OVERVIEW OF AIDS INITIATIVES IN CORPORATE SOUTH AFRICA Presented by: Marlene Bossett For: AHI 25 February 2003

CONTENTS Context S.A. Corporate Best Practice Corporate challenges: Corporate Social Involvement Corporate Research Implementation Corporate Resources: SABCOHA Corporate challenges: Internal External Conclusion

CONTEXT Imperatives: Moral Political Economic Social Historical Legal Business sustainability

S.A. CORPORATE BEST PRACTICE: CSI Hospices Home-based care Primary Health Care Aids Education Research Aids “events”

BEST PRACTICE, cont.: CORPORATE RESEARCH Epidemiology Prevalence Impact analyses Policy development Prevention Care and intervention Medical research

BEST PRACTICE, cont.: IMPLEMENTATION Aids strategies Aids policies Prevention, e.g., Education, awareness, condom dispensing, STD treatment Treatment, e.g., VCT, positive living, counselling, provision of ART’s Collaborative partnerships

BEST PRACTICE, cont.: CORPORATE RESOURCES The South African Business Coalition on HIV and Aids (SABCOHA): Primary goal: to support and encourage SSME’s to develop and implement workplace Aids policies Resource Centre Website Employer organisations: Websites Individual business websites

CORPORATE CHALLENGES: INTERNAL Failure to recognise business imperatives 500 companies surveyed: 75 %: no idea of AIDS prevalence 60%: no strategy 46%: no Aids policy 85%: no VCT Lack of communication and overt leadership from the top Resistance from employees Internal focus: policy development

CORPORATE CHALLENGES: EXTERNAL Perceived government: Ambiguous external messages Delay in access to ART’s Insufficient mother to child programmes Press “wars” Internal disagreement

CONCLUSION Innovative strategies and initiatives, together with strong leadership from government, business, labour and civil society, are needed to effectively deal with the devastating effects of the Aids epidemic.