More than 90% of global mining major Anglo American’s employees and contractors in Southern Africa had their HIV status tested in 2011, with around 4 730 employees currently receiving free anti- retroviral therapy (ART) through the company’s comprehensive HIV/Aids prevention, care, support and treatment programme.

The ten-year-old initiative, which includes awareness education, condom distribution and the early diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, is available to all employees, with each employee who tests positive for the disease enrolled in an HIV wellness programme.

“The results we have achieved prove that it is possible to create widespread awareness of HIV and Aids within an organisation and take measured steps towards eradicating the burden of disease in the community,” says Anglo American chief medical officer Dr Brian Brink.

He explains that the focus of the company’s HIV/Aids response initiative is to ensure that every person employed by Anglo American and all of their dependants are aware of their HIV/Aids status, that they have received the education required to prevent contraction of the disease and that they receive the treatment, care and support required if they are found to be HIV positive.

“We believe that early diagnosis and treatment of HIV are fundamental and that this can drastically improve the quality of the lives of those people living with the disease. Anglo American’s policy also commits the company to not discriminating against anyone with HIV or Aids and to ensure that confidentiality is protected,” he notes.

According to research conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Aurum Institute for Health Research, Anglo American’s response of providing antiretroviral treatment for its workforce since 2002 has also positively affected its bottom line.

Data collected over ten years has shown that the costs associated with HIV and Aids have been reduced from $31.2-million to $27.6-million for a workforce of about 8 000, with the cost of providing yearly ART for employees estimated at $1.4-million.

Company savings emanate from reductions in benefits, absenteeism, training and recruitment of new employees, as well as inpatient and outpatient medical costs.

“We have made notable strides in our fight against HIV/Aids and have unequivocally proved that providing access to care, support and treatment for HIV, particularly in high-prevalence settings, is not only the right thing to do, but also makes prudent business sense,” asserts Brink.