INSEE steps up COVID response programme

INSEE Cement, has stepped up its COVID-19 response programme over the past couple of months to help people to cope with the severe ongoing wave of the pandemic.

Through its CSR and sustainability team, the company has been engaged in five separate initiatives to provide relief to COVID patients and the frontline medical teams working around the clock to save lives, it said in a media release.

These projects include the donation of medical equipment, helping to make new beds available, providing cement for the building and expansion of various hospitals and the donation of a sizeable consignment of masks and hand-sanitizer to both provincial authorities and the national government.

Discussing the initiatives, Gustavo Navarro, Chief Executive Officer at INSEE Cement said, “Having monitored the ground situation closely, we realized early on that the country would face considerable challenges, particularly with the emergence of the delta variant. Our position as the market leader and only integrated manufacturer of cement in Sri Lanka meant that we had a moral obligation and sincere desire to provide relief and support when and where it was possible for us to do so. One way we could substantially contribute was through the donation of cement for the building of new facilities and the expansion of existing ones, which we have done. In fact, we contributed many truckloads of cement bags, and supported with expertise towards building new COVID-19 wards in multiple hospitals which is a feat we are very proud of. We have also gone the extra mile to donate equipment and consumables to hospitals and the government. We have achieved all of this during 2021, on top of the initiatives we undertook in 2020 and we intend to continue to support the national fight against COVID19 to the best of our ability.”

Efforts by INSEE Cement include the donation of multiple oxygen infusion pumps, which are crucial in the management of patients suffering from COVID-19. In addition to this, the INSEE Cement has provided 50 medical beds to the Puttalam Base Hospital Covid Ward, as part of its ongoing and long running community development plan focused on the Puttalam region, where one of INSEE’s plants is located.

Furthermore, premium SANSTHA Cement was donated to the National Hospital of Kandy to support their effort to build a 150-bed ward, within just 10 days, specifically for patients recovering.