NEWCREST Mining through its wholly owned subsidiary Lihir Gold Limited has delivered K542, 000 worth of essential medical supplies to Nimamar Local Level Government (NLLG) in the Namatanai district of New Ireland province.
In a statement, the company said the medical supplies were procured under Newcrest’s Community Support Fund (CSF) established in April 2020 to help Newcrest’s host communities respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The medical supplies include pharmaceutical items, diagnostic items, consumables, airways and breathing apparatuses, personal protective equipment, and intravenous items.
“The welfare of our community is critically important to us, and especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure the welfare of our communities in Lihir, we procured these medical supplies as we believe they are essential in Lihir’s response to COVID-19,” said Lihir’s General Manager Mr Peter Sharpe.
Newcrest purchased the medical supplies last year and assisted NLLG to store them at Lihir’s COVID-19 Treatment Centre as an interim storage measure.
NLLG is now distributing the supplies to the 11 health facilities across Lihir Group of Islands.
These facilities are Putput, Lataul, Samo, Mazuz, Banam, Olekowa, Malie, Ton and Mahur aid posts, and Masahet and Palie health centres.
Newcrest’s Community Relations Superintendent Conrad Akope said the delivery of the medical supplies also signified Newcrest’s strong relationship with community stakeholders and ongoing collaboration with the Lihir Joint Stakeholder Committee (JSC).
The JSC was formed in March 2020 to identify critical needs in Lihir during the COVID-19 pandemic and address the needs through various projects such as the procurement of medical supplies.
NLLG’s Health Manageress Gorettie Kaven thanked Newcrest for the timely handover of the medical supplies adding they will go a long way in serving the people especially in outer islands.
Under its CSF, Newcrest has contributed K1.6 million towards refurbishing Lihir’s 11 health facilities and K2.6 million on procuring electrical, medical and communications equipment for the health facilities.