UMA (PERENTI GROUP) – Breast and Prostate Cancer Awareness: Nominee for the Excellence in Social Development, 2025 Africa Award

About the Nominee & their Nomination

• Headquartered in Perth, Western Australia, Perenti Contract Mining is one of the world’s largest contract miners, with recognised expertise in hard rock surface and underground mining. It operates on 9 projects across 5 countries in Africa, employing more than 5,000 people and working with leading companies including African Underground Mining Services (AUMS), African Mining Services (AMS) and Barminco.

• The World Health Organisation’s Global Cancer Observatory 2022 report stated that breast cancer was the most common cancer among females in Ghana, while prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among males in Ghana. In regions lacking adequate health care systems and services, 70% of those diagnosed with breast cancer die from the disease, thus the alarmingly high mortality rate in the country.

• To increase awareness, address misconceptions and avoid late detection, last year, UMA Obuasi (A Perenti JV) developed an innovative campaign during Breast & Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. UMA increased investments to upscale education on breast and prostate cancers to local seamstresses and tailors, who have close working relationships with a wide range of community members. Today, these tailors are collectively interacting with approximately 10,800 clients weekly, equating to more than 560,000 awareness sessions annually.

• UMA Perenti collaborated with AngloGold Ashanti, the Ghana Tailors and Dressmakers Association and the AGA Health Foundation to design a campaign that extended beyond Breast Cancer Awareness Month last October. The campaign had collateral benefits, both increasing the community’s capability through the training of local tailors while also empowering the community with knowledge to self-detect, reduce stigma, and seek medical help.

• Ongoing value is now being delivered to the community well beyond Breast & Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, providing powerful cancer awareness education to more than 500,000 Ghanaian men and women annually. Perenti, through UMA Obuasi, also empowered community members with greater healthcare access, providing more than 500 residents with free screenings throughout 2024.

• By training tailors and seamstresses to educate the community, the program ensures year-round cancer awareness, which will likely reduce the mortality rate for thousands in the Obuasi and wider Ghanaian regions.