Press Release

GfK employees finance hospital

Building work begins on the Heinrich A. Litzenroth Memorial Ward District Hospital in Kalkudah,
Sri Lanka

Nuremberg, 10 November 2005 – Preparations are currently underway for building work on a new hospital in Kalkudah, eastern Sri Lanka, which is twinned with Nuremberg. It will be named as the Heinrich A. Litzenroth Memorial Ward District Hospital after the Management Board member who lost his life in the tsunami last December. The two storey hospital building, which will have between 80 and 100 beds, is being financed by donations totalling EUR 300,000 given by the employees and Management Board of GfK and suppliers working with GfK.

The fact that the hospital project is being realized is due to the efforts of the city of Nuremberg, which has meanwhile launched and partly completed a series of projects in the Kalkudah region, which was so badly affected by the tsunami.

The Sri Lankan Ministry of Health and the Development Ministry responsible for the region have given consent to build the hospital and planning permission has also been granted. The facility will be expanded in the future into a district hospital serving the medical care of around 125,000 people in Kalkudah and its environs. The hospital building will replace a medical facility in Kalkudah, which was completely destroyed by the tsunami. Currently, the wards and outpatient units housed in the wrecked building before the tsunami are being temporarily housed in other buildings on the hospital site.

The new hospital will be a two storey building with around 40 to 50 beds on each floor. Three bungalows will also be erected to accommodate the outpatient units. The hospital bearing the Litzenroth name will set a new standard for hospitals in terms of construction and medical equipment. The building work is scheduled to be completed in nine to ten months.

The Heinrich A. Litzenroth Memorial Ward District Hospital owes its existence, in particular, to the employees of GfK, who donated in excess of EUR 100,000, which was then doubled by the GfK Management Board. Last but not least, the associates of GfK also donated considerable sums to help the campaign.

Kalkudah

Kalkudah is a small fishing town located in one of Sri Lanka’s most picturesque East Coast areas. The flourishing tourism of the the past decade in and around Kalkudah was brought to an abrupt end when the Tamil Tigers destroyed the town’s three hotels. Kalkudah, which is certainly among the poorest areas in Sri Lanka, also suffered greatly in the tsunami, with more than 300 inhabitants losing their lives and over 3,000 made homeless and now living in temporary accommodation. The city of Nuremberg is twinned with the region and has launched and carried out a series of aid projects, which it has managed to do more successfully than many of the emergency relief organizations.

Kalkudah borders Tamil-held territory. Sri Lankan military guard the beach and all access roads and railway lines. Yet the people, including the military guards, are friendly and there is a peaceful atmosphere there. And amazingly, it seems that the tsunami has been able to bring together Muslims and Tamils. The outlook for peaceful coexistance is good at the moment. The first of the Nuremberg projects, which provided a water tanker and a truck to transport pumps to clean the wells, was destined for the Tamil part of the town.

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GfK AG, Public Affairs and Communications

Dr. Ulrike Schöneberg

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D-90319 Nuremberg

Tel. +49 911 395-2645

Fax +49 911 395-4041

public.affairs@gfk.de