The Ghana Association of Bankers (GAB) has donated GH¢2.5 million to four institutions in support of the fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
The institutions are the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), Ghana Association of Doctors in Residency and the Ministry of Health (MoH).
The NMIMR received $325,000 (GH¢1.85 million) to boost its capacity to do more testing for COVID-19, while the CWSA and GADOR were given GH¢200,000 each to help them play their part in tackling the pandemic.
The MoH also received 200 improved handwashing equipment valued at GH¢200,000 to be distributed to the district hospitals to promote handwashing.
Presentation
The President of the association and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Stanbic Bank, Mr Alhassan Andani, presented the cheques to the beneficiaries in Accra last Tuesday.
The Director of the NMIMR, Professor Abraham Kwabena Annan, received the cheque for the NMIMR, while the Chairman of the CWSA, Paa Kwesi Yankey, and the General Secretary of Doctors in Residency, Dr Florence Akumiah, stood in for their institutions.
The Director of Technical Coordination at the MoH, Dr Martha Gyansa-Lutterodt, received the document covering the items donated to the MoH.
Collaboration is key
Mr Andani said the decision to donate to the four entities was in view of the critical role they played in curbing the spread of COVID-19 and the need to support them with the needed resources.
“We all know that NMIMR is at the forefront of doing the testing so we thought we should be able to come to their aid to help them get more testing kits to perform this critical function.
“We also have our in-house doctors who get in touch with us each time we are rushed to the hospital. They play a key role in this COVID-19 fight and, therefore, we decided to donate towards acquiring personal protective equipment (PPE) and other stuff,” he said.
For the CWSA, Mr Andani said the donation was made to support the association’s collaboration with the agency to ensure that water was made available to rural communities.
The representatives of the four institutions thanked the association for the kind gesture and gave assurances that the money would be put to good use in the interest of the public.
Prof. Annan said the donation had come at the right time because it was going to boost the capacity of NMIMR to do more testing for the disease.
Hasman donation
In another development, a Ghanaian oil and gas service provider, Hasman Technical Services Limited (HTSL), has presented a cheque for GH¢100,000 to the NMIMR to support the institute’s testing activities in the fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), reports Juliet Akyaa Safo.
The Managing Director of the company, Mr William Andoh Wood, presented a dummy cheque for the amount to the Director of the Institute, Professor Abraham Kwabena Annan, in Accra last Tuesday.
Presentation
Mr Wood acknowledged the critical role the institute played in providing specialised diagnosis not only for COVID-19 but other infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, H1NI, Influenza, Ebola virus disease, among others.
“Your team at the institute put your lives at risk, considering the highly contagious nature of the COVID-19 to support the country to manage this disease and we commend your effort,” he said.
Appreciation
The Director of the institute, Professor Annan, thanked the team for the donation, stating that it had come in handy to help them acquire essential equipment such as personal protective equipment and reagents, and to build the capacities of its staff in the fight against the coronavirus.
He said the institute had already built the capacities of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, the National Public Health and Reference Laboratory, Ghana and the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens to take part in the testing.
