Sida Entreprises

Home page

Presentation

Who we are ?

Why should we fight HIV-AIDS within enterprises?

Member companies

Executive Board

Activities

	Technical support
	In France
	In Africa

	Support provided for training
	DIU de Ouagadougou et Bujumbura
	Two formations ad hoc

Mobilisation and coordination

Current situation in individual countries

Democratic Republic of Congo

Gabon

Madagascar

Mali

Republic of Central Africa

Republic of South Africa

Senegal

Canal PREVENTION

Why should we fight HIV-AIDS within enterprises?

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), from which AIDS originates, was identified in 1983. Since then, it spread to the whole world, creating the worst global epidemic of the modern era. At first, it was countered by the public sector and by non-profit making organisations, which mobilised more and more human and financial resources in order to fight the disease. Slowly, the private sector became aware of the importance of their involvement in order to fight the disease: because it affects individuals during their most productive years, HIV has an impact in the workplace.

Programmes for fighting HIV in the workplace were first created during the nineties within large South-African enterprises. Indeed, in a country where the prevalence was the highest world-wide, the morbidity and death-toll linked to AIDS have shown dramatic proof – that is, beyond the suffering of individuals – there are micro and macro-economic costs.

Impact of HIV at micro-economic level

The increase in morbidity and the death-toll linked to AIDS give rise in rising direct costs such as medical expenses, absenteeism, funeral costs… for enterprises. It is to be noted that absenteeism increases because employees become sick due to HIV and to related opportunistic diseases, but also due to the fact that they are obliged to take care of sick family members or to go to funerals.
Indirect costs are linked to disrupted work schedules, to recruitment, to training… Indeed, morbidity and the death-toll linked to HIV-AIDS create disruption within the work-force, as a result of higher employee turnover, to the loss of skilled labour, to the loss of tacit knowledge (obtained through experience both in the professional environment and in the enterprise environment) and also to lower morale. These are intrinsically invisible costs which are difficult to assess but which have a huge impact on productivity. Loss of skilled labour is the most obvious disruptive impact and is often quoted, as it leads to costs for vocational and targeted training. This disruption is further affected by the loss of tacit knowledge obtained through the professional, social and cultural environments. It becomes more and more difficult to transmit skill and knowledge due to increasing employee turnover. On the other hand, in small enterprises, the impact of such losses is much higher.
=> All the above mean loss of productivity for the enterprise. [See the diagram].

Low prevalence rate and idleness

When there is such an epidemic, a behaviour which is determined by denying present and future risks in the field of economic development and by refusing to take remedial action may have long-ranging consequences. A low prevalence rate, if it is not controlled, quickly evolves towards a high infection rate, with the resulting social and economic costs.
Early investments, such as campaigns for education, prevention and health-care lead to long-term cost benefits. If adequate measures are not implemented, these could lead to an exponential increase. Measures which are not implemented at an early stage are more costly than early interventions and these become recurring costs. [See figure].

Impact of HIV-AIDS at macro-economic level
The increase in morbidity and in the death-toll linked to AIDS leads to:
- an increase in medical expenses
- a decrease in household income
- a decrease in the size of the productive and skilled labour-force in essential sectors such as health, education, etc.
=> The above converge towards lower growth and a decrease in foreign investment.

The objectives of the International Labour Organisation

In 2001, a background paper was published: the ILO Code of practices for HIV/AIDS and the workplace setting-out the 10 fundamental principles which should provide guidance for any programme:
1. acknowledgement of HIV as an issue linked to the workplace,
2. non-discrimination,
3. equality between men and women,
4. healthy work environment,
5. social dialogue,
6. forbid screening as a means to exclude from employment and labour,
7. confidentiality,
8. preserve the relationship between employment and labour,
9. prevention
10. health-care and support.

It is acknowledged that fighting HIV in the workplace is, together with responses from the medical sector and from communities, the last component for countering the pandemic. The integration of the private sector in national strategic frameworks for fighting HIV-AIDS in most African countries and the increasing number of actors committed to this fight are adequate proof of the above.

Updated: May 11th 2009.