MÉDECINS Sans Frontières (MSF) has launched a medical outreach initiative in Gwanda district, Matabeleland South province, supporting the Health and Child Care ministry in accessing hard-to-reach populations, particularly small-scale artisanal gold miners, with a comprehensive basic health-care outreach programme.
Artisanal miners and small-scale mining communities have limited access to primary health services.
In an interview, MSF’s Munyaradzi Sidakwa said the outreach programme aimed to bridge the health services gap and bring essential healthcare services directly to the miners’ doorsteps.
He said working hand-in-hand with the Health ministry provided access to communicable and non-communicable diseases prevention, screening and treatment services.
“We noted some of the main gaps and partnered the Health and Child Care ministry to conduct outreach programmes to artisanal mining sites,” Sidakwa said.
“Our goal is not only to address the immediate health needs of these miners, but also to empower them with the knowledge and tools to protect themselves and their communities in the long run and the screening is for free.”
He said host communities and artisanal small-scale miners in hard-to-reach areas delayed seeking medical care.
“They do not follow through with referrals. They struggle to adhere to treatment. They also struggle to access affordable care and they frequently rely on traditional treatments that are readily available and easily accessible.
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“The miners are also hard to reach with public health information because of their mobile nature, they move from one place to another in search of rich gold deposits,” Sidakwa said.
“Distance has been one of the major hindrances to access medical care for miners and host communities and this has ultimately affected their health seeking behaviour. They have to travel for anything between six and 30km to access the nearest health facility.”
Zimbabwe is currently experiencing a high burden of TB, silicosis and HIV among communities of artisanal and small-scale miners.
Multi-sectoral and innovative interventions are required to stem this triple epidemic in Zimbabwe.
The risk of silicosis increases due to exposure to silica dust.
Silicosis is a lung disease that comes as a result of exposure to silica, which is dust found in many rocks, sand and construction materials.
The dust is produced while drilling for these materials.
To date, MSF teams have reached more than 4 000 artisanal miners and host communities with outreach services.
An artisanal miner, Amon Ndlovu, told NewsDay that it was hard to find a clinic.
“During the day, we will be busy in the mining holes, so I better sacrifice to get money to fend for my family,” he said.
“We suffer from the inside with generalised aches and pains, but we just ignore them. Sometimes the chest pains are severe. Now that we are accessing medical services here, it is easier for me.”
According to the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Zimbabwe has more than 500 000 artisanal and small-scale miners and about two million people who depend on them.
