Accra, June 11, GNA - Barclays Bank, Ghana is raising 608.396 million cedis through its Step Ahead Programme in support of the eradication of Guinea worm in the country.

This was disclosed by Mr Gayheart Mensah, Communications Manager, at the end of a 10-kilometre walk at the weekend to mark Barclays' "Step Ahead" celebration. The walk, which was on the theme; "Step Ahead - Walking a Million Kilometres for Charity", was aimed at raising funds to support the eradication of guinea worm. It is divided into three clusters - Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi - and participants are employers and employees of Barclays Ghana, customers and the public.

"It has been conceptualised as a platform for our company to highlight its commitment to colleagues and to the communities in which we operate," Mr Mensah said in a statement released in Accra on Monday. He noted that it was their moral obligation to support the country and the local communities in which they operated towards solving existing problems, which included guinea worm and any other related diseases He stated that the effect of guinea worm in the country was alarming and needed attention from both government and other cooperate organizations because of its economic impact on the development of the nation.

Mr Mensah said as a corporate organization, it had set aside two billion cedis every year for the support of small and medium enterprises, education and health in communities in which they operated.

Mr. Cliff Best, Chief Operating Officer of Barclays, Ghana, said it was unfortunate that people went through tragedies like the guinea worm and other diseases that could be solved. He stressed that Barclays Bank had designed the Step Ahead Programme to create awareness and funds for various charities across Africa and the Indian Ocean.

Mr Best said last year, Barclays Ghana supported the guinea worm campaign with funds for the purchase of water filters for local communities in the endemic areas.

He said since the success of the eradication depended on sustainable interventions, it was appropriate to continue to support the programme with more funds.

Mr Best said raffle tickets had been printed and every staff of the bank was required to sell the tickets through the branch networks as well as use marketing to create awareness and sell to the public. He added that the ticket, which would cost 10,000 cedis, would also require support from customers and stakeholders to play their part in assisting their communities.

The walk began at 0630 hours from the Corporate Service Centre of the Barclays Bank in Accra through British Council, TUC, Kojo Thompson Road, Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Ring Road, Ako Adjei Interchange and back to the Corporate Service Centre.