BBC News - Tuesday, 24 September, 2002

But Dr Julia Cleves, a senior policy advisor at UNAIDS, told BBC News Online that many firms still do not regard Aids as their problem.

And she admitted that outsourcing - where firms contract out their staff in order to avoid paying pensions or sick leave - has already become a reality for some firms in southern Africa.

If Aids means increased labour costs, some firms will simply avoid the issue by going elsewhere, she said.

"That just passes the real costs onto the government, but someone has to pay, and Aids is everybody's business."

Positive examples

Dr Cleves praised the work of a select few big multinational firms such as Anglo American, Standard Chartered Bank and Ford for being "golden lights who are no longer afraid of dealing with the problem".

"But there is tiny minority of firms that are actually doing something," she said.

And in a recent survey of 230 Nigerian manufacturing firms, the majority did not regard HIV as a management concern.

While the ethical argument to help Aids victims is already clear and compelling, many firms are also now waking up to the fact that taking action also makes financial sense.

Aids dramatically increases the cost of labour, with Standard Chartered bank estimating that 10% of its African workforce is off sick due to Aids-related illnesses at any one time.

Christopher Wheeler, the bank's director for Africa, listed cost, corporate image, relations with unions, turnover of staff and succession implications as very real risks facing companies doing business in Africa.

Economic implications

The Aids epidemic also has a dramatic effect on the wider economy, undermining demand and affecting the whole region where firms are operating.

"It's not business as usual anymore," said Brian Brink, senior vice president of Anglo American.

"Business must take a leadership role in getting on with the job of dealing with HIV/Aids," he said

"Our management expertise is vital in ensuring the successful implementation of projects at community level."

Mr Brink also told BBC News Online that he hoped the work being done by firms would spur the South African government into taking greater action.

But he warned that big business was not prepared to foot the whole bill alone, and that supporting dependents of employees with Aids was the responsibility of the government, not the companies.

Threatening Nepad

The debate about Aids comes at the Commonwealth business forum where many African countries are trying to attract increased foreign direct investment.

Africa's home-grown plan for development, known as Nepad, also stresses the importance of enticing foreign firms to invest in business opportunities in Africa.

But the spreading Aids epidemic is now threatening to overshadow Africa's efforts to convince firms of political stability and corporate governance.

"Aids is a very daunting problem for firms who are not already in Africa and could be a serious deterrent to investing in a country," the UN's Dr Cleves said.
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