Community Health
As members of the community, our employees and contractors can be impacted significantly by communicable diseases. Our focus in community health is, therefore, directed towards the prevention and treatment of the three major infectious diseases which impact many of our operations.
A summary of our approach to these is discussed below with details on our progress provided in Our Performance.
HIV/AIDS
In the communities where our operations are located in South Africa and Mozambique, the incidence of HIV/AIDS is among the highest in the world. We have a responsibility to manage the impact of the disease in order to care for our employees, protect the viability of our operations and support the wellbeing and development of our host communities.
For many years, we have adopted a proactive approach to managing the disease within our workplaces. This has included conducting education programs, ensuring employees and dependants have appropriate access to medical care, and reducing hostel-type accommodation for employees, which is known to be a risk factor for the disease. We have also increased our support to community facilities that assist in managing the disease and its consequences. We are now seeking ways to support initiatives that will help manage the disease in the wider population.
Tuberculosis (TB)
In the Northwest Territories of Canada, TB is a significant issue among the Inuit population, which as a consequence has an impact on our EKATI Diamond Mine operation. In an effort to limit development of the disease, we have embarked on a screening program to detect latent TB infection in our workforce and the local community.
The initiative at EKATI is an attempt to limit the development of the disease in our employees and their dependants and in the local Inuit population generally. By detecting the infection in a person before it becomes active, it is possible that a course of treatment will reduce the chances of active TB developing and infection of others occurring. This will have the benefit over time of reducing the incidence of TB in the community.
Malaria
Along with TB and HIV/AIDS, malaria is one of the major infectious diseases responsible for significant illness and mortality around the world. For the Company, malaria is a significant health issue in southern Mozambique and northern Brazil where our operations are located. The disease can impact on the ability of these regions to provide sustainable workforces. The health of employees can also affect productivity and safety.
We are supporting the Medicines for Malaria Venture, which has been established through the World Health Organisation with the aim of developing affordable anti-malarial drugs for people in the disease-endemic countries. We are among the first small group of global companies invited to become corporate supporters of the Medicines for Malaria Venture. Our plan to provide financial support to this worthwhile initiative over the next three years further extends our involvement in the fight against malaria on a global scale.
