The Coca-Cola Foundation Grants Rp 7.9b to Support Indonesia’s Covid-19 Vaccination Programs
Jakarta. The Coca-Cola Foundation or TCCF, the global philanthropic arm of the beverage company, said that it has granted more than Rp 7.9 billion in funds to support Indonesia’s Covid-19 vaccination.
The Coca-Cola Foundation distributed this “Stop the Spread” fund, among others, to Benih Baik Foundation, who received about Rp 6.5 billion. While about Rp 1.4 billion went to humanitarian aid organization Save the Children Indonesia.
“We know the global Covid-19 crisis is far from over. [...] As Covid-19 continues to impact communities in Indonesia, we have granted funds of more than Rp 7.9 billion to focus on supporting charities in Indonesia working to stop the spread of the virus,” Saadia Madsbjerg, President of The Coca-Cola Foundation, said in a recent press statement.
The Government of Indonesia continues to encourage the implementation of vaccination programs so that herd-immunity can be formed. The government is aiming to vaccinate two million people per day to reach at least 70 per cent of the Indonesian population.
Benih Baik Foundation chief executive officer, Andy Flores Noya, said the organization had already implemented a vaccination program since early 2021. However, not all regions and people had access to Covid-19 vaccines.
“As one of the efforts to accelerate vaccination, we are very grateful and highly appreciate the support from The Coca-Cola Foundation so that we can realize our commitment to the success of vaccination in Indonesia,” Noya said.
The Benih Baik Vaccination Centers have delivered Covid-19 jabs to 35,165 people consisting of the public and informal workers, including scavengers. Last year, this program took place in 27 vaccination posts across seven cities, namely Surabaya, Semarang, Bandung, Lampung, Medan, Subang, and Maros.
This May, Save the Children Indonesia is also holding a vaccination program which is expected to reach over 7,500 people. The program consists of a Mobile Vaccination program for families, as well as Psychosocial Support Before/After Vaccination in Greater Jakarta and Greater Bandung.
According to Dewi Sri Sumanah, the acting chief of advocacy, campaign, communication, and media at Save the Children Indonesia, the organization seeks to mobilize families, particularly eldery and adults from vulnerable groups, to get vaccinated.
The program mainly targets vulnerable families who have difficulty in accessing the Covid-19 vaccine. This includes people with disabilities and their families, urban low-income communities, scavengers, as well as people living in rural areas who do not have identity cards.
“Save the Children has gladly received support from The Coca-Cola Foundation and through this program will open direct vaccination services in strategic locations, so that the vulnerable groups could easily have access to the vaccination,” Dewi said.
In April 2020, Coca-Cola Indonesia donated Rp10 billion worth of aid to the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) to support the humanitarian organization in mitigating the spread of Covid-19 in Indonesia.
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