Forging partnerships for healthy workers

Businesses are formally engaging with the government to intensify programmes aimed at mitigating the effects of HIV/AIDS and TB - two co-epidemics that gravely affect economic performance and impact on thousands of workers and their families.

The initiative is in the form of an agreement between Khomanani, the government's HIV/AIDS and TB campaign and the SA Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (SABCOHA). These entities have joined forces to address HIV/AIDS and TB.

SABCOHA is pledging full support for the Government's prevention and comprehensive care, management, treatment and support plan. The first of the joint programmes in the run up to World AIDS Day - December 1 - are the Khomanani Excellence Awards that seek to honour the work done by small and large businesses, and community and healthcare workers who are contributing meaningfully to SA's management of the epidemics.

Brad Mears, chief executive of Sabcoha, says the business community have for years been active participants in addressing HIV/AIDS.

"We are very excited about this development which we believe will ensure greater integration of strategies and resources and is an opportunity that has been desired by these role players for some time," he says.

The nomination process for the Khomanani Awards has begun and will run until September 20. It will be followed by an adjudication process and the announcement of the winners in November. Winners and runners-up will receive recognition and significant prizes.

There are three categories: small and medium sized businesses and large companies; healthcare workers; and community workers. Dr Nomonde Xundu, chief director for HIV/AIDS and TB in the national department of health says the Khomanani Awards aim to acknowledge and highlight positive responses and best practice, thereby changing the way many people perceive HIV/AIDS and TB services.

"Passionate and tireless people are making a difference to the lives of colleagues and patients," she says and if any of your colleagues is this type of person, please take a couple of minutes and nominate them for an award.

"Their work and yours will be recognised and shared, and in this way, we will continually strengthen our common capacity to deal with HIV/AIDS."

Mears says that SABCOHA particularly wants to mobilise smaller and medium sized businesses that are finding it more difficult to devote time and funding to HIV/AIDS programmes. These operations have smaller profit margins and generally less capacity to absorb the negative effects.

"It is partly for this reason that we created a special category for small enterprises within the awards."

Nomination forms can downloaded from www.aidsinfo.co.za

This article was originally published on page 3 of The Star on August 17, 2005