Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) has supplied 50,000 face shields for the United States Department of Defense to support its response to the Covid-19 pandemic in the Southern African region.
The face shields will be provided to the South African Military Health Service members who are on the frontlines battling the coronavirus across the country. They will also be supplied to Botswana, Namibia and the Kingdoms of Eswatini and Lesotho.
The order was facilitated by the US Embassy in Pretoria, and funded by the US AFRICOM Humanitarian Assistance programme.”The whole of the United States, from our government to individuals, the philanthropic sector, and US businesses are mobilizing support to fight Covid-19 globally and alongside South Africa,” said Lana Marks, US Ambassador to South Africa.
“Ford’s local production of these face shields is a shining example of an American company pivoting its mission and adjusting its value-added to make an effective and generous contribution to fighting this pandemic in South Africa,” adds Marks.
The face shields are being produced in a specially prepared and sanitized facility at Ford’s Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria and all the received funds are used to purchase the face shield materials, with Ford sponsoring all of the labour costs for its employees involved in the assembly and packaging of the shields.
“The donation by Ford Motor Company underscores the immense value that this American company brings to the people of South Africa,” “This is in addition to the significant contributions it continues to make to the country’s economic development and prized reputation as an attractive destination for foreign direct investment,” said Alan Tousignant, US Embassy Economic Counsellor.
“As an American company with a heart firmly in South Africa, we are exceptionally proud to be playing a key role in the national response to this Covid-19 pandemic through producing and supplying the face shields to help protect medical and essential services personnel,” said Dhiren Vanmali, Ford’s Executive Director of Government Affairs for Africa.
The face shields project, which commenced at the beginning of April, has been led by Ockert Berry, VP Operations at FMCSA. Ford has produced over 258,000 face shields to date. This includes almost 140,000 units that Ford has already donated directly to the Department of Health’s centralised warehouse and distribution centre in Centurion, as well as direct donations to a variety of hospitals, clinics and humanitarian organisations.
Donations to support the production and donation of face shields are welcome.
