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Spoornet lays the track for HIV treatment
24 July 2003. Cape Times. Republished courtesy of Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd.
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Anti-retroviral therapy will be made available to the employees of Spoornet for the implementation of a pilot project aimed at enhancing the ability of HIV-infected employees to remain productive in the workplace.
The R500-million project, known as the lifestyle management programme, was introduced by Transnet, of which Spoornet is a division, and includes "creating a supportive environment, implementing workplace education and making anti-retroviral therapy available for infected individuals".
The chief executive officer of Spoornet, Dolly Mokgatle, said: "HIV affects all segments of society and the rate of infection is increasing among the current and future workforce."
She said that an overlap between the business world and the broader society had become increasingly prevalent.
"The impact of HIV/AIDS affects all aspects of our company's operations and markets and is not solely a medical issue. If the workplace is not prepared, HIV/AIDS can adversely affect legal and healthcare costs and the productivity of employees."
The project consists of two components: lifestyle intervention, which is aimed at equipping employees with sufficient knowledge to make informed choices, and medical intervention, which is aimed at making anti-retrovirals available to employees clinically diagnosed with the virus.
Spoornet said the medical intervention would include prevention of mother-to-child transmission for pregnant employees, certain opportunistic infections, such as TB, as well as post-sexual and on-duty injury.
Mokgatle added that awareness and education sessions were also included in the project, but the main focus was on managing the disease on a daily basis through "positive lifestyle enhancement".
She said all employees, irrespective of whether they were HIV-positive or not, would be informed about healthy living such as development and growth, economic and financial management, nutrition, rest and recreation, as well as relationships.
According to Mokgatle, employees were required to voluntarily enrol for the programme and would be counselled and tested for HIV/AIDS once they were enrolled.
If employees were found to be HIV-positive, they would be given access to medication on a monthly basis and would also receive counselling to help them cope with the disease.
"The emphasis is on encouraging behaviour and a lifestyle that will minimise the risk of HIV infection," she said.
Mokgatle cautioned that employees who registered for the programme were not guaranteed life-time treatment.
Nomfundo Dubula, a member of the Treatment Action Campaign, said: "About 600 people are dying every day in South Africa because of HIV/AIDS and we are losing very skilled people. We need to keep them healthy so that they can live longer and be productive for the country." |
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