The Californer - BYD Marks Africa Mask Week with Donation of 16 Million Masks to Support the Fight Against COVID-19

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As a second wave of COVID-19 is emerging in Africa, Africa Mask Week aims to sustain and increase mask-wearing as a protective measure among populations in Africa

LOS ANGELES - Californer -- BYD Care, one of the world's largest producers of masks and other personal protection equipment (PPE), is honoring Africa Mask Week (Nov, 23-30, 2020) with a donation of 16 million masks.

To mark Africa Mask Week, BYD Care is donating 16 million masks to ensure that those who are most vulnerable have access to PPE to stop the spread of COVID-19. The donation includes one million Level 3 surgical masks, BYD will donate 15 million non-surgical masks for individual community use at health clinic visits in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia.

Africa has now passed the milestone of two million confirmed coronavirus cases and is edging toward a second wave of infections. Meanwhile, recent data suggest that mask-wearing in Africa is declining while COVID-19 continues to spread. Frontline healthcare workers need masks to protect themselves while they continue to provide essential health services to communities in need. Now is the time to keep practicing what works to stop the spread.

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Africa Mask Week was launched this week by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the African Union Office of the Youth Envoy, the African Youth Front on Coronavirus, the Pandemic Action Network and a coalition of partners to sustain and increase mask-wearing in Africa.

"We are grateful to partner with CAF-Africa and the Pandemic Action to contribute to this important effort," said BYD President Stella Li. "BYD Care products are safe and reliable and can help slow the spread of COVID-19."

Facilitation of this donation is made possible by the COVID-19 Action Fund for Africa (CAF-Africa) and the Pandemic Action Network.

CAF-Africa is working to safeguard essential health services during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing PPE to up to one million CHWs in 20 African countries for one year. These workers provide health services to over 400 million people across Africa in communities otherwise underserved by formal health systems. CHWs contribute to significant improvements in health priority areas such as child nutrition, maternal and child health, expanding access to family planning services, and enhancing infectious disease control for HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis. CAF-Africa is the only known effort to date that pools resources to provide CHWs in Africa with PPE.

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BYD's donation will be shipped to meet community needs via CAF-Africa partners in the coming months.

Contact: Frank Girardot (213) 245-6503 frank.girardot@byd.com