Hasman supports Noguchi Institute to fight COVID-19

Juliet Akyaa Safo Apr - 13 - 2020 , 20:31

A Ghanaian oil and gas service provider, Hasman Technical Services Limited (HTSL), has presented a cheque for GH¢100,000 to the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) to support the institute’s testing activities in the fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

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, H1N1, 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.

Mr Wood reiterated the need for a concerted effort to garner all resources required to combat the virus.

“I am appealing to the public to abide by the directives outlined by the government and health professionals to help control the pandemic for a return of the social and economic life of the country,” he appealed.

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 (PPE) and reagents and to build the capacities of its staff in the fight against the coronavirus.

He stated that such support enhanced the institute’s capacity to give more solid information to the government to help in decision making.

Prof. Annan also noted that already they had interacted and built the capacities of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the National Public Health and Reference Laboratory (NHPRL), Ghana, and the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP) to take part in the testing.