AIDS, like COVID-19, is an illness that affects people all over the world. And as a global business, we’ve made it our mission to support the communities along our supply chains—which sometimes means providing essential medical supplies.
One of our latest efforts: donating medical equipment to the Sampa Government Hospital to support health care delivery amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The equipment, including ventilators, semi-automated chemistry analyzers, an electric bed with mattress, overhead table, monitors, and an Olympus microscope, will help enhance the services of the Sampa Hospital to patients in the surrounding communities and improve the livelihood of our farmers.
The donation of medical supplies was organized by Olam Ghana, a subsidiary of Olam International. And the support doesn’t end there.
Raising Awareness about HIV/AIDS in the Sampa Neighborhood
In collaboration with the Ghana Health Service and Ghana AIDS Commission, Olam Ghana also selected Ghana’s Jaman North District as the focus of its World AIDS Day support, with a theme of “Global Solidarity, a Shared Responsibility – Stay Safe, Let’s end AIDS by 2030.” Support includes donations, as well as sponsored radio discussions to raise awareness about the HIV/AIDS crisis in the area.
The Jaman North district has a high HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 1.25%. It is also a bordering town to Cote d’Ivoire, with a high risk of exposure to COVID-19 due to trans-border movement and activities. Though mutually exclusive, both events were finished with a “durbar,” or formal council meeting, held at the Sampa Lorry Park on December 1st, 2020.
The durbar, which was graced by the DCE, the MP, the Chiefs of Sampa traditional council, the security forces, health personnel, senior high school students, and the public also offered the opportunity for voluntary health screening and counseling.
Speaking at the durbar, Mr. Yussif Amankwa, branch manager for Olam Ghana Cashew said:
"Our world continues to be plagued with health crises, which not only threatens lives but also livelihoods. As a proactive step, Olam Ghana is donating this medical equipment to the Sampa hospital to better equip the facility to provide quality general and ICU health care services to the good people of Jaman North district. We trust this equipment would be put to good use to help mitigate the risk of COVID19, and any other future health issues that may confront us."
Receiving the items, Mr. Jacob Aleeba the Jaman District Health Director said:
“We are so grateful to Olam for these very important equipments donated to us. Olam Ghana has seen the need to also support those of us in the rural areas which really excites us. With this donation from Olam, we can also be in a better position to handle various intensive care health cases that otherwise would have been referred to facilities in the city. We promise to take very good care of these equipments and to put it to its rightful use to serve the people of Jaman North and beyond. As we celebrate World AIDs Day, I also want to mention that the HIV virus still lives with us, and new cases of infection are still been recorded, I will therefore edge everyone to protect themselves, get tested, and stop stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV.”
We are so grateful to our international community in Ghana and beyond and are honored to be able to do our part to mitigate the HIV/AIDS crisis in Jaman North. Head here to learn more about Olam International in West and Central Africa, including what makes Ghana such a leader in African agricultural development.