South Africa’s largest gold miner AngloGold (ANG) has budgeted R25,8-million for its group HIV/Aids programme in South Africa in 2003 from R16,2-million in 2002, the company’s HIV/Aids manager Dr Petra Kruger said on Tuesday.
AngloGold’s South African workforce has an estimated 25% to 30% HIV/Aids prevalence rate, Kruger told a South African Institute of Race Relations briefing.
AngloGold chief executive Bobby Godsell called the HIV/Aids issue a “major problem”.
The gold miner has a three-pronged approach to dealing with the HIV/Aids epidemic: prevention, treatment and care backed up by research and development, Kruger said.
The prevention part of the programme consists of HIV/Aids awareness, education and the distribution of condoms. Included in the education programme is education of new employees at induction followed by further HIV/Aids education.
All of AngloGold supervisors also receive continuous HIV/Aids education. A key part of the group’s education programme is peer education, Kruger said.
“From research in Uganda, sexual abstinence is the best form of prevention but using a condom provides a choice,” Kruger said.
The treatment arm of the programme consists of the group’s wellness clinics, general health services and anti-retroviral treatment (ART).
AngloGold established its wellness clinics in 1999.
“The wellness clinics provide a comprehensive healthcare service,” Kruger said.
Finally, the care section of the programme consists of home base and hospice care for AngloGold employees. Each AngloGold business unit has an HIV/Aids committee and co-coordinator.
The group is also trying to deal with the stigma around HIV/Aids.
“There is a lot of stigma and denial related to HIV/Aids,” Kruger said.
If an employee is forced to leave AngloGold’s employment due to HIV/Aids incapacity, then the group continues to provide home based support especially in AngloGold’s main labour feeder areas like Lesotho, Mozambique’s Gaza province as well as South Africa’s Eastern Cape and northern KwaZulu-Natal provinces, she added. ‒ I-Net Bridge