AFRO-NETS> Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report - Tue, 15 Jan 2002

[Cecilia Snyder <csnyder@ccmc.org>]

Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report - Tue, 15 Jan 2002
-----------------------------------------------

* Economist Jeffrey Sachs Says HIV/AIDS, Other Diseases Will 'Frus-
  trate' Africa's Economic Future if Left Unaddressed
* Ivory Coast Firm's Workplace AIDS Programs Could Serve as a Model
  for West African Businesses
* Dutch-American Not-For-Profit Group Joins Roche Pharmaceutical Com-
  pany to Implement HIV/AIDS Drug Pilot Program in Africa

--
Economist Jeffrey Sachs Says HIV/AIDS, Other Diseases Will 'Frus-
trate' Africa's Economic Future if Left Unaddressed

African leaders must either "intensify their fight against HIV/AIDS 
and other diseases" or see efforts for economic progress "come to 
nothing," Harvard University economist Jeffrey Sachs said yesterday 
during a meeting of the Southern African Development Community. 
Sachs, who serves as the director of Harvard's Center for Interna-
tional Development, told African heads of state that efforts to im-
prove their nations' economies will be "deeply frustrated" unless 
HIV/AIDS and other epidemics are "brought under control." Sachs told 
the leaders to prepare proposals to access money from the Global Fund 
to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. He also told the leaders to 
"actively pursue" the New Partnership for African Development, an Af-
rica-led effort that aims to promote development, peace and stability 
on the continent (Reuters, 1/14).


--
Ivory Coast Firm's Workplace AIDS Programs Could Serve as a Model for 
West African Businesses

The Ivory Coast power company CIE, whose workplace anti-AIDS programs 
include condom distribution and antiretroviral treatment for its em-
ployees, is viewed as a model for the region and could serve as the 
basis for similar efforts by other African companies, Reuters re-
ports. CIE regularly distributes condoms to its employees and pro-
vides AIDS education for communities located near its offices, espe-
cially in areas where there is a high level of prostitution. The com-
pany also provides health coverage and confidential medical care to 
its 13,000 workers and their relatives; HIV-positive workers receive 
antiretroviral treatment through a company fund that is partly subsi-
dized by employee contributions. CIE's policy to provide antiretrovi-
ral drugs "sets the project apart from most others," Reuters reports. 
In addition, HIV-positive workers receive assurance from the company 
that they will not be fired because of their HIV status. 

Model Behavior

Angelique Wilson, head of social affairs at CIE, said that the firm's 
anti-AIDS efforts are showing "clear signs of success." She stated 
that the rate of sexually transmitted diseases among workers had 
fallen 65% since the beginning of the programs. Because utility firms 
are among the largest employers in the Ivory Coast region, CIE's ef-
forts are being viewed as a model for the area. CIE recently hosted a 
meeting with power and water companies from across West Africa to 
teach them how to create similar AIDS programs. Dr. Abdoulaye Diallo, 
a doctor for the Mali-based power and water company EDM, said that 
his company might try to "re-create something similar" to CIE's pro-
gram. In West Africa, approximately 10% of people ages 15 to 49 are 
believed to be HIV-positive; Ivory Coast has the highest HIV infec-
tion rate in the region (Thomson, Reuters, 1/14).


--
Dutch-American Not-For-Profit Group Joins Roche Pharmaceutical Com-
pany to Implement HIV/AIDS Drug Pilot Program in Africa

PharmAccess International, a Dutch-American not-for-profit organiza-
tion, yesterday announced that it will begin a pilot program in Af-
rica "aimed at widening access" to HIV drugs, Dow Jones International 
News reports. Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche Holding AG is set to 
provide funding for the program as well as diagnostic monitoring 
tests, "technical support for training health care professionals" and 
HIV/AIDS drugs, including its protease inhibitor Fortovase. PharmAc-
cess "hopes" that the two-year pilot program, which will be imple-
mented in four urban centers in the Ivory Coast, Kenya, Senegal and 
Uganda, will increase access to HIV/AIDS drugs through HIV/AIDS edu-
cation and "the build-up of local medical infrastructures" (Dow Jones 
International News, 1/14).

--
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. © 2002 by National Journal Group Inc. and Kaiser 
Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

--
To send a message to AFRO-NETS, write to: afro-nets@usa.healthnet.org
To subscribe or unsubscribe, write to: majordomo@usa.healthnet.org
in the body of the message type: subscribe afro-nets OR unsubscribe afro-nets
To contact a person, send a message to: owner-afro-nets@usa.healthnet.org
Information and archives: http://www.afronets.org