Mining companies that have, traditionally, provided drugs and treatment to combat HIV and TB in their workforces, are being asked to consider rolling out that service to communities near the mines, which are often in remote parts of the country and were benefiting from nurses and clinics funded with American money.
The Department of Health has asked mining health services to “consider being part of the drug distribution points”, said the Minerals Council, which represents the biggest mining companies operating in South Africa.
The companies have also been asked to be “more involved in community outreach services as the Department of Health is unlikely to be able to fill this void”, according to a Bloomberg report in News24.
With almost half a million workers, many of them migrants from neighbouring countries, mining companies and the health services they provide have been a stalwart in the fight against HIV/Aids for years.
But while the South African government itself, unlike many other African countries, buys almost all of the drugs used to combat HIV, it relied on about 15 000 workers paid for by USAID and Pepfar to help distribute them and administer treatment and counselling.
However, about 25 years of progress may be reversed and more than 610 000 HIV-related deaths may occur in the next decade because of the funding cuts unless those gaps are filled, experts have said.
Impala Platinum (Implats) and other mining companies were to meet with the government yesterday to discuss how to address the gaps left by the funding withdrawal.
At the same time Discovery Health is working with affected organisations to offer technical support as well as holding talks with potential funders.
Bogosi Moagi, group health executive for Implats, said: “We definitely have the capacity and are willing to explore – with the Department of Health – how we can help to extend delivery of services for them.”
Covid-19 response
This won’t be the first time private companies have worked with the government to combat a health crisis. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, Discovery offered technical expertise, and along with other companies, also provided some financial support.
And Implats was among the first private companies to have its operational sites accredited to become vaccination centres.
“This challenge is too big for any one player,” Andronica Mabuya, head of corporate and social investment at Discovery, said. “It will need a very coordinated effort between government, private sector and civil society.”
News24 article – As US cuts HIV help, South Africa (Restricted access)
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