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Jotun Group Report 2014

54 JOTUN AND SOCIETY Giving on a global scale Jotun continues to fund relief efforts by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in major disaster areas around the world. In 2014, Jotun made major donations to the IFRC for the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and flooding in the Balkans. In addition, the society continued to put Jotun’s 2013 donations to good use in Syria and the Philippines, proof, according to Red Cross Norway’s Secretary General, Åsne Havnelid, of the lasting impact such donations can have. “Corporate donations are a critical source of fund raising for the IFRC,” she says, “We highly appreciate the major contributions Jotun has made over the years and I can assure them that these funds have directly assisted many people in need.” The IFRC’s unmatched global network makes it an obvious candidate for Jotun’s humanitarian donations. The fact that the IFRC is in 189 countries makes it easier for Jotun to make large donations when they are needed. Ebola outbreak Jotun made a significant donation to the IFRC for relief efforts in West Africa. The Ebola outbreak there is the largest in history and has devastated communities in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. At the time of printing, there had been almost 5200 deaths from the virus, and authorities were still working to gain control of the situation. Despite the very harsh conditions and the danger involved, Havnelid points out that attracting volunteers has not been a problem. Red Cross Norway had, up to the end of 2014, sent 35 volunteer nurses, doctors and technical personnel (more than any other country) to a field hospital in Sierra Leone, where the volunteers have been: - Treating and isolating patients - Providing safe burials methods to prevent traditional burials from spreading the virus - Training local volunteers - Informing people in affected areas about how Ebola is spread and what to do in the event of contracting it Havnelid explains that the major problems are the lack of control in responding to the crisis, the poverty and lack of infrastructure in the affected countries and the fact that there is no proven medicine for treating Ebola. Jotun has been an active contributor to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) for decades. In 2014, Jotun supported IFRC’s efforts to combat the spread of the Ebola virus in West Africa, among other causes.


Jotun Group Report 2014
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