Nigerian Breweries Plc, the HEINEKEN Africa Foundation and WaterAid Nigeria are working together to support communities in Nigeria in the fight against COVID-19

On the occasion of World Water Week, Nigerian Breweries Plc, the HEINEKEN Africa Foundation and WaterAid Nigeria are proud to announce their common commitment in promoting lifesaving hygiene education and handwashing facilities in the urgent fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria. 

Nigeria is one of the most populated nation in Africa and is facing like many other countries significant challenges in tackling the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO, UNICEF and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) have all indicated that the spread of COVID-19, like most other infectious diseases, could be drastically reduced with basic hygiene behaviors such as handwashing with soap and water. Unfortunately, today, around 60 million people in Nigeria still do not have access to clean water and so lack this first line of defense against transmission^¹.

In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and because it has built a strong expertise on Water access, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), the HEINEKEN Africa Foundation is committing 5 million euros in the coming year to set up handwashing facilities and provide hygiene information in health centers, markets and community settings in eight sub-Saharan African countries. As a first step, the Foundation will support WaterAid and World Vision with 2.5 million euros.

In Nigeria, one of the eight countries targeted, a contribution from the HEINEKEN Africa Foundation of 622,000 euros will help WaterAid Nigeria to install over 1,000 handwashing stations in healthcare facilities and other public places.

“Clean water, decent sanitation and hygiene is a basic human right but unfortunately many communities, especially in Africa, do not have access to it. The partnership with WaterAid and World Vision is the first phase in the HEINEKEN Africa Foundation’s commitment to support the fight against COVID-19 with a focus on WASH activities. As the pandemic develops, the Foundation will review where additional support is needed most for the first half of 2021” said Suzanne Giele, the HEINEKEN Africa Foundation General Manager.

“As a major brewing company in Nigeria, we want to play our part in the fight against COVID-19. This is why Nigerian Breweries Plc has already donated in April N600 million to the Federal and some state governments. We are proud to partner with WaterAid Nigeria, with the support of the HEINEKEN Africa Foundation, to help vulnerable communities in Nigeria, something Nigerian Breweries Plc has always been dedicated to” said Mr. Jordi Borrut Bel, Managing Director and CEO of Nigerian Breweries Plc.

“The need for clean water and good hygiene has never been more urgent as we battle to contain the spread of Covid-19. Handwashing with water and soap is the first line of defence against Covid-19, yet around 60 million Nigerians don’t have access to clean water and 150 million lack basic handwashing facilities with soap and water, making it easy for the virus to spread. The support of the HEINEKEN Africa Foundation will provide vital support to help us scale up our Covid-19 response work,” said Evelyn Mere, Country Director, WaterAid Nigeria.

About Nigerian Breweries Plc

Nigerian Breweries Plc is Nigeria’s pioneer and largest Brewing firm. The company was incorporated in 1946 and has now grown into a Brewing Company with 9 breweries, 2 malting plants and 26 Sales depots from which its high-quality products are distributed to all parts of Nigeria.

In 2019, the Company was a recipient of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSAN) Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance (Corporate Category) as well as the Institute of Directors’ Nigeria Corporate Governance Award, 2019. These awards are a reflection of the Company’s continued commitment to excellence in corporate governance matters. Nigerian Breweries is also a recipient of several awards and recognitions in other areas of its operations including product quality, marketing excellence, productivity and innovation, health and safety, corporate social responsibility and sustainability.

Visit the Nigerian Breweries Plc website: https://nbplc.com/

About the HEINEKEN Africa Foundation

The HEINEKEN Africa Foundation was created in 2007 with the purpose to improve the health for people living in sub-Saharan Africa. Since then, the Foundation has committed over 10 million euros to 119 projects in 10 different countries.

Over the years, the Foundation has built a strong expertise on Mother & Child Care and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) projects.

The HEINEKEN Africa Foundation is a registered non-profit organization and a separate legal entity from the HEINEKEN Company. It is funded through an endowment fund from the HEINEKEN Company and regular contributions. It is governed by the Board of Trustees that bases their decisions upon the recommendation of the Advisory Board. The majority of the members of these two boards are external experts.

Notes to editors

The Foundation has made available a total of 5 million euros to fight COVID-19 in the coming year. For the first phase, 2.5 million euros has made available to support WaterAid in Nigeria, Rwanda, Mozambique and South Africa and World Vision in DRC, Ethiopia, Burundi and Sierra Leone from July until December 2020.

Visit the HEINEKEN Africa Foundation website: https://africafoundation.heineken.com/home/

About WaterAid

WaterAid is working to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere within a generation. The international not-for-profit organisation works in 28 countries to change the lives of the poorest and most marginalised people. Since 1981, WaterAid has reached 27 million people with clean water and 27 million people with decent toilets. For more information, visit www.wateraid.org, follow @WaterAidUK or @WaterAidPress on Twitter, or find WaterAid UK on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wateraid.

785 million people in the world – one in ten – do not have clean water close to home.¹
2 billion people in the world – almost one in four – do not have a decent toilet of their own.²
Around 310,000 children under five die every year from diarrhoeal diseases caused by poor water and sanitation. That’s around 800 children a day, or one child every two minutes.³
Every £1 invested in water and toilets returns an average of £4 in increased productivity.⁴
Just £15 can provide one person with clean water.⁵