SOUTH 32 – Reshaping Community Healthcare: Nominee for the Excellence in Social Development, 2025 Africa Award

About the Nominee & their Nomination

• Headquartered in Perth, Western Australia, South32 is a global mining and metals company, producing nine commodities across its operations in the Americas, Australia and South Africa. From exploration and development to closure, South32 aims to develop natural resources and improve the livelihoods of current and future generations.

• Sicelo, an informal settlement in Meyerton, South Africa, has long struggled with widespread poverty and unemployment, poor infrastructure, and heightened health risks from overcrowding and poor living conditions. These health concerns were further compounded by the lack of accessible local healthcare facilities, which forced community members to travel long distances – COVID-19 only exacerbated these challenges.

• During the pandemic, South32, along with the Gauteng Department of Health, addressed these issues, creating a temporary testing site that eventually evolved into a permanent public healthcare facility: the Sicelo Community Healthcare Centre, which officially opened in January 2025. 

• The clinic addresses primary healthcare, maternal and child health, chronic disease management, immunisations, mental health, HIV/AIDS treatment, cervical cancer screening and community outreach. Through the clinic’s range of services, South32 hopes to serve 11,000 vulnerable Sicelo residents, reduce travel distances and overcrowding, increase the long-term wellbeing of community members and improve the trust the community has in healthcare delivery.

• After investing R4.1 million to take the clinic from ideation to construction, South32 oversaw the project, collaborating with the local government, the South Africa Medical and Education Foundation, Midvaal Local Municipality and Gauteng Department of Health to build a multifaceted facility. During the construction of the project, 58 construction jobs were created, and upon completion, the clinic was formally handed over to the Department of Health for long-term operation.

• The Sicelo Community Healthcare Centre has created a lasting positive impact, restoring residents’ trust in public health services. Not only did the clinic reduce travel times, improve maternal and child health, and better chronic disease management, but it also created more jobs, upskilled the local workforce, and strengthened ties between the private sector and government through collaboration. Today, the clinic sees 50–100 patients daily, providing adequate health care in multiple languages.