In the stope
Saving lives by
creating awareness
From as early as
4:00 in the morning,
Dr Nothando
Moyo-Mubayiwa is
already up for a 5km
or 10km morning run
with the rest of the
Sishen Mine team at
Kumba Iron Ore in the
Northern Cape, writes
Dineo Phoshoko.
A
s the occupational health
superintendent at Kumba
Iron Ore’s Sishen Mine, Dr
Moyo-Mubayiwa is responsible for
both occupational health and wellness
— dealing with diseases such as HIV/
AIDS, TB, and the prevention of
occupational diseases. She also runs the
emergency department at the mine.
Speaking to Mining Mirror in
an interview, Dr Moyo-Mubayiwa
mentions that each day is “hectic
but manageable”. She is very fond of
the early-morning runs. “It’s actually
our coffee for the day. When you
run, you get energised,” she explains.
After the early-morning run, Dr
Moyo-Mubayiwa prepares for a meeting
with other doctors between 6:00 and
7:00. Thereafter, she heads to the mine
for more meetings and seeing patients if
needed. Every day is different, though.
Weekends are set aside for
community park runs. The park runs
were established to encourage fitness
and health in the mines. “We started
our first park run in Kathu and all the
other smaller towns are following suit.
Before we know it, Kathu is going to be
a hub of healthy people,” she says with
enthusiasm.
Passionate about occupational
health
Dr Moyo-Mubayiwa started out her
career at the Helen Joseph Hospital in
Johannesburg. She admits that working
at the hospital was hectic. She therefore
pursued an alternative career — still in
medicine — but in a more easy-going
environment with regular hours. Before
moving to Kumba, Dr Moyo-Mubayiwa
completed a two-year Postgraduate
Diploma in Occupational Medicine and
Health from the University of Pretoria.
[34] MINING MIRROR NOVEMBER 2018
With the diploma, Dr Moyo-Mubayiwa
was officially qualified in occupational
health.
For Dr Moyo-Mubayiwa, working
in occupational health has become
a passion. “What is great about
occupational health is you actually
get to make a change; not only in just
the mine itself, but in the community
around you. It’s a hands-on job where
you are thinking ahead and ensuring
the health and wellness of the mine
employees and community.” A career
in occupational health has allowed her
to implement educational programmes
for employees on the ground and run
campaigns about different types of
occupational health diseases. These
include TB month and World AIDS
Day, fatigue awareness, and noise and
dust campaigns, to mention a few.
The doctor believes that, for the
campaigns to be successful, community
involvement is important. As such, the
programmes and campaigns have been
spread to the wider community, even in
the schools with outreach programmes.
Through the outreach programmes,
9 000 students have been reached in
over 200 schools. Dr Moyo-Mubayiwa
holds a strong view that children have
the power to influence their parents
in making safe and healthy lifestyle
choices.
Achieving success
The programmes and campaigns have
been successful, as in 2017, Kumba
managed to achieve a fatality-free year
— both on the safety and health side.
In addition, there has been a significant
reduction in HIV-related deaths. Dr
Moyo-Mubayiwa attributes this success
to greater awareness about health in the
mine and communities.
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