The corporate social responsibility arm of Newmont Ahafo Mine, Newmont Ahafo Development Foundation (NADeF), has donated basic personal protection equipment (PPE) to seven health facilities in its operational area to help fight against coronavirus (COVID-19).
The PPE, valued at GH¢48,696 comprised of 100 gallons of hand sanitizers (5L), 5,000 pieces of surgical nose masks, 9,000 pieces of surgical hand gloves, 40 gallons of liquid soap (5L) and 50 gallons of disinfectant (5L). The rest were 7 infrared thermometer and 420 bundles of tissue paper. The Foundation also made available 1,200 fabric face masks for onward distribution for stakeholders within the ten host communities of Newmont Ahafo Mine.
At a symbolic presentation ceremony held at Ntotroso, Monica Nkrumah, Chairperson, Board of Trustees-NADeF, said as the pandemic continues to wreak havoc across the world, it has become imperative to support the health institutions in Asutifi North District and Tano North Municipality of Ahafo Region and individuals to effectively manage it and prevent the spread, hence the gesture. She urged managers of the facilities to put the items into good use in achieving the intended purpose.
Recounting the achievements of NADeF, Madam Nkrumah noted that the Foundation has since its inception offered scholarships to 10,114 Senior High School and tertiary students, saying “The Foundation has a strong belief that society develops through the building and development of its human capital.”
To help improve access to social amenities, she said a total of 130 infrastructure projects have been provided within the ten host communities. The projects include the establishment of Colleges of Nursing and Health at Ntrotroso and Yamfo respectively, construction of a Recovery Ward at the Yamfo Health Centre, 16 ICT Centres in Basic Schools, 10 classroom blocks and five teachers’ quarters, she added.
In the area of economic empowerment, she indicated that the Foundation is investing in the people with financial support to improve their standard of living. “An amount of GH¢1 million has been provided as micro-credit to 2,205 community members, out of which 97 percent of the beneficiaries are women.”
The Communications and External Relations Manager, Newmont Ahafo Mine, Samuel Osei, commended frontline health workers for their selfless, resilience and passion in the fight against COVID-19. He urged them not relent in their efforts as the country and the at large continue to battle the dreadful pandemic.
He reaffirmed the commitment of Newmont to initiate more strategic collaborations to support government’s effort to defeat the virus. To buttress his claim, Mr. Osei mentioned a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) the company has signed with the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR).
He explained that under the MoU, Newmont Ghana will procure PCR equipment, ancillary equipment, reagents and other consumables to augment the capacity of KCCR to scale up its testing. Also, KCCR will help set up two laboratories in Newmont’s Ahafo and Akyem host communities to build their testing capacity for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.
Receiving the PPE, the Asutifi North District Director of Health, Foster Nyarko, expressed appreciation to NADeF for the donation and other invaluable contribution to healthcare delivery within its operational enclave. He said the items would go a long way to protect health workers in the area in the fight against COVID-19.
Monica Nkrumah (4th left), Chairperson, Board of Trustees NADeF presents items to Foster Nyarko (2nd right), Asutifi North District Health Director as other look on.
