The Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, which was set up to encourage and support corporate responses to the epidemic, has re-launched its website here including a new online guide to Managing HIV in the workplace.
This site includes a well-presented database of reports on named individual companies, describing how they have responded to HIV as it affects their own employees. It is not comprehensive, and it doesn't set out to evaluate those programmes, but it still gives a great deal of information that could be invaluable to companies, trade unionists and other activists who want to maximise the role of business in responding to AIDS. It is striking that many companies have gone well beyond the kind of material that might be provided by public relations departments, to include what are clearly internal policy documents and training materials for managers.
The Coalition is promoting a range of interventions, namely:
- situation analysis
- non-discriminatory policy
- programme development
- prevention, education and awareness
- voluntary counselling and testing
- care, support and treatment
- monitoring and evaluation
In each of these areas, there is a clear statement of what the Coalition believes should be done and what the Coalition plans to do, alongside descriptions of individual companies' activities.
The connections between these different areas are clearly understood by the Coalition. For example, if non-discriminatory policy is inadequately developed and put into practice, there is unlikely to be interest in voluntary counselling and testing, nor will there be effective use of such care, support and treatment as may be on offer.
In respect of care, support and treatment, which the Coalition identifies as a priority for its work in the next year, it makes the following statements on antiretroviral treatments:
"The Coalition strongly advocates for the inclusion of ARVs in comprehensive workplace programs, as part of strengthened international efforts to improve access to ARVs in the public sector. Private sector employers in regions heavily affected by HIV/AIDS must have access to low price medications and diagnostics that are being offered by a range of producers to the public sector."
"In early 2003 the Coalition, with Pharmaccess International and StopAIDS will host a series of expert meetings of public health officials and companies to review progress to date in implementing company ARV programs, identifying the obstacles and challenges and how these can be overcome."
Case studies include 50 multinational and indigenous companies, large and medium-sized, from Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Comment
While these companies clearly cannot meet the needs of all people with HIV and AIDS, their experience is a resource that should be used to the full by those designing public health programmes. The South African government, for example, has already said that it will monitor local companies' experiences in providing treatment for their employees. This initiative shows what could be gained from such a process, and shows that many companies will be able and willing to share what they have learned.