For two years, the Mail & Guardian Investing in Life Awards have been recognising the outstanding contributions made by corporates and foundations in the struggle against HIV/Aids.
Over this time, the context of HIV/Aids in South Africa has changed dramatically. We have seen remarkable reductions in the costs of treatment, the inclusion of treatment in medical scheme benefits, a fair proliferation of workplace programmes, the incorporation, to some extent, of HIV/Aids into business as usual, and a widespread increase in awareness.
We have not seen the predicted collapse of corporates, pension funds and medical schemes. All of this can contribute to a sense that all is okay and there’s nothing more to be done.
This is not true. Look at mortality rates in work forces or, worse still, mortality rates outside of work forces. If the epidemic has failed to devastate our companies and pension funds financially, it is through no effort of our own. It is because labour is perceived as economically replaceable and treatment costs have dropped.
New infection rates are remarkably high, people are dying in droves and stigma levels are still absurdly high. The longer-term consequences of skills shortages and of an entire generation left behind should be frightening to contemplate, particularly in a society that is already as short-skilled and crime-ridden as ours is. With treatment available and fairly widespread awareness and education programmes in place, why is this still happening?
The challenge now for companies, NGOs, the government and all those active in this field is not to offer more of the same. Yes, the treatment must be there, the education must be there. But we cannot sit back in the face of such a clear lack of impact and tell ourselves that it’s okay, that it is enough. We have to look deeper into the situation to understand what is driving it and to begin to address that.
For the Investing in Life Awards, two years ago, it was great for a large corporate to have the all-singing, all- dancing workforce volunteering for testing programmes, with treatment and education. This is still necessary and expected. But it is no longer enough; it is not exceptional and it is not going to win prizes. It was nice to see small, community-based initiatives doing educational theatre. But such things have been around for many years now. Not only this, but in recent years the number of entries into the Investing in Life Awards has diminished, grounded perhaps in the mistaken views that HIV/Aids is now business as usual and that we’ve done what we can and it’s fine.
So this is a renewed call for entries, for companies and foundations and organisations of all shapes and sizes to come forward and tell us about their problems and how they are dealing with them. Now, the exceptional programme will be critically evaluating itself, seeing its failures and shortcomings, and seeking creative ways to address them. You may not know how to improve things; in fact, you may not even know what is missing, but we all have to be willing to see where we are failing to be able to find solutions.
This is a challenge to which, I hope, the people of South Africa will respond, a call for dialogue and debate that will help us all further our work.
Dominic Liber is a former Investing in Life judge