World Population Day: how the Anglo American Foundation is supporting our host communities to make a difference

The UN’s World Population Day, which takes place annually on 11 July, seeks to raise awareness of global population issues, notably the support of family planning, sexual and reproductive health, and related issues around health systems, gender-based violence, schooling and the rights of women and young people.

This year, to mark the day, we are releasing our 2020 Anglo American Foundation Report – which is available in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

This is the first ever report released by the Anglo American Foundation, which takes a long-term approach to socio-economic development and is built on the same principles as Anglo American’s purpose – to re-imagine mining to improve people’s lives.

In his forward statement within the report, Foundation Trustee and Chair Duncan Wanblad says: “Our work in the Foundation is guided by key principles that focus on accelerating progress towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, placing a particular importance on programmes that empower women, youth and vulnerable groups in our host communities and countries. Partnerships and strategic alliances with organisations in the non-profit, public and private sectors, alongside leveraging the time and expertise of Anglo American’s employees, are the key pillars of the Foundation’s work.”

The power of partnership

The report showcases some of the important charitable work done through our WeCare and Ambassadors for Good Programmes, as well as presenting case studies from Engineers Without Borders, the Inter-American development bank and Technoserve, IHRB, Salvation Army and our education initiatives in South Africa, Chile and Canada.

In 2020, the Foundation approved grants totalling £14.5 million, which reached an estimated 620,000 beneficiaries globally plus a further 480,000 through awareness campaigns. The scope of support covers countries including South Africa, UK, Chile, Brazil, Peru, Canada, Singapore and Ecuador.

Patrick Gibbs, Funding and Foundation Adviser commented: “The ethos of charity and volunteering has been deeply embedded into the DNA of Anglo American for generations, but we’ve never before showcased the important and wide-ranging initiatives and projects that we’re supporting. For the first time, we’ve created a snapshot of some of our key projects in 2020. This is in part intended as a thank you to our inspirational beneficiary organisations, as well as the trustees and Anglo American support staff who work voluntarily and without financial reimbursement to support this great cause.”