In the fight against Malaria, a parasitic disease that continues to threaten lives globally, Newmont is leading the charge on its education among its workforce in Ghana through an annual awareness programme for its workforce, host communities and dependents. Malaria, transmitted by the female anopheles mosquito, is fatal and a danger to vulnerable populations including children under the age of 5, pregnant women, and individuals without previous exposure to the parasite.
Recognizing the impact of this disease, Newmont dedicates March and April each year to heighten awareness and reduce its spread among its workforce, families, and host communities. The programme, introduced in 2021, has achieved remarkable success in reducing infections among employees with an emphasis on awareness creation and engagement.
Through carefully curated health talks led by medical practitioners and nutritionists, extensive interactions are held to provide adequate information focusing on preventive measures. The programme is designed to provide a deep understanding of how malaria is transmitted, prevented, detected, early and effective treatment and good nutrition.
One of the most important initiatives in this programme is the ‘Screen and Treat’ exercise, which exemplifies the company’s proactive approach to the holistic well-being of its workforce. Healthcare professionals visit Newmont’s offices through April to conduct scheduled malaria tests on the workforce. Positive cases are referred for immediate treatment, contributing to a significant reduction in morbidity.
These initiatives form part of Newmont’s broader commitment to the health and safety of its workforce and falls in line with World Malaria Day, which is marked on 25th April each year, to commemorate the global fight against malaria.
This year’s theme ‘Accelerating the fight against malaria for a more equitable world’, calls for more concerted efforts to make quality, timely, and affordable services available to prevent, detect, and treat malaria for all.
Other measures implemented to protect the employees from the disease include the treatment of puddles of water within controlled cones with environmentally friendly chemicals to get rid of the larvae, indoor residual spraying where insecticides are applied on walls across the sites to knock off mosquitoes as well as the allocation of mosquito repellents to the workforce.
Newmont’s infectious disease laboratories at the Abirem Government Hospital in the Eastern Region and the Kenyasi Health Centre in the Ahafo Region continue to support the testing and treatment of such infectious diseases. Through Newmont’s partnership with the Project C.U.R.E., health centres within the host communities in Akyem and Ahafo have received medical supplies to support malaria prevention and treatment among others.
Last year, Newmont’s medical services provider refurbished the Yamfo Health Centre’s laboratory in Yamfo in the Ahafo Region and donated essential equipment worth about GHS103,000 to the facility. The donation was to enhance the health centre’s lab functionality and improve health service delivery especially in diagnosing and treating malaria.
Newmont’s proactive approach towards the campaign against malaria underscores the company’s broader commitment to the safety and well-being of its workforce and the host communities.
The writer is the Communication and External Relations Officer of Newmont
BY NOELLE FRIMPONMAA NTIAMOAH