DESFA donated super-freezers, necessary for the maintenance and storage of vaccines against Covid-19 to the National Healthcare System, responding to the relevant appeal of the Greek Health Ministry. The super-freezers are the essential infrastructure for the implementation of the country’s coronavirus vaccination program – a program critical to overcoming the health crisis and returning to economic and social normalcy. This initiative follows the plethora of social impact actions implemented by DESFA in 2020.
Specifically, DESFA has been mobilized since the beginning of the pandemic, making significant donations of necessary medical equipment to the Greek NHS and to non-governmental organizations that have been assisting the State in its effort to curb the pandemic and its social impact.
In particular, since the first wave of the pandemic, DESFA donated 167,000 protective and surgical masks to the Ministry of Health, while it also donated to the Hellenic Pasteur Institute a modern Thermo Scientific LSG Genetic Analyzer, PKG SEQSTUDIO SMARTST which in addition to the genetic characterization of the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, is also used to determine the genetic synthesis of various other viruses.
Furthermore, DESFA in collaboration with the University of Crete and Athens Maker Space implemented webinars on the Introduction to the Methodology of Digital Construction, while it manufactured 350 protective masks with 3-D technology that were donated to hospitals in Attica, non-governmental organizations active in the field of healthcare as well as to local authorities.
In addition, it is worth noting the offer of the international Senfluga consortium, the majority shareholder of DESFA, which donated 90,000 waterproof surgical suits worth a total of 500,000 euros, mainly to the National Health System, but also to non-governmental organizations such as ActionAid Hellas, Doctors of the World and IASIS.
DESFA’s social contribution, however, was not limited to donations related to fight the spread of Covid-19. In 2020, DESFA took important initiatives to support local communities, while it also supported the work of humanitarian organizations and educational institutions.
Through a series of actions, DESFA supported the local communities in different parts of the country, actively contributing to covering important local needs in the Municipalities of Salamina, Elefsina and the Community of Spathovouni, as well as in addressing challenges arising from natural disasters during the year in Municipalities of Megara and Farsala.
Furthermore, in the field of Culture, DESFA financed the production of the documentary “The Students of Umberto Eco”, a journey connecting Greece with neighboring Italy through the telling of a story about the Holocaust, with the storyline starting in Thessaloniki. In the field of Education, DESFA funded the creation of a digital anthology on the value of the forest, by the University Research Institute of Applied Communication of the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens. In the field of sports, DESFA sponsored Iraklis Gefyras from Nea Mesimvria in Thessaloniki and Eirini Petroupolis – two small, but important teams for the life of local communities – as well as two big athletes, Olympian Sofia Bekatorou and the Broad Jump World Record Holder Stelios Malakopoulos, on their way to the 2021 Olympic Games.
DESFA also supported with donations the important humanitarian work of the Child’s Smile (To Hamogelo tou Paidiou) and the Children’s Village in Filiro, as well as the Holy Monastery of Doheiario.
The Minister of Health, Vassilis Kikilias stated: “I thank DESFA for its continuous and important contribution to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially with medical equipment to strengthen the National Health System and now with five super-freezers, it is assisting the vaccination program of the largest and most critical healthcare operation the country has ever faced.”
The CEO of DESFA, Nicola Battilana, stated in this regard: “The goal of making DESFA a model of corporate excellence is a common ground for all its shareholders, as well as for all its employees. We achieve this by adopting best practices in all areas and by taking action towards a positive social footprint. With the arrival of Covid-19 in the country, besides taking care of the safety and protection of our employees, we have made it a priority to support the NHS, to stand by the health professionals who are at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic and the organizations that are helping to tackle it.”