Kimberley’s Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe hospital is home to the northern cape’s only established oncology service department. As a result, all oncology services across the province are coordinated from this hospital. However, it has always been the Nothern Cape DoH’s intention to decentralize some services to other districts considering that most patients must travel great distances (800+km) to Kimberley to begin treatment.

As part of our efforts to transform communities, Vedanta Zinc International (VZI), together with the Northern Cape Province Department of Health, committed to establishing an oncology treatment facility at the Dr. van Niekerk Hospital in Springbok in the Namakwa District at the African Mining Indaba 2022. The facility will be located 120 km from the Black Mountain Mining operations in Aggeneys.

To achieve this goal, the following deliverables were identified:
• Construct and equip a fully functional oncology services facility in Springbok
• Early detection of cancers through awareness and screening programs
• Strengthen the provincial DoH referral system

The Oncology facility will be a great addition to VZI’s health support programmes, such as the annual VZI Pink Drive, a breast and prostate examination program which aims to assist in the early detection and treatment of Cancer within the Namakwa District.

Over the past seven years, the Pink Drive mobile trucks have been deployed to visit the Black Mountain Mining communities, where residents were encouraged to undergo the relevant tests. The PinkDrive program reinforces the mine’s continuous commitment to ensuring access to good healthcare services for its host communities. The success of the Oncology Facility will strengthen the close partnership between VZI-BMC and the Department of Social Development and Health.