12 February, 2009
In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on the Boehringer Ingelheim project in India; how HIV/AIDS affects the mining sector in Guinea; on the Swedish Workplace Programme and on the policy speech by the new UNAIDS Executive Director.
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Editor: Hans J Schwass, ICEM HIV/AIDS Consultant
Progress in India
The HIV/AIDS workplace project in India, which is sponsored by the German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim, is making good progress. After the planning workshop in July 2008, master trainers were trained in August with technical assistance and expert input from the ILO/AIDS office in Delhi.
Up to the end of 2008, six peer educators’ programmes were conducted by the master trainers in different parts of India, covering coal mining as well as the chemical and cement sectors. With 151 peer educators trained, the project is on target to train 500 peer educators in 20 programmes. The fact that management takes an increasing interest in the project is a positive sign and bodes well for a continuation of HIV/AIDS interventions at the workplace after 2009.
A second master trainers’ course will be organised in Kolkata in early April 2009. In the meantime, peer educators have organised education and campaign activities in their places of work.
Extension of the ICEM HIV/AIDS Project to Guinea
Discussions are under way to extend the ICEM HIV/AIDS project to Guinea (Conakry). With an HIV infection rate of 5.2 per cent, the mining sector in Guinea is particularly at risk from the epidemic. Some mining companies have begun setting up their own programmes in view of the lack of HIV/AIDS services from the public health sector.
Guinea has large deposits of bauxite, iron, gold diamonds and other minerals which make it potentially one of the richest countries in West Africa. Yet it is one of the poorest countries of the world; over 53 per cent of its nine million inhabitants live on less than one dollar a day.
Mine workers are generally better paid than those working in other sectors. Internal migration and separation from families leads to a lot of risky behaviour in remote mining areas.
Mining companies and the Guinea Chamber of Mines (CMG) have realised how much HIV is costing the companies and have been working with international partners to set up public-private partnerships which can offer HIV/AIDS services not only to the workers but also to their families and to the wider community. An active involvement of the ICEM affiliated FSPMCICA (national union of mine, quarry and chemical workers) would ideally supplement these activities.
(Source: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks (INRI) as reported in Africa News, 28 November 2008)
Namibia: AIDS Funding under Threat
Namibia could run out of money for AIDS programmes funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria after the country was once again refused funding of its projects for the next five years. So far, Namibia only had one grant approved in 2002. Two subsequent applications were not found to be of the required quality by the independent Technical Review Panel of the Global Fund.
Namibia ranks among the top five worst affected countries in the world. Government agencies and NGOs were hoping to address HIV prevalence among commercial sex workers and youth between the ages of 20 to 24. Part of the money was also to be used for strengthening the health system by training more nurses, pharmacists and other medical staff as well as providing more support to orphans and vulnerable children.
(Source: The Namibian, Windhoek, as reported in Africa News, 4 December 2008)
Swedish Workplace Programme
Funding has been secured for a further four-year period for the Swedish Workplace HIV and AIDS Programme (SWHAP). The latest SWHAP Newsletter reports on the World AIDS Day event “Business Combating HIV and AIDS” in Stockholm which brought together over 110 business leaders and trade union representatives as well as NGOs and government agencies. Keynote speaker was the former President of Botswana and Chairperson of the National AIDS Council, Festus Mogae.
SWHAP is a joint venture of the ICEM-affiliated Swedish Industrial and Metalworkers’ Federation (IF Metall) and the International Council of Swedish Industry (NIR). Its aim is to support and contribute to the establishment of HIV and AIDS programmes at Swedish-related workplaces in sub-Saharan Africa. If you want to know more about SWHAP and the countries and companies covered go to www.swhap.org.
(Source: SWHAP Newsletter December 2008)
Optimistic UNAIDS Director Sets Ambitious Goals
The new Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michele Sidibe, outlined his vision for the UN agency at the Ubuntu Clinic in Kayelitsha township in Cape Town. He promised to make universal access a priority. His goal is to avert 2.6 million new infections and save 1.3 million lives by the end of 2010.
He put special emphasis on the testing of women and the support for orphans. “We cannot transform this epidemic if we don’t make sure that women and children are the centres of our preoccupation”, he said. In calling for an investment of USD 25 billion over the next few years, he acknowledged the difficulty of raising funds in the current economic crisis but added that the crisis should not paralyse efforts in fighting the pandemic.
In choosing Kayelitsha for his policy speech, Sidibe recognized the pioneer role the township played as early as 2001 when Médecins sans Frontières started antiretroviral treatment in the township at a time when the provision of ARVs in the public sector in the South Africa was still banned.
(Source: UNAIDS website and IRIN PlusNews, 10 February)
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