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Major firms go it alone to help HIV+ workers
Mluleki Mntungwa. The Star. 16 September 2002. Republished courtesy of Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd.
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South African businesses are deciding to go solo in providing employees with anti-retroviral drugs.
South African Ports Operations (SAPO), a division of Transnet, has become the first parastatal to announce a plan that will ensure among other things that anti-retroviral drugs are available to its employees.
Earlier this year, mining giants Anglo American and De Beers offered to provide free anti-retroviral drugs for employees infected with Aids.
Another company which has already opted for treatment is BP which has been providing the drug to employees for the past 18 months.
Launched on Monday, the programme has two components focusing on providing employees with voluntary counselling and HIV/AIDS testing.
The programme also entails the provision of treatment for opportunistic diseases and the provision of anti-retroviral drugs to employees.
Because the company does not have any data on the number of employees infected with HIV, it has established a voluntary counselling and testing programme.
SAPO spokesperson Mark Gregg-MacDonald said the programme had been launched to create a healthier work force through the provision of education and medical support to both HIV-positive and unaffected employees.
Transnet has set aside R500-million over five years to facilitate the programme, with the first R80-million being used for this financial year.
KwaZulu-Natal department of health deputy director general Professor Stephen Hendricks said that the department was proud of Sapo and it would give the company the support it deserved to carry out the programme. |
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