The spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in every region of the world is of great concern to us in the planetGOLD community, and we are monitoring the situation closely. During this time of uncertainty and disruption, our first priority is to take every precaution necessary to protect programme staff, families and communities.
Although travel restrictions are in place in many regions where artisanal and small-scale gold mining activities take place, our work continues as our staff across the programme continue to carry out work from home. We are all mindful that this outbreak has the potential to significantly impact miners and their communities, and that the need to work alongside them toward sustainable development will be greater than ever. For more on this issue, read our recent blog post.
We will continue assessing the impacts of COVID-19 on our work and on our beneficiaries. I want to thank all of our staff and partners for the adjustments they have made under challenging circumstances, and on behalf of the planetGOLD programme I wish everyone good health.
Ludovic Bernaudat
Programme Manager for planetGOLD
Senior Task Manager
Chemicals and Health Branch, United Nations Environment Programme
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