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Artisanal mining has for a long time been viewed as a crude and high risk occupation, and the behaviour of the small scale miners, mostly gold panners, has not helped matters as they have been linked to tales of violence.
The lure of the gold usually acts as a magnet to many vices and settlements quickly spring up in response to some groups having struck gold leading to a beeline by the ‘service industry’ offering both legal and illegal services, from food to drugs and sex.
In this edition we carry an article in which communities surrounding these artisanal mines are rattled by the deluge of women involved in sex work, who are flocking into the gold mining areas from nearby urban areas mostly.
The major concern in the past has been the transmission of diseases such as sexually transmitted infections, water borne diseases and malaria in such hard-to-reach areas. Not only are the populations in such areas mobile, they operate during unusual times and it can be risky even for those attempting to educate such communities on the dangers of disease if a well thought out strategy is not used.
The country has been grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic since March this year and the number of infections keeps growing in spite of the lockdown measures to limit movement.
We agree with communities surrounding these gold panning sites that the high numbers of sex workers and different traders from elsewhere are posing a major health risk. Since these communities are always on the move and operating on the fringes of the statutes, it would also help to educate them on the importance of protecting themselves against Covid-19. We are aware that many of these mining areas were already hotspots for HIV transmission.
We cannot afford to have yet another pandemic being fuelled by the same population since its mobility would ensure a rapid spread of the infection among communities without the best access to medical help.
We urge police and other arms of government to play their part in enforcing lockdown regulations. However, they can only do so much and it is now left to the surrounding communities to ensure that through their traditional leadership they restrict access to their areas.
These are not normal times and we applaud the leaders in these areas for raising the alarm and it is our hope that working together with the affected communities, an amicable resolution to the challenge can be found.
We need to fight Covid-19 as a united front, and also remember that diseases such as HIV and Aids are still with us, and that we still need to be extra-cautious in our behaviour.
Online Reporter