Our approach to community health is informed by technical normative guidance and investment targeting that is aligned to the World Health Organization's (WHO’s) approach to community health, which is a whole of society approach to health. Community health programmes involve, but extend beyond, our workforce and their dependants to support the wider community, which means that targeted individuals do not necessarily have a connection to Anglo American, as these initiatives view our communities holistically and strive to achieve equitable access.
HEALTH AND WELLBEING
In line with our Purpose, we continue to play an active role in improving the lives of not only our workforce, but of the local communities around our operations. Our approach to community health is informed by guidance and investment targeting that are aligned to the World Health Organization's (WHO) whole of society approach to community health. Community health programmes involve, but extend beyond, our workforce and their dependants to support the wider community, which means that targeted individuals do not necessarily have a connection to Anglo American, as these initiatives view our communities holistically and strive to achieve equitable access. All stakeholder engagement processes are conducted in line with the Social Way.
TARGETS AND PROGRESS
As part of the Thriving Communities pillar of our Sustainable Mining Plan , we plan to achieve prioritised SDG 3 targets for health in host communities by 2030. We also have an interim milestone where all our operations should be halfway to closing the gap between the baseline and our 2030 target. In order to achieve this stretch goal, a robust process of prioritisation of relevant SDG 3 sub-goals was undertaken in each host community, and three priorities per community were identified. Progress is being made towards the 2025 milestone, with programmes in place to address identified health priorities by the close of 2025. Our operations in Australia, Canada, South Africa, the UK and Zimbabwe already have full functional programmes in place. Priority regions for 2024 include Brazil, Chile and Peru.
ACTIVITIES IN 2023
GLOBAL FUND PARTNERSHIP
In 2022, Anglo American and the Anglo American Foundation pledged $15 million to the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria as the anchor partner for the Digital Health Impact Accelerator Catalytic Fund (DHIA). This fund will support countries across Africa to develop and implement digital health strategies, including electronic patient records, improvement of digital system execution to ultimately improve community health provision and ensure that the right people can be reached with the right services at the right time. Additional contributors for this initiative include Zenysis, Novartis Foundation and the Patrick McGovern Foundation, with an investment to a total of $107 million.
The DHIA is integrated with the resilient and sustainable systems for health initiative, and laboratory strengthening strategic initiative, thus leveraging funding investment in Africa to an estimated value of $250 million. A further funding leverage is expected through extended partnership with WHO Global Initiative on Digital Health (GIDH) for enhancing digital health, Africa CDC’s digital transformation initiative and Africa CDC Smart Africa initiative for health facility connectivity.
STRENGTHENING HEALTH SYSTEMS
Under our community health and well-being programme, there are multiple initiatives designed to improve the quality of HIV-associated care. These initiatives build on the health system strengthening initiatives that are prioritised in all countries, to enable improved access to testing and treatment.
SOUTH AFRICA
In South Africa, a number of programme components have been implemented, including:
In South Africa, we enable the delivery of the Coach Mpilo programme. This is a network of coaches who identify men living with HIV and then provide peer-to-peer support to access treatment and manage their health, while overcoming stigma and stereotypes about HIV status and gender norms. Men are also supported and encouraged to test for HIV and take steps to improve their holistic health and well-being.
ZIMBABWE
In Zimbabwe, we are working with the NGO, Zvandiri, the Ministry of Health and Child Care, and the National AIDS Commission in supporting children and adolescents living with HIV to improve health outcomes through peers, counsellors, family support, and health systems strengthening. Adolescents also receive support to test for HIV and access pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) if HIV-negative. The programme also focusses on young mothers through providing them with an enhanced package of support to ensure positive outcomes for themselves and their children.
UNITED KINGDOM
In the UK, we are working with local authorities and community stakeholders to design an integrated programme to improve the emotional resilience and well-being of young people aged 15–21 years of age. Over a two-year pilot, which will begin in January 2024, 250 young people will be reached to improve their well-being. The pilot will place an emphasis on understanding and capturing outcomes which influence and impact upon a participant’s ability to manage their feelings and emotions, confidence and self-esteem, and agency over their lives.
Relevant SDG targets for health to be achieved in our host communities.
In 2021, we launched our digital health strategy, which is aimed at transforming Anglo American into a digital-first health organisation.
We are developing this new strategy to employ leading technologies and advanced analytics that have a demonstrated ability to reduce risk and improve health outcomes.
Our Global Mental Health Framework is a key part of our health and well-being strategy and outlines our approach to supporting the mental health of our colleagues.
We know that around one in four people will suffer from mental illness at some point, with an estimated one in six people experiencing a common mental health problem, such as anxiety or depression, in any given week.
We recognise our responsibility to support the mental health of our people, consistent with the recommendations of the WHO and are committed to creating an environment where everyone at Anglo American – at any site or office – can bring their whole and best selves to work, and have the opportunity to fulfil their potential.
Our Workplace Health Standard defines the minimum that needs to be done to effectively manage occupational exposure risk, occupational diseases, occupational injuries, and overall well-being and mental health.
All of our operations have completed self-assessments against the requirements of the Standard, which we introduced in 2020, and have developed action plans to address any identified gaps.
As a corporate leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS for more than 30 years, we are committed to The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) aimed at accelerating the fight against HIV and ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030.
One of the top-line pathways towards meeting this goal includes the 95-95-95 treatment target: 95% of people living with HIV knowing their HIV status; 95% of people who know their status on treatment; and 95% of people on treatment with suppressed viral loads.
We have seen infection numbers continue to rise in many of the countries where we operate and we recognise that the collective effort of also addressing social issues can help to decrease this trend. Under our community health and well-being programme, there are multiple initiatives designed to increase access to treatment and testing that are being implemented across geographies. These initiatives are guided by the SDG framework, prioritising the SDG 3 goals which are relevant to each host community.
In 2022, 90% of our employees in southern Africa knew their status (2021: 88%). We recorded 157 new cases of HIV and 1 HIV/AIDS-related deaths. This translates into an incidence rate of 0.69%. Notwithstanding the limitations posed by the pandemic, 89% of our employees living with HIV were on antiretroviral therapy at the end of 2022.
In 2022, the TB incidence rate was 154 per 100,000 compared with 152 per 100,000 in 2021.
Our comprehensive set of policies, standards and principles ensure that we uphold the commitments we make to our stakeholders and work towards a common set of ambitions.
The Safety, Health and Environment [SHE] Way Standard Context Specification – English
The Safety, Health and Environment [SHE] Way Standard Glossary and Introduction – English
The Safety, Health and Environment [SHE] Way Standard Improvement Specification – English
The Safety, Health and Environment [SHE] Way Standard Leadership Specification – English
The Safety, Health and Environment [SHE] Way Standard Operations Specification – English
The Safety, Health and Environment [SHE] Way Standard Performance Evaluation Specification – English
The Safety, Health and Environment [SHE] Way Standard Planning Specification – English
The Safety, Health and Environment [SHE] Way Standard Support Specification – English
The Safety, Health and Environment [SHE] Way Standard – English
The Safety, Health and Environment [SHE] Way Policy – English
The Safety, Health and Environment [SHE] Way Standard – Portuguese
The Safety, Health and Environment [SHE] Way Policy – Portuguese
The Safety, Health and Environment [SHE] Way Standard – Spanish
The Safety, Health and Environment [SHE] Way Policy – Spanish
Anglo American Group HIV/AIDS Policy
