Based on a World Economic Forum (WEF) study of 1Â 552 African-based companies presented at the Africa Economic Summit in Cape Town on Thursday, South African companies appear to be leading the way in the response to HIV/Aids, with up to 91% having an HIV/Aids policy in place, the WEF said in a statement.
But the study shows there is little room for complacency across the continent. Sub-Saharan African companies are not responding quickly enough — on average, only 34% have either a written or informal HIV/Aids policy in place, and up to 93% already feel the impact of HIV/Aids on their revenues.
“This year’s Africa Economic Summit is in Cape Town and we are delighted to be able to say it is South African companies that are leading the way in their awareness of the HIV/Aids problem and its impact on the workforce,” said Francesca Boldrini, associate director of the WEF’s Global Health Initiative.
“In line with the Commission for Africa’s recommendations, we believe more businesses in other African countries need to follow this example.”
Shrinking labour pools, increased costs and decreased productivity could significantly affect the competitiveness of African business.
Data from the survey show that, on average, 51% of African businesses feel the impact of HIV/Aids on their revenues, with the largest costs resulting from decreased productivity and absenteeism (incurred by 53% of businesses) and recruitment and training expenses (incurred by 49% of businesses).
The positive news is that when African companies act against HIV/Aids, they are generally doing it well. Their best practices could act as a guide to business in other developing countries.
Some of the strongest HIV/Aids business efforts in the world are in Africa; they include workplace programmes at Anglo American, BMW, Heineken, Volkswagen, Standard Chartered and Eskom. In fact, data from 500 large businesses in South Africa show 86% have policies and prevention programmes in place and 65% offer treatment and care to their employees.
“We want to ensure more African countries start tackling HIV/Aids in their workforces and communities. More needs to be done; a company like AngloGold estimates that, in 2009, its HIV/Aids expenses in South Africa will range from 8% to 17% of total payroll costs.
“AngloGold has a programme in place to deal with this, but what could happen to those who don’t?” said Boldrini.
Recent United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/Aids information shows four countries in sub-Saharan Africa are projected to have workforces more than 30% smaller in 2020 because of HIV. Fourteen countries will see losses of between 10% and 30%.
Read more about the Africa Economic Summit on the World Economic Forum website