Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 28, 2001
NamWater's HIV/AIDS Co-ordinator, Gilmour Daniels, told IRIN on Friday that they did not exactly know the extent of the impact of HIV/AIDS but would conduct a survey to assess the full impact on the utility's operations. Daniels said they were feeling the effects of HIV/AIDS within the company everyday as some workers were open and willing to disclose their HIV/AIDS status. The company has already trained 60 peer educators and distributed 8,000 male condoms among the workforce. Daniels said that the company was prepared to spend more to prevent the further spread of the disease and to provide support for employees living with HIV/AIDS.
Daniels said that the company was working with AIDS Care Trust (ACT), a non-governmental organisation, to set up a HIV/AIDS programme in the company. ACT provides support for people living with HIV/AIDS as well as training and information education in the workplace. Trustee Magreth Naris told IRIN that it was important that businesses create a positive preventative image around HIV/AIDS in the workplace. She said that more businesses in Namibia were becoming aware for the need to support their employees living with HIV/AIDS and provide prevention campaigns, although in some workplaces, workers were discriminated against because of their HIV/AIDS status.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) says the spread of HIV/AIDS is likely to devastate Namibia's labour market, with the workforce declining by 22 percent in 2020. The composition of the workplace will change, with an increasing number of orphans, widows and elderly people filling jobs left vacant by trained workers.
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