British alcoholic beverage producer Diageo has pledged to donate nearly two million litres of alcohol to manufacturing partners to support the production of hand sanitiser.

The donation will help overcome hand sanitiser shortages in healthcare systems and protect frontline workers in the fight against Covid-19.

The company noted that it will provide Grain Neutral Spirit (GNS), which is a 96% strength ethyl alcohol used to produce vodka and gin.

With the GNS provided by Diageo, manufacturing companies will be able to produce more than eight million 250ml bottles of hand sanitiser.

It will be freely providing GNS to producers located across various parts of the globe.

Diageo chief executive Ivan Menezes said: “Healthcare workers are at the forefront of fighting this pandemic and we are determined to do what we can to help protect them.

“This is the quickest and most effective way for us to meet the surging demand for hand sanitiser around the world.”

As part of this initiative, Diageo noted that it will provide around 500,000l of GNS for making sanitisers for the UK and Ireland national healthcare systems and workers.

In Italy, the company will be donating 100,000l of GNS to support the needs of the healthcare system and other requirements.

It will supply 500,000l to meet local community needs in the US.

The company will deliver 50,000l of spirit from its Ypioca plant for the local healthcare system in Brazil, while in Kenya it’s East Africa Breweries will support the production of 135,000l of sanitiser for vulnerable and at-risk groups.

In India, the company will be providing 500,000l of alcohol to supply to the sanitiser industry across 25 states. Its Bundaberg Distilling in Australia will produce 100,000l of ethanol for the Queensland Government to forward it to hand sanitiser manufacturers in the state.

Additionally, Diageo will engage with national and local governments where it has major distilling operations.

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