Sasol has donated World Health Organisation-approved vaccine carriers, cold storage freezers and temperature loggers to the Free State provincial government to support the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.
The medical equipment include a Ford Ranger custom built mobile clinic, a Toyota Hi-Ace
14-seater minibus, 5 (-40oC) WHO approved vaccine cold storage freezers, 25 vaccine carriers, 25 temperature loggers and 20 laptops to the Free State Department of Health.
Information pamphlets and posters were also included in the donation.
“In order to deliver on our community health focus area, and solidify our social partner status, we recognise the need to support the provincial government’s vaccination rollout strategy by donating essential equipment and resources,” said Charlotte Mokoena, Sasol Executive Vice President: Human Resources and Stakeholder Relations.
Recognising the challenge posed by the vastness of the Free State landscape in enabling access to vaccines especially in the most rural parts of the province, the company also donated mobile clinics, vehicles and laptops to be used for the capturing of data.
Mokoena said since the declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic in March last year, Sasol has:
- produced and donated more than 1,6 million litres of alcohol-based sanitiser to frontline workers in hospitals, clinics, communities, as well as local and national government;
- donated over 12 000 masks, 36 000 pairs of gloves and 5 000 safety suits and overalls towards frontline response efforts in its fenceline communities;
- converted a number of its buildings into quarantine centres for employees and their families;
- converted its mobile science laboratories, usually used for school education programmes, into COVID -19 screening and testing units; and
- donated a million litres of jet fuel to the Department of International Affairs for the repatriation of South Africans stranded abroad.
Furthermore, as a producer and bulk supplier of a variety of speciality chemicals, Sasol has also come up with a new unique blend of alcohol to be used in the manufacturing of hand-sanitisers to help address the increase in demand for these products in the market.
The company last year also fast tracked the manufacturing of its own hand-sanitisers for use at its own operations, immediate fence line communities in Free State and Mpumalanga, and distribution to employees of strategic partners.
“Our COVID-19 response has been multi-layered, consultative and collaborative to support efforts to flatten the curve with particular focus on our fence line communities within Free State, Mpumalanga, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal,” Mokoena said.
