Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - August 10, 2008
Claire Keeton
Elaine McKay, Discovery Health's head of HIV strategy, said: "We are getting extraordinary amounts of support from big business. They are using the campaign to encourage their staff to test. They have taken tens of thousands of entry forms and posters to publicise it."
Standard Bank, Anglo American, the Virgin Group, Sappi, Shell, Merck and Telkom SA are among the companies who have embraced the Right to Know competition, launched a month ago by Discovery Health and the Sunday Times. The SA Business Coalition on HIV/Aids and its global counterpart are also promoting the HIV-testing campaign among their members.
The Virgin Group's HIV programme manager, Nadia Hassan, said the competition could boost the group's well-being and HIV-management programmes. "Hopefully, we can learn from this model on incentivising people to test and take what we learn to other countries with low prevalence," she said.
Carol O'Brien, director of Global Business Coalition Southern Africa, said: "We are aware that many of our members have offered the Discovery Health/Sunday Times testing incentive to their employees to encourage them to test, and we would like to see this expanded to other multinationals.
"Everybody should know their status and a prize of R100000 is a great incentive to test. It's right to know your status."
Companies which deliver voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) and wellness services, such as Careways, Safam and Prime Cure, have embraced the competition as well.
Safam CEO Michael van Wyk said: "The prize definitely encourages VCT.
"It does not matter how you encourage HIV testing. What matters is that you get a result ù and what you do after the result. If you are positive, you can do something about it."
Van Wyk said they were booked to test 400 staff at a beverage company in the Western Cape recently, but more than 1000 people turned up for HIV tests.
The Right to Know competition, which will have 12 draws in total, aims to get one million people to take HIV tests.
McKay said: "We are hoping half of these will come through business, and the other half-million from the general community and our partners in community-based and non-profit organisations."
Scott Billy, technical adviser for the Society for Family Health and New Start, said: "New Start was very pleased when the Sunday Times and Discovery launched this campaign. Some people disagree with incentivised testing, but we think a crisis calls for innovative out-of-the-box ideas like this campaign.
"When you test during the campaign you benefit in two ways: you stand a chance of winning R100000 and you learn your status. And whether you test positive or negative, you benefit from learning your status."
New Start has 10 clinics in all provinces. For more information visit: www.newstart.co.za
* HIV-911 refers people to support services, including VCT. For referral information, call 0860 448 911 during office hours or visit www.hiv911.org.za
The National Aids Helpline on 0800-012-322 provides a confidential, anonymous 24-hour toll-free telephone counselling, information and referral service.
* The Treatment Action Campaign has a group for people with HIV/Aids . For more information call 0861-END HIV (0861-363-448) or e-mail: pwasector@tac.org.za
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