Coca-Cola and partners now working in seven
African countries, improving availability and access to life-saving
medicines and medical supplies
Today at the European Development Days, The Coca-Cola Company
and its Foundations, in partnership with The Global Fund to Fight
AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the U.S. Agency for International
Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, announced
the latest expansion of “Project Last Mile” with innovative
programs to strengthen local health systems in Liberia and
Swaziland. Launched in 2010 to transform the delivery of medical
supplies in Tanzania, Project Last Mile has since worked with
Ministries of Health in Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria and South Africa
to improve the availability of essential medicines.
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Project Last Mile (Photo: Business
Wire)
Project Last Mile is a public-private partnership that applies
Coca-Cola’s supply-chain management and marketing expertise to
support African governments in reaching the ‘last mile’ to deliver
life-saving medicines and supplies to the hardest-to-reach
communities. The new program in Swaziland will leverage Coca-Cola’s
marketing expertise to increase awareness and demand for critical
HIV prevention and treatment services in a country that has the
highest prevalence of HIV in the world. Project Last Mile is
joining with the Swaziland Ministry of Health and development
partners to end the AIDS epidemic by providing innovative
approaches to reducing HIV transmission in the country.
“With our strong commitment to reducing the HIV/AIDS burden in
Swaziland, we are very pleased to be able to partner with Project
Last Mile and tap into Coca-Cola’s vast experience to find ways to
implement innovative marketing approaches to increase demand for
HIV prevention services and treatment,” said Ms. Rejoice Nkambule,
Deputy Director, Public Health, Ministry of Health of
Swaziland.
Following the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014, which
dramatically strained health systems, Project Last Mile partners
began working with the Liberian Ministry of Health to harness the
experience of the local bottling partner, Liberia Coca-Cola
Bottling Company Limited. The project in Liberia will apply
Coca-Cola’s extensive route-to-market and logistics expertise to
set-up a more efficient and sustainable distribution network for
medicines and medical supplies. The first phase of the project
began in May 2017 and is expected to run for one year.
“With its unique public-private partnership model, Project Last
Mile develops simple answers to extremely complex problems, and
supports African Ministries of Health in providing life-saving
medicines to patients and communities who need it most,” said Dr.
Susan Mboya, President, The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation. “What
started with a single vision and vast ambition is now making a
difference to millions of people across Africa, and we are
delighted that we can now apply Coca-Cola’s operational experience
to strengthening health systems in Liberia and Swaziland. Project
Last Mile shows that great things can be achieved when like-minded
organizations come together with a common goal, and we look forward
to further expanding the initiative to meet our goal of working in
10 African countries by 2020.”
“The last decade has seen tremendous progress in science and
investments in global health, and we’re working to overcome the
final hurdles to reach the millions of people in Africa who still
lack access to critical medicines and medical supplies,” said
Marijke Wijnroks, the Global Fund’s Interim Executive Director.
“The Coca-Cola Company is a global expert in overcoming the same
kind of supply chain challenges that we at the Global Fund face
every day. Project Last Mile is critically important.”
Following an initial commitment by program partners, the
initiative began in Tanzania in 2010 and has since transformed
medicine distribution in the country, allowing the government
agency Medical Stores Department to better forecast needs and
reorganize and expand its distribution system, improving the
availability of medicine by up to 30%. Prior to the training and
reorganization there were 150 warehouse drop-off points, a number
which has now expanded to more than 5,500 health facilities
directly supplied by Medical Stores Department.
The program was expanded in 2014 with more than US$21 million
investment from partners, as well as the official addition of USAID
to the coalition. Three additional Project Last Mile programs began
in Mozambique, South Africa and Nigeria during 2016. For example in
Mozambique, Project Last Mile partners with the Central de
Medicamentos e Artigos Médicos (CMAM) to improve delivery of
medicines to health facilities in hard-to-reach areas, with pilot
projects currently taking place in three provinces. This is in
support of the Mozambique Government’s Strategic Plan for improving
Pharmaceutical Logistics.
During the European Development Days, hosted in Brussels by the
European Commission, The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation and The Global
Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will expand on
learnings from Project Last Mile in a discussion called “Harnessing
the Power of the Private Sector to Achieve the Health SDG” at 09:00
on June 8th.
About The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation
The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation (TCCAF) is an entity funded
through Coca-Cola that implements community development programs
throughout Africa. TCCAF has committed resources and is
collaborating with partners to provide communities with improved
access to safe drinking water and sanitation through the Replenish
Africa Initiative (RAIN), to contribute to strengthening Africa’s
health systems through Project Last Mile, and to create
opportunities for youth empowerment through the Youth Empowered for
Success (YES) program.
The Foundation’s community activities focus on three key areas
central to life in Africa: water, health and empowerment. By
providing assistance in the most critical areas of need, TCCAF
strives to improve the quality of life for communities in Africa
and expand the opportunities for those who live there.
Additionally, The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation is involved in
humanitarian assistance in Africa, for disaster relief and
emergency assistance.
About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest beverage
company, offering over 500 brands to people in more than 200
countries. Of our 21 billion-dollar brands, 19 are available in
lower- or no-sugar options to help people moderate their
consumption of added sugar. In addition to our namesake Coca-Cola
drinks, some of our leading brands around the world include: AdeS
soy-based beverages, Ayataka green tea, Dasani waters, Del Valle
juices and nectars, Fanta, Georgia coffee, Gold Peak teas and
coffees, Honest Tea, Minute Maid juices, Powerade sports drinks,
Simply juices, smartwater, Sprite, vitaminwater, and Zico coconut
water. At Coca-Cola, we’re serious about making positive
contributions to the world. That starts with reducing sugar in our
drinks and continuing to introduce new ones with added benefits. It
also means continuously working to reduce our environmental impact,
creating rewarding careers for our associates and bringing economic
opportunity wherever we operate. Together with our bottling
partners, we employ more than 700,000 people around the world. For
more information, visit our digital magazine Coca-Cola Journey at
www.coca-colacompany.com, and follow The Coca-Cola Company on
Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
About the Global Fund
The Global Fund is a 21st-century partnership designed to
accelerate the end of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as epidemics.
As a partnership between governments, civil society, the private
sector and people affected by the diseases, the Global Fund
mobilizes and invests nearly US$4 billion a year to support
programs run by local experts in more than 100 countries. By
challenging barriers and embracing innovative approaches, we are
working together to better serve people affected by the
diseases.
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The Coca-Cola CompanyDan Baxter, +971565017110Communications
Directordanbaxter@coca-cola.com
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