Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - August 17, 2003

This is the view of Warren Parker, director of the Centre for Aids Development, Research and Evaluation (Cadre).

He says the issue of worker health needs should be prioritised over impact studies or behavioural change programmes. Resources should be devoted to dealing with an advanced epidemic.

"Business needs to really look at the workplace context of the epidemic - of people going through the trauma of getting ill and dying," says Parker.

He adds that there does not seem to be a clear idea of what should be done in the workplace, and often the main approaches centre on condom promotion and the provision of information.

"Treatment is a key issue because it prolongs productive lifespan. Thought also has to be given to developing guidelines to deal with people who become less productive as a result of Aids.

"Historically, there has been a focus on prevention education. There needs to be a shift to the pragmatic aspects of dealing with the more direct impact of the epidemic, with actual people who are living with HIV and Aids."

Parker says this will mean:

Providing education on treatment, including awareness of the need to treat opportunistic infections. Businesses can play an important role in providing information on antiretrovirals as the government rolls out its national treatment programme. This can extend to assistance in terms of the correct usage of antiretroviral drugs.

Establishing support groups in the workplace. Employees should be encouraged and supported to be open about their HIV status.

Providing treatment and care programmes and exploring ways to support employee families affected by the disease.

Assisting families with procedures such as writing wills and preparing other legal documents, or facilitating access to social grants.

Parker says: "Most of the resources are going into high-end, top-down interventions, and it is important to develop an understanding of employee needs in relation to the disease. We need to move beyond formulaic responses within the workplace environment."

He says the concept of a public-private partnership as a panacea to the pandemic is problematic as some companies are more inclined to opt for high-profile publicity benefits rather than carefully considered interventions.

Parker maintains it is better to look to the immediate context for opportunities to relieve the impact of the epidemic.

"The obvious starting point is with employees. The next step is looking at the communities that provide employees - their families and their children.

"The health of the nation depends on this kind of foresight and this kind of support," he says.

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