AFRO-NETS> Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report - Mon, 15 Oct 2001

[Cecilia Snyder <csnyder@ccmc.org>]

Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report - Mon, 15 Oct 2001
-----------------------------------------------

* Corporate Council on Africa Releases Recommendations for Busi-
  nesses, U.S. Government on Fighting HIV/AIDS in Public, Private
  Sectors
* Number of South African AIDS Orphans Projected to Increase to Two
  Million by 2010
* Hunger Project Awards Africa Prize For Leadership to AIDS Activists


--
Corporate Council on Africa Releases Recommendations for Businesses, 
U.S. Government on Fighting HIV/AIDS in Public, Private Sectors

The Corporate Council on Africa, a not-for-profit group of more than 
180 businesses that promotes economic and commercial relationships 
between American and African corporations, organizations and indi-
viduals, on Friday released a list of recommendations to businesses 
and government officials on how to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa in the 
public and private sectors. The report, which was compiled by the 
CCA's Task Force on HIV/AIDS, was slated to be released last month 
but was delayed due to the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center 
and the Pentagon. CCA Chair Maurice Tempelsman said that although the 
Sept. 11 attacks have been the focus of much attention, governments 
and corporations must work to ensure that HIV/AIDS will "remain at 
the forefront" of action in the future. At a press conference on Fri-
day, council members stated that in addition to being a humanitarian, 
public health and security issue, HIV/AIDS is also a business matter 
because it stands to dramatically affect business operations in Af-
rica. Task Force Co-Chair Dr. Don Wilson said that the panel's report 
outlines "appropriate" responses to HIV/AIDS for businesses and gov-
ernments. "An aggressive and early response [to HIV/AIDS] by corpora-
tions will be cost-effective in the long term and will create a com-
petitive advantage," Wilson said. Task Force Co-Chair Joe Sills added 
that the report's recommendations could be adopted not only in Africa 
but in other regions, such as Asia, where HIV/AIDS presents a threat 
to business and public health (Meredith McGroarty, Kaiser Daily 
HIV/AIDS Report, 10/15).

Suggestions for Businesses

The report outlines a number of policies that businesses could adopt 
to combat HIV/AIDS in the workforce and beyond. The recommendations 
include the following:

* CEOs and board members should demonstrate "strong and committed 
leadership" on the issue of HIV/AIDS and "must be involved and com-
mitted to programs of education, prevention, outreach and care" for 
HIV-positive employees.

* Companies should develop a "multi-pronged approach" to fighting 
HIV/AIDS that includes "go[ing] beyond" the workplace to address fa-
milial and community issues. Outreach programs should include all 
members of the community and "should not shun ... commercial sex 
workers, churches, traditional healers and other members of the com-
munity."

* Companies should provide HIV testing but must also ensure that such 
testing is voluntary and that employees' medical records are kept 
confidential and released only with written permission.

* Businesses should develop anti-AIDS initiatives that "match the 
company's core business skills and technical expertise." The report 
notes that, for example, production plants have "an excellent oppor-
tunity to provide education and resources for workers and families in 
the communities where they operate," while pharmaceutical companies 
can furnish discounted medicines and help distribute AIDS drugs to 
the population.

* Partnerships should be formed with local communities, nongovernmen-
tal organizations, governments "at all levels" and other corpora-
tions.

* Companies should focus on developing "cost effective and simple" 
policies that can be carried over a long period of time. For example, 
businesses could provide certain medicines to prevent opportunistic 
infections or nevirapine to prevent vertical transmission of HIV.

* Businesses should establish a system of peer counselors to help 
HIV-positive workers and other employees who are seeking information 
about the disease. The peer counselors should be subject to "profes-
sional supervision."

* A variety of people, especially those with HIV/AIDS, should be in-
volved in the development and monitoring of a company's HIV/AIDS 
business plan.

* Companies should "demonstrate and promulgate the business costs and 
benefits" and the humanitarian benefits of HIV/AIDS education and 
prevention policies.

The report also includes a profile of the "best practices" of compa-
nies that have established positive HIV/AIDS policies. Companies 
cited in the report as having good HIV/AIDS procedures include Chev-
ron Nigeria, Development Alternatives Inc., Placer Dome Mining Co., 
Merck & Co. and Ford of Southern Africa.

Recommendations for Government

The report also includes a list of suggestions for the U.S. govern-
ment, such as those listed below:

* The president should take a "visible and continuing leadership role 
in the international" fight against HIV/AIDS.

* AIDS policy should be handled within the Office of the President, 
and the National Security Council should continue to work on HIV/AIDS 
issues. The administration should "[r]ecognize and act on the fact 
that HIV/AIDS is not just a public health issue, but also one that 
now and in the future is a matter of national security," the report 
states.

* The U.S. government should allocate "significant" resources toward 
fighting HIV/AIDS through "generous support" of the U.N. Global AIDS 
and Health Fund and the "valuable work" of USAID, the CDC and other 
government agencies.

* The government should "work closely" with pharmaceutical firms to 
increase access to medicines in developing nations. Although the gov-
ernment should work with drug companies to lower prices of AIDS 
drugs, it should also aim to ensure that research and development is 
not "curtailed due to international trade rules."

* Partnerships should be formed between the government and other 
"concerned umbrella organizations in the private sector," such as the 
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to develop a "strategic vision for future 
U.S. policy that would lead to a firm multi-year plan with concrete 
priorities and goals" ("Report on the Findings of the Corporate Coun-
cil on Africa's Task Force on HIV/AIDS," October 2001).


--
Number of South African AIDS Orphans Projected to Increase to Two 
Million by 2010

The number of AIDS orphans in South Africa will increase 13-fold to 
more than two million by 2010, according to the South African Finance 
Ministry, the New York Times reports. Ministry officials said that 
the government must increase health spending and train more nurses 
and teachers in response to the agency's projection (Swarns, New York 
Times, 10/12).


--
Hunger Project Awards Africa Prize For Leadership to AIDS Activists

The Hunger Project, a New York-based group that aims to end global 
hunger, has announced that four African AIDS activists are the re-
cipients of this year's Africa Prize for Leadership, Reuters reports. 
The four winners include: 

* Amelia Jacob -- the founder of SHDEPHA+, a Tanzanian group that ad-
vocates for people with HIV;

* Bishop Dennis de Jong -- founder of the Integrated AIDS Program, a 
Zambian group involved in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment;

* Tibebe Maco -- founder of the Ethiopian group Hiwot, an organiza-
tion that provides HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support; and

* Jonah Gokova -- founder of Padare/Enkundleni, a Zimbabwean men's 
group that seeks to prevent HIV transmission by altering men's sexual 
behavior. 

"This award, referred to as the 'Nobel Prize for Africa,' will honor 
these four courageous individuals on the front lines of the struggle 
to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa," the Hunger Project said in 
a statement. The recipients were honored on Saturday at a banquet in 
New York (Reuters, 10/11).

--
The Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, 
a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, by National 
Journal Group Inc. c 2001 by National Journal Group Inc. and Kaiser 
Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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