Global resources giant Anglo American has around 1 000 of its employees on anti-retroviral treatment programmes, with a further 3 000 employees enrolled in HIV wellness programmes, Anglo medical senior vice president, Dr Brian Brink says.
“Aids doesn’t have to be a death sentence. Through effective treatment, it can be managed as a chronic illness,” Brink said.
Anglo’s approach is rooted in prevention and linked to improved care for those who are HIV positive, he added.
“People should establish their status so that they can actively engage in fighting the epidemic,” Brink said.
Anglo’s ART programme has been actively operating for one year and has grown to 58 ART delivery sites with 60 doctors, 137 nurses and 40 counsellors trained.
“Treatment is the single short-term intervention that will make a difference to the way the HIV/Aids epidemic unfolds, both in the workplace and in the communities in which we operate. Providing treatment is a direct challenge to the ignorance, denial and stigma that has fuelled the Aids epidemic since inception,” Brink said.
Anglo recently announced a community HIV/Aids initiative in partnership with loveLife and will see accelerated provision of comprehensive HIV/Aids services in government clinics.
In this partnership, the Anglo American Chairman’s Fund will provide funding of about R30-million over a period of three years to loveLife — South Africa’s national HIV prevention programme for youth — to accelerate the roll out of loveLife’s national adolescent friendly clinic initiative in communities associated with Anglo operations in South Africa. – I-Net Bridge