Olam and Temasek donate coronavirus PPE to Noguchi Institute

Olam International, a leading food and agri-business, in partnership with Singapore-based Temasek Foundation has donated a consignment of PPEs to the Government of Ghana to support national efforts in the fight against COVID-19.

The consignment comprised various items including 3,000 surgical gowns, face shields, KN95 masks, and nitrile gloves. They were delivered to the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research through the Ministry of Health.

This adds to a previous donation of RNA extraction kits for 20,000 COVID-19 tests, supplied by the two organisations in June. In March this year, Olam also donated two consignments of medical supplies to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (GARTH) and the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR).

Speaking at the handing over ceremony at the Ministry of Health in Accra, Miss Patience Mantey, Quality Manager of Olam’s Packaged Food Business said: “For us, safeguarding and supporting our community is a number one priority. Since the outbreak of the virus, Olam has supported front liner workers with many interventions to lessen the impact of the pandemic on the country.

“As far as this pandemic is concerned, we are working on a global scale with local governments, health organisations and other partners to respond in an agile way to the challenges that we all face at this time. We believe our combined expertise and collective action can successfully curb the impact of COVID 19,” Miss Mantey said

Receiving the items on behalf of the Noguchi Institute, Dr Bernard Oko Boye, Deputy Minister for Health said donations such as these have helped the country tremendously in its fight against the COVID 19 pandemic; “We are determined to win the war against COVID 19 in record time and with minimum casualties. But to achieve this, we do need the support of partners and Olam has proven itself as a worthy partner so far.”.

Dr. John Kofi Odoom, Head of the Virology Department at the Noguchi, Institute said the test kits donated earlier by Olam are expensive on the open market and are very significant for the work of the Research Institute.

Dr. Odoom said although current statistics of COVID 19 may look encouraging, the pandemic is not over yet and advised Ghanaians to continue to abide by all the recommended safety and preventive protocols until the pandemic is completely expelled from the country.

Temasek Foundation, a shareholder of Olam International, supports a diverse range of programmes aimed at enhancing livelihood and communities in Singapore and globally. The Foundation’s programmes, executed through philanthropic endowments, strive towards achieving positive outcomes for individuals and communities.