PepsiCo India commits 25,000 testing kits, over 50 lakh meals

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New Delhi, April 6 (IANS) Extending its support to the fight against coronavirus pandemic, PepsiCo India has committed to provide 25,000 testing kits to healthcare and diagnostic facilities.

Further, the company has also committed to provide over 50 lakh meals to support families impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.

"PepsiCo India along with PepsiCo Foundation, the philanthropic arm of PepsiCo, has committed to provide over 5 million meals to support families impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. This initiative is part of PepsiCo's #GiveMealsGiveHope global programme. The company is also extending support to the healthcare and diagnostic facilities, supplementing their efforts to combat the pandemic by providing 25,000 COVID-19 testing kits," the company said in a statement.

PepsiCo India has partnered with Akshaya Patra Foundation to provide cooked meals to the underserved communities, through their centralised kitchens where they are partnering closely with the local authorities for distribution of meals. The company has also partnered with Smile Foundation to provide dry food rations to support meals for over 8,000 vulnerable families adversely impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak.

For the testing kits, PepsiCo India has partnered with Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND).

FIND, a non-profit organization, is World Health Organization's (WHO) collaborating centre for laboratory strengthening and diagnostic technology evaluation. It works closely with the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

"These testing kits will be deployed across public and private healthcare laboratories identified by the Indian Government to scale up access to COVID-19 testing," it said.

Ahmed ElSheikh, President, PepsiCo India, said: "India, like the rest of the world, is facing an unprecedented challenge. We at PepsiCo India are fully committed to supporting the nation in its fight against COVID-19. Providing meals to the economically weaker sections and testing kits to the diagnostic units are critical requirements at this stage."

He further added that, PepsiCo India stands committed to lending its full support to both the Central and state governments in their fight to collectively overcome the global health challenge.

To further mobilise funds, PepsiCo India has launched a double matching gifts programme which involves its employees lending their support to communities that are impacted by COVID-19. As part of the programme, PepsiCo Foundation will match all employee donations by two-fold and give the total accumulated fund to the NGO partners working with the company.

"PepsiCo globally has announced its commitment to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The major focus of this global effort includes providing protective gear to healthcare workers, testing and screening services as well as providing 50 million meals through various partnerships,a the company statement said.

--IANS

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