PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diversified miner BHP will invest more than A$3.3-million in funding through its Vital Resources Fund to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander controlled community health services across Australia, as part of new partnerships established to support communities through the Covid-19 pandemic.
Long-standing health inequities and high rates of chronic illness make Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples particularly vulnerable to Covid-19 infection, with BHP saying on Tuesday that the funding would support peak Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health bodies and local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander medical services to continue to deliver comprehensive and culturally competent critical health care services, distribute supplies and educate communities about transmission risks associated with Covid-19.
“BHP is determined to play its part in the collective response to Covid-19, and a critical area is how we support our regional and remote Aboriginal communities,” BHP chief external affairs officer Geoff Healy said.
“The Aboriginal community-led health sector moved early in a way that has saved so many lives. They are working incredibly hard to address the needs they have identified, and we are pleased to support with significant funding that enables their vital work.
“We know there is no room for complacency. BHP will keep working hard to aid local health and community services, and through our own operations reduce the risk of transmission and support jobs and local businesses across the country.”
BHP’s Australian operations are close to several remote and regional Aboriginal communities. The company employs about 1 700 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees and contractors, and partners with more than 50 Indigenous suppliers across its Australian operations.