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Executives take the lead in arivia.kom's HIV/AIDS programme
arivia.kom press release. June 2004.
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arivia.kom has moved into phase two of its programme to manage and reduce HIV/AIDS in the workplace, with CEO Zeth Malele and his fellow executives setting the example by being the first to take the HIV-related tests that initiate this phase.
Following government's plea to corporate South Africa to become involved in addressing the HIV/AIDS pandemic, arivia.kom appointed a team to provide the appropriate support structures in the management of HIV/AIDS within the workplace and to improve employee and organisational awareness of the disease and its impact on the company.
The programme was launched 18 months ago with a KAP (knowledge, application, practice) survey to establish issues of personal awareness, attitudes and levels of sexual responsibility. From the results it was possible to extrapolate across the company and predict what level of risk the organisation faced. Based on the KAP findings, numerous interventions were put in place to minimise the risk of infection predicted by KAP.
Phase two now involves voluntary prevalence testing to provide the organisation with an accurate indication of the prevalence of HIV infection in the company.
"The results from this testing will enable us to determine the overall infection rate for the company and which new interventions can be instituted to improve the management of this disease within arivia.kom," says Vhelaphi Mabunda, the company's acting HR executive.
"We operate in a hi-tech industry, where our skills and intellectual property are our competitive edge. By implementing a programme to manage HIV/AIDS in our workplace we can keep track of how many people are infected and understand what the impact will be on our business, both from a financial and employee wellness point of view."
Direct Health Consulting and the Wits Health Consortium form the consortium that will conduct the testing for phase two and ensure the anonymity of everyone being tested. The results from the tests are to be presented to arivia.kom in the form of a report.
A test for HIV antibodies in oral fluid, called OraSure, is being used to measure the infection rate in arivia.kom. "When our bodies become infected with a virus such as HIV, our immune system creates antibodies to fight off the infection," says Dr Khaya Gobinca of Direct Health Consulting. "Like a blood test, the OraSure test looks for antibodies to the HIV virus, not the actual virus itself. These antibodies can be found in the oral fluid between the cheek and gum and the volunteer simply rubs a specialised pad in this area until it is wet. It is then extracted from the mouth after three minutes and placed into a vial, sealed and sent to the laboratory for HIV-1 antibody testing."
arivia.kom is a leading South African IT company operating throughout Africa, with a proven ability to implement customised, integrated IT solutions and provide services at whichever global location clients may specify. Its end-to-end services and solutions generate significant business advantages for its clients. It has a thorough understanding of the market sectors on which it focuses and an impressive track record as proof of its capabilities. For more information on arivia.kom, please visit: http://www.arivia.co.za. |
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Zakes Mnisi, Giulio Robertson, Zeth Malele, George Stander and Dr Khaya Gobinca
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