download a PDF version of Beyond Borders - Barrick Gold Corporation

A BARRICK GOLD REPORT ON RESPONSIBLE MINING | BEYOND BORDERSBarrick takes aim attropical diseases in theDominican RepublicRecognizing that the key to preventing a deadly outbreakof cholera and dengue fever in the Dominican Republic iseducation, Barrick has recently completed a health preventioneducational program that has reached over 22,000 people. Theglobal incidence of dengue fever and cholera epidemics hasgrown significantly in recent years and is a continuing healththreat in the Dominican Republic, home to the company’sPueblo Viejo project. The health program is a direct response tothe need for innovative community-based solutions.Newly trained and armed with educational materials, 200Dominicans travelled to the local municipalities of Cotuí,Fantino and Maimón to teach residents the latest in diseaseprevention and environmental sanitation. Barrick’s teams visitedneighbouring households with the goal of educating residents onhygiene, family and environmental health.“Barrick has had the privilege of working with communitiesaround Pueblo Viejo to help prevent these contagious andinfectious diseases. This has contributed to the creation of healthnetworks all around the region since 2009,” says Méjico Ángeles,Government and Regulatory Affairs manager at Barrick PuebloViejo. The long-term objective of the project is to establisha permanent community health committee that will helpstrengthen local health institutions.As an added benefit, Barrick was able to provide temporaryemployment for the 200 people participating in the campaign,many of them youth, adding an economic benefit to thisgrassroots health program.The importance of this program has been recognized as asignificant factor in reducing the presence of dengue fever inthe province, according to the Health Department of SánchezRamírez. Since the completion of the second phase of theprogram there have been no reports of cholera or dengue fevercases in the region.The second phase of this project began in late 2009, sponsoredby the Ministries of Labour and Public Health, Barrick and thelocal municipalities of Cotuí, Fantino and Maimón.30March 2011