AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine as part of its 10-year Socio-Economic Development Plan (SEDP), has held a mini clinic durbar for the people of Nhyieso and its surrounding communities within the Obuasi municipality.
About one thousand residents and traditional leaders were screened and given medication for various ailments.
Health workers from the Obuasi Municipal and East Health Directorate set up facilities such as eye clinic, consultation services, vaccination posts for Covid-19 and Hepatitis B, among others. The Otumfuo Smile Foundation also set up a dental clinic as well.
In a welcome address, Senior Manager – Environment, George Owusu Ansah, explained that health and safety is a topmost priority for AGA, hence, several health projects have been embarked upon in this regard.
“At AngloGold Ashanti, we believe that our business is people and people are our business. We, therefore, place people first and correspondingly put the highest priority on their health because we strongly believe that a healthy community is a productive and wealthy community. It is in this regard that AngloGold Ashanti has over the years implemented several critical interventions to contribute to improving access to quality health care in Obuasi.
In 2015 AngloGold Ashanti took a strategic decision to transition the mine’s hospital into a fully independent entity known today as the AGA Health Foundation which is providing quality health care, not only to mine employees and their dependents, but also to the people of Obuasi and surrounding communities. Available statistics reveal that over 70 percent of the out-patients attendance at the AGA Health Foundation are from the host communities.
Our Malaria Control Programme remains a flagship health intervention which is making a significant socio-economic impact not only in Obuasi but in Ghana as a whole.
To contribute to improving maternal and child health in Obuasi, the mine, through the AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Community Trust Fund last year handed over a fully furnished 16-bed capacity maternity block with operating theatre and related facilities to the Obuasi Government Hospital,” he said.
Mr. Owusu Ansah further pledged his outfit’s continuous support to ensure good health as stated in Socio-Economic Development Plan for the Obuasi Municipality and Obuasi East District Assemblies.
“The Mini Clinic and Health Outreach we have organised today at Nhyieso is not the first, but the same was done in Binsere and Diawuoso and would continue in other communities in line with our 10-year Socio-Economic Development Plan (SEDP).
This is an addition to the many health interventions we are implementing but more importantly it is also opening a new frontier of bringing quality health care at the doorstep of our communities. We hope our communities will take advantage of this opportunity and present themselves for the screening.
AngloGold Ashanti will continue to work in partnership with all stakeholders in support of efforts that will leave our communities with a sustainable future,” he noted.
