The World Cocoa Foundation is scheduled to receive the COVID Hero special award at the 2020 edition of the Ghana Cocoa Awards slated for November 14 at the plush Kempinski Hotel, Gold Coast City, Accra.
The organisation through a collective effort with Global Cocoa and Chocolate companies donated to the tune of US$835,000 to help cocoa farmers and their families fight the spread of COVID-19.
The funds were also used to support national emergency plans of governments in West Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
The World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) through the funds was able to support health efforts in other major cocoa origin countries, including Brazil, Cameroon, Ecuador, and Indonesia.
Tweeting on the recognition, WCF President Rick Scobey, said “we are honored to receive a special “COVID-19 Hero” award at the Second Ghana Cocoa Awards! Heartfelt thanks”
Aside from the collective effort, individual member organisations of WCF donated millions of dollars in funds used to cushion local relief programmes in the form of emergency medical supplies, PPE, soaps and sanitizers, and healthcare broadcasts through farmer communication channels with most of the money going to Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, the biggest cocoa producers.
Also singled out for the COVID19 Hero special recognition is Mondelez International, one of the world’s biggest chocolate manufacturers, which donated a total of GHS1.33 million to various bodies in Ghana in response to the COVID19 pandemic.
ECOM Ghana, a leading licensed cocoa buying company in Ghana is also billed to receive the honour for stepping up to the countries emergency response with 1.2 Million Soaps to some 1.2 Million COCOBOD-registered farming families in all cocoa growing regions of Ghana. The gesture cost a whopping GHS2.4 million.
The COVID-19 Heroes Special Award of the Ghana Cocoa Awards celebrates human endeavour, philanthropy, leadership, and resilience in the face of the unprecedented challenge – the novel coronavirus disease – COVID19 pandemic.
Source: www.thecocoapost.com
