of COVID-19, said Navy Captain Steven Morgenfeld, the embassy's senior defense official.
“This project highlights the cooperation between the U.S Departments of Defense, Commerce, and State, as well as our combined focus on supporting the South African COVID-19 response,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 06.19.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 06.19.2020 07:25 |
| Story ID: | 372436 |
| Location: | PRETORIA , ZA |
| Web Views: | 195 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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