Businesses Failing Policies To Tackle Aids Threat
Businesses Failing In Policies To Tackle Aids Threat –
UN-Backed Report
In a critical report on the corporate response to the social and business threats of HIV/AIDS, a new United Nations-backed report today lamented that businesses rarely draw up written policies to tackle the crisis, such as counselling, testing and treatment, until 20 per cent of a country’s population is infected.
“As a global community, every level of society needs to be mindful of what they can do to contribute to an effective response to HIV/AIDS,” the Deputy Executive Director of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Kathleen Cravero, said of the report, Business and HIV/AIDS: Commitment and Action.
“We hope more businesses will become proactively involved in issues such as AIDS. We know it is not just socially responsible; it is also a good investment.”
The report was jointly published by UNAIDS, the Global Health Initiative (GHI) of the World Economic Forum and the Harvard School of Public Health after a survey of almost 9,000 business leaders in 104 countries.
“Too few companies are
responding proactively to the social and business threats of
HIV/AIDS,” GHI Director Kate Taylor Anglo American, the
international mining and natural resources company,
estimates an HIV prevalence rate of 24 per cent in its
130,000-strong southern African workforce. Over the last two
years the company has implemented extensive voluntary
counselling and testing, coupled with antiretroviral (ARV)
therapy for employees progressing to AIDS. Over 90 per cent
of the 2,200 employees who have accessed and remained on
treatment are well and have returned to normal work. “Our
growing experience shows that effective action on HIV/AIDS
is synonymous with good business management and leads to
more profitable and sustainable operations,” company Senior
Vice-President Brian Brink said. “Importantly, companies
should encourage all workers to know their HIV status,
making it as routine as monitoring blood pressure or
cholesterol. Providing access to treatment is a critical
part of this.”