Newmont : Donates PCR Laboratories to The Ghana Health Service to Help Combat COVID-19

After many months of extensive work building a legacy that demonstrates the Company's values, in December 2021, Newmont successfully funded and launched two PCR laboratories, worth GHS 2 million, with the Ghana Health Service as part of efforts to fight off the COVID-19 pandemic.

Newmont and the Ghana Health Service held a virtual ceremony to highlight the importance of the mutually beneficial inter-institutional partnership that has resulted in the establishment of the laboratories in our operational districts (Asutifi North and Birim North).

This collaboration started in 2020, when Newmont Ghana signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR) to enhance the latter's capacity for COVID-19 testing and to set up PCR laboratories in our host communities.

Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, joined the virtual ceremony and expressed appreciation to Newmont for funding the PCR labs, which he believed will significantly improve the management of the pandemic. The Scientific Director of the KCCR, Prof. Richard Phillips, whose initiative led to the establishment of the PCR labs, said the facilities will serve a greater purpose as part of the national effort against infectious diseases.

Newmont recognizes the need for such fruitful partnerships within the health sector to improve the overall well-being of our people and the communities where we operate. To further ensure the sustainability of the facilities, the PCR laboratories will be stocked with six months' supply of consumables.

We commend the team at KCCR and the Ghana Health Service, especially the Eastern and Ahafo Regional and District Health Directorates, for their continuous collaboration throughout the journey. They have been extremely supportive from the beginning and we look forward to a stronger partnership in the years ahead.

Congratulations to the leadership team of Newmont Africa, the Global Newmont COVID-19 Steering Committee members and the Regional COVID-19 Steering Committee members who worked with our health partners to complete the project.