International Breweries Plc., (IBPlc) a proud part of the Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) family, has demonstrated its commitment to collaborate and partner with its stakeholders, including government, to reduce the spread and impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria.
Building on the company’s longstanding commitment to its vision of ‘Bringing People Together for a Better World’, IBPlc, in a statement, said its COVID-19 support efforts have been “based on a collaborative approach of gathering insights from our communities and stakeholders so we can provide tailored interventions with the greatest impact”.
Below is a breakdown of the company’s donation to the governments of Anambra, Lagos, Ogun, Osun, and Rivers State; and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) amongst others:
o 30,000 bottles of hand sanitizers are being distributed to the states, hospitals/government institutions, and communities
o 60,000 bottles of our nutritious non-alcoholic beverages (Beta Malt and Grand Malt) have been donated to support the food distribution drive by the government in various states
o Tens of millions of naira committed to providing medical consumables which include:
o COVID -19 test kits,
o Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) for the frontline workers and medical personnel: coveralls, hand gloves.
o Infra-red thermometers.
o N10m donated by the Trophy Stout brand (during an e-concert by 2Baba) to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for the procurement of test kits.
Speaking on the company’s COVID-19 intervention, Mr. Hugo Dias Rocha, Managing Director, International Breweries Plc. said, “As an organization, we are always looking to support our local communities and are positive that our donation will assist and support the government and our communities greatly in the fight against the spread of this pandemic.”
“We appreciate and lend our voice to the various initiatives by the Federal Government of Nigeria, the State Governments, the private sector to which we belong and all other sectors, organizations, individual and players that have all teamed together to assist in curbing the spread of COVID-19. We stand with you, and indeed the world, in the joint resolution to eradicate this virus and its impact on communities and economies”.
Continuing, Mr. Rocha said, “This is an intense moment in global history. The actions we take now will shape the future; so as International Breweries, we are pleased to be a part of the solution for our communities. We will continue to explore with our stakeholders, especially government, on areas of further potential collaboration and support.”
In the same vein, Temitope Oguntokun, Legal and Corporate Affairs Director, said, “Our longstanding commitment to our core values of Health, Safety, Environment and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), readily serves us in this trying time. We will continue to drive COVID-19 awareness and interventions with our employees and in our communities. A number of the donations have been distributed across the states and communities while some are still ongoing”.
Oguntokun said aside from the donations, IBPlc has been supporting its employees with resources and consistent COVID-19 information to stay safe and healthy. In addition, she informed that as part of the company’s other ongoing collaboration against the virus, the company, through its International Breweries Foundation is currently engaging with government and other stakeholders on the production of local face masks. “We believe this intervention will go a long way to reduce the further spread of the virus while also boosting our already challenged economy through youth entrepreneurship”.
“International Breweries appreciates the healthcare workers and all frontline carers who are the true heroes of this time and urge our stakeholders, indeed everyone to continue to comply with the NCDC and WHO - recommended directives which include regular hand washing for at least 20 seconds, use of hand sanitizers and maintaining social distance among others”.
It will be recalled that International Breweries, as part of the launch of its new product, Trophy Extra Stout, recently supported the first-of-it-kind online concert where multiple award-winning hip-hop artiste, Innocent Dibia – known as 2Baba - encouraged Nigerians to comply with the stay at home order to curtail the spread of COVID-19 virus. 2Baba did not only thrill the audience with his popular songs but interspersed every segment of the concert with awareness messages on the COVID-19 pandemic and how to stay safe.

Kudos to IBPlc, the donation they made is a welcome development at a time like this when the whole country is helpless in combating the deadly virus squarely. What got me scared was when I watched a video that showed how this Coronavirus is spreading like wildfire.
Seeing this coronavirus mode of transmission video from person to person(s), I think we all should try our best to break this virus spreading chain in order to contain this deadly virus.
We should endeavor to wash our hands with soap always in running water for up to 20 seconds or always use alcohol-based sanitizer to clean our hands always as advised by NCDC
We should try and wear an appropriate facemask when in a crowded area.
We should try and maintain an appropriate social distance of at least 2 meters in between individuals.
Stay safe, stay home, and save lives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQJ6VZx5Ct0