Access to primary healthcare is the cornerstone of any thriving community. Playing a vital role in preventing the transmission of Communicable Disease such as HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis, access to healthcare also leads to the promotion of healthy lifestyle choices within communities.

As a means to contribute to healthcare access within its host communities, Kumba Iron Ore along with The Department of Health, unveiled electronic smart locker facilities in towns of Deben and Postmasburg – Northern Cape.

Facilitated through Right to Care’s ePharmarcy, the Collect&Go™ Smart Lockers will provide patients with efficient service when collecting their chronic medication, leading to the reduction of queues at medical facilities. Patients will receive a SMS with an OPT (One Time Pin), that they’ll be able to use to collect their medication at the locker, making access to healthcare convenient and cost effective in many instances.

Speaking about the lockers during the Postmasburg launch of the “1.1 Million Campaign” – an initiative led by The Department of Health with the objective of closing the treatment gap experienced by people living with HIV – Northern Cape Health MEC: Mr Maruping Lekwene, drew parallels between the Collect&Go™ Smart Lockers initiative and the government’s objective to add an additional 1.1million people on HIV treatment:

“Both of these programs share a common goal as they seek to provide access to primary healthcare services to communities through the dispensation of chronic medication.

These smart lockers will provide our people with efficiency, dignity and most importantly, encourage patients not to default on their treatments. It is very important for us as the Department of Health to strengthen our collaboration with the private sector. Government alone won’t win. We need to build relations that will enable us to deliver seamless and effective healthcare services to our people. We want to thank Kumba Iron Ore once more for the good work they have done, these smart lockers are going to help us a great deal”.

Addressing community members and stakeholders at the 1.1 Million Campaign launch, Kumba Iron Ore Stakeholder Engagement Principal: Mhlanganisi Madlongolwana, emphasised the commitment that the organisation maintains to the region:

“Anglo American and Kumba Iron Ore continue to be committed to South Africa and its goal for shared prosperity for all. Testament to this is our organisational ethos which always encourages us to re-imagine mining to improve people’s lives.

The launch of the smart lockers is one of the many programmes Kumba has put in place in the Northern Cape to assist host communities in working towards achieving equal access to quality healthcare, not just for our workforce and their dependants but for the benefit of all the communities we operate in.

Thank you to our implementing partner – Right to Care, for developing an easy and user-friendly solution which significantly improves people’s quality of life. We are excited about the impact the programme will have on people’s lives.