By Yussif brahim
Ahansonyewodea (Ash), Dec. 07, GNA-Hundreds of residents of Ahansonyewodea, a suburb of Obuasi, have benefitted from a mini clinic durbar organised by AngloGold Ashanti, Obuasi Mine to offer free medical care to members of the community.
The exercise, which has been rotated in different communities this year in line with the health component of its 10-year Socio-Economic Development Plan (SEDP), is aimed at taking quality health care to the doorsteps of host communities.
It was organised in collaboration with the AGA Health Foundation, GIZ, Obuasi Municipal and Obuasi East District Health Directorates as well as the Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Foundation.
The occasion was also used to sensitize the people to rising cases of HIV/AIDS and the need to test to know their status to take the necessary precautions.
A team of health professionals including doctors, nurses, dispensary technicians and other auxiliary health providers attended to the people, providing most of the services they could access in health facilities.
Patrons were also given medication with those who needed further treatments were referred to health facilities for further examination.
Mr Edmond Oduro Agyei, the Stakeholders Engagement Superintendent, AngloGold Ashanti, said the collaboration between the company and its partners in the health sector gave birth to the mini-clinic concept.
He said the core business of AngloGold Ashanti was about the people and that it was important to prioritize the welfare of the people in communities within the company’s operational areas.
“We 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,” he noted.
He said the commitment of AngloGold Ashanti to the health needs of the people was evident in the several critical interventions implemented by the mine over the years.
He explained that the company 2015 took a strategic decision to transition its hospital into a fully independent entity, now known as the AGA Health Foundation, which was providing quality health not only to the employees of the mine and their dependents but also to the people of Obuasi and its surrounding communities.
Available statistics indicated that over 70 per cent of Out-Patients attendance at the AGA Health Foundation are from the host communities, he indicated.
“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,” Mr Agyei observed.
He thanked the hardworking health workers and volunteers for always making themselves available to serve the communities whenever their services were needed.
GNA