The AGA Health Foundation, formerly the Edwin Cade Hospital, is a wholly owned subsidiary of AngloGold Ashanti Ghana. It is the second largest hospital in the Ashanti Region in terms of scope of services and has 150 beds in eight main wards and an emergency department.
The hospital offers services at cost to the community. Currently, more than 80 percent of the hospital’s patients come from the local community. AngloGold Ashanti Ghana makes an annual contribution of $2.4 million to the hospital to support its operations.
The AGA Health Foundation has been upgraded and now has a fully equipped three-bed intensive care unit for the care of critical cases.
Covid-19 response
At Obuasi, we continue to collaborate and work in partnership with employees, communities and government to navigate the pandemic and keep everyone safe. Employee and local community initiatives include awareness and personal hygiene campaigns.
Support for covid-19 testing
Access to timely covid-19 testing proved to be significant in improving related morbidity and mortality rates. AngloGold Ashanti Ghana, through the Obuasi mine, funded procurement of PCR and GeneXpert machines, and the quarterly replenishment of SARS-CoV-2 cartridges at a cost of US$117,000. The mine’s support assisted in ensuring timely covid-19 results, especially for severe-critical cases, which in turn helped for local health facilities to function more effectively.
Covid-19 control centre
The Obuasi mine funded the set-up of a fully resourced covid-19 control center to co-ordinate all covid-related responses in the Obuasi Municipality, Obuasi East District and beyond. The facility offers a one-stop point to address most challenges related to management of covid-19 within Obuasi. It also serves as an information hub for the Ministry of Health and other bodies regarding covid-19 for Obuasi.
Bio-safety testing laboratory
The Obuasi mine funded the establishment of a bio-safety testing laboratory for diseases such as covid-19 and tuberculosis at the AGA Hospital at a cost of US$51,000. The AGA Health Foundation, in collaboration with the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research, provided expertise in testing for infectious diseases.
Additional covid-related action included:
- Contributed US$100,000 through the Ghanaian Chamber of Mines to government’s covid-19 interventions
- Ongoing disinfection of all (more than 20) health facilities and all major markets in Obuasi
- Set up of a hand sanitiser production facility. Over 250 boxes of hand sanitiser donated to stakeholder institutions in Obuasi
- Engaged with and developed capacity of three local suppliers on the manufacture and supply of nose masks to the mine
- Donated 460 Veronica buckets for hand washing, 650 nose masks and two mini boxes of hand gloves to host communities and stakeholders
- Donated 3,000 covid-19 education posters to basic schools and religious bodies in Obuasi
- Paid three months’ rent (GHS134,000) on behalf of isolation centres for the Obuasi Municipal and Obuasi East District Assemblies