The Zimbabwe Association of Women in Mining Associations (ZAWIMA) has called on organisations supporting women miners to encourage their members to take part in health programmes, where they can access free breast cancer screening and receive vital information.
This call was made during an X-Space hosted by CITE on This Morning Asakhe on Monday, where ZAWIMA raised the importance of awareness, promoting prevention, early detection, and highlighting the specific health risks faced by women working in the mining sector.
According to ZAWIMA, mining environments expose women to dust, chemicals, radiation, stress, and poor sanitation – factors that can increase certain cancer risks and make early detection more difficult.
Limited access to health information and screening facilities, especially in remote mining areas, further compounds the problem.
ZAWIMA treasurer and miner, Pamela Mutembwa, said the organisation works closely with various women’s associations to raise awareness about cancer in mining communities.
“The advantage of working with associations is that they have names and contacts for all the women that they work with. So if there are mobile clinics to provide services, we can reach out to these associations and they can alert their members in time so they can get help,” Mutembwa said.
She added that some companies were already providing such services.
“For example, in Guruve there is a company that is already doing that where they offer free screening and other health services to women. There is a lot of misinformation that circulates about cancer, which makes some women shun regular checkups. Therefore, having constant awareness campaigns helps to keep women educated.
“Sometimes we even conduct campaigns in high schools, and the learners take the information back home to their mothers, which has been helpful in spreading awareness.”
Mutembwa added that ZAWIMA continues to lobby for year-round free screenings, especially for breast cancer.
“This should not just be limited to the month of October but should be done throughout the year. If there can be mobile clinics that make rounds to help women in mining communities,” she said.
Public Health Specialist, Dr Florence Moyo, also emphasised the importance of encouraging women in mining to participate in free screening programmes, noting that all women in mining are exposed to similar health hazards regardless of their roles.
“It is important to note that women in mining fall into various categories. There are those who offer cooking services, vendors who sell clothes, groceries and other wares, and sex workers who are equally exposed to hazards in the mining areas,” Dr Moyo said.
“We need to cater for all of them. When these outreach programmes are done, there are other services that are offered too, such as family planning, condoms, health education and cancer screening. It will be a total package.”
“So we are encouraging all women in mining to attend these events when they are being conducted in their respective areas.”
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