Seven-Up upgrades Sari-Iganmu Health Centre with lab, maternity ward, solar power
Seven-Up Bottling Company (SBC) has upgraded the Sari-Iganmu Primary Health Centre in Lagos with a renovated maternity ward, a new laboratory and solar power infrastructure, in an intervention aimed at improving access to essential healthcare in its host community.
The rehabilitation, carried out in collaboration with the Apapa-Iganmu Local Council Development Area (LCDA), was unveiled on September 28, marking another phase of SBC’s community investment in an area where the company has operated for more than six decades.
The new laboratory is a significant addition to the facility, which previously had no laboratory, while the solar installation is expected to provide more reliable power for healthcare operations. The maternity ward was also renovated as part of the project.
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Sari El-Khalil, managing director and chief executive officer of SBC, said the company’s relationship with Apapa-Iganmu dates back to 1960, when its first bottle was produced in the community.
“Everything that Seven-Up Bottling Company does is part of the community and everything that the community does is part of Seven-Up Bottling Company,” El-Khalil said, adding that the company considers community wellbeing a key part of its operations.
The intervention highlights a persistent challenge in Nigeria’s primary healthcare system, where infrastructure, diagnostic capacity and reliable electricity remain important constraints to the delivery of basic services.
By adding diagnostic capacity and an independent power solution to the health centre, the project goes beyond cosmetic renovation and addresses some of the operational gaps that can affect the quality and continuity of care at the primary level.
The project also aligns with Sustainable Development Goal 3 on good health and wellbeing, one of the seven priority Sustainable Development Goals within SBC’s sustainability agenda.
Jimoh Olawale Saliu, executive chairman of Apapa-Iganmu LCDA, described the rehabilitation as another demonstration of SBC’s longstanding commitment to the community.
He noted that the health intervention follows other projects by the company in Apapa-Iganmu, including its Plastic Waste for Product (P4P) initiative, a plastic buy-back programme launched in 2025 to address plastic pollution while creating economic opportunities for residents.
The Ojora of Ijora and Iganmu Kingdom, Oba Abdulfatai Oyeyinka Aremu Aromire II, said the relationship between the El-Khalil family and the community had evolved beyond business into one based on trust and shared interest in the wellbeing of residents.
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The upgraded facility is expected to provide healthcare workers with a more functional environment while improving access to maternity services, basic laboratory investigations and essential care for residents.
For SBC, the project extends a community relationship that began with its manufacturing operations in Iganmu more than 66 years ago. The company has also supported initiatives in education and youth development, including the Pepsi Football Academy and the Seven-Up Harvard Business School Scholarship, which has sponsored 16 Nigerians to attend Harvard Business School.
The Sari-Iganmu intervention therefore reflects a broader shift in corporate community investment from one-off donations towards infrastructure that can support the delivery of essential services over time.
