“AngloGold Ashanti Extends Compassionate Healthcare to Obuasi Prison Inmates”
Access to quality healthcare is a basic right of all individuals in the country including prisoners. It is believed that the health of prisoners in Ghana is generally poor due to inadequate supply of drugs and health personnel despite efforts by government and the Ghana Prisons Service.
It is for this reason that AngloGold Ashanti, Obuasi Mine extended its quarterly health outreach programme dubbed ‘Mini Clinic’ to the Obuasi Local Prisons. The inmates were screened for various ailments including HIV/ AIDS, and instantly treated by qualified medical professionals from the AngloGold Ashanti Health Foundation (AGAHF).
The mini clinic is an integral part of the health pillar of AngloGold Ashanti’s 10-Year Socio-Economic Development Plan, which has an intermediate goal to improve access to quality healthcare and services. It is fully sponsored by AngloGold Ashanti in partnership with Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Foundation, Ghana Health Service, and the Municipal Assemblies (OMA & OEMA).
The screening for inmates coincided with AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine’s commemoration of World AIDS Day. As part of the celebration, another screening and sensitisation program was held at the Obuasi Central Market where more than 1000 people attended. Participants were screened and treated of various ailments including HIV/AIDS, high blood pressure, eye diseases, diabetes, among others.
Purpose
According to the Community Relations Manager of AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine, Edmund Oduro Agyei, the decision to organize health screening and sensitisation programme to mark World AIDS Day was to demonstrate the Mine’s contributions towards reducing HIV/AIDS, promoting good health, and ensuring that residents in their host communities enjoy better and sustainable standards of living.n
The theme for this year’s World Aids day is “Take the Right Path: My Health, My Right!”. This, Mr. Oduro Agyei said, should be a reminder that being healthy “is not only about the absence of sickness or illness in our bodies, but the continuous and active state of wellness and wellbeing that we must continue to achieve and maintain for ourselves and our communities.”
” We understand that the commemoration of World AIDS Day is not just an event, hence we listed a plenitude of activities to mark the day. This started with series of sensitisation programmes on radio stations and community information centers in Obuasi”, he added.
Early screening
In an interaction with the media Mr Okwan John Addae of the AGA Health Foundation, early screening for HIV is considered key since it allows for prompt diagnosis, enabling individuals to start treatment early, potentially improving their health outcomes and significantly reducing the risk of transmitting the virus to others. He said early detection is crucial for managing HIV effectively and preventing further spread.
Commendation
ASP James Ekow Amoah, the Chaplain of the Obuasi Local Prisons commended AngloGold Ashanti for extending the mino clinic program to the inmates emphasising that access to quality healthcare by the inmates has been a major challenge.
He said they have had to grapple with inadequate supply of drugs at their infamry making it difficult for inmates to receive adequate medical care.
He emphasised the importance of such free screening exercise for inmates since it helps officers to know their state of health and how to handle them.
