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Meaning business
against HIV/AIDS
By BAEAU TAI
"You do not even begin to understand
the enormity of HIV until you have been in an HIV ward, watched
over someone you know who is dying or seen the host of medical
complications that a person with HIV can have."
"Seeing is not only believing, it is also the first step for most
of us in understanding," Rod Mitchell, chief executive of National
Superannuation Fund, Nasfund told me when he spoke about the
declaration of war on HIV & AIDS by Papua New Guinea's private
sector.
"In a western setting, you have functioning hospitals, access to
quality treatment and medication. We just don't have that luxury
here, and over lay that with ignorance, superstition, the poor
status accorded to women and lack of education on HIV risk
minimisation and the challenge becomes enormous. And the worrying
aspect is that if we do not get on top of this disease, then the
political, economic and social impacts will not only be very
negative but will play out for generations to come," he said.
In 1990, one of Rod's closest friends died from HIV & AIDS in
Australia. A relatively young man with a future still well ahead,
strong gifted, and the life of the party withered to nothing. In
the three years before his death, Rod witnessed the lesions, the
weight loss, the Kaposi Sarcoma, the constant diarrhoea, and even
the beginnings of dementia.
Acutely aware of that early experience, Nasfund has been one of
the few private sector companies in PNG to adopt best practice HIV
workplace policies, on going staff awareness and condom dispensing
machines in staff toilets.
On 31st January 2007, for the first time at the business level,
180 of PNG's leading business companies came together at the
Airways Hotel in Port Moresby to declare war on HIV & AIDS under
one banner - The PNG Business Coalition on HIV and AIDS known as
BAHA. Up until recently, the PNG Chamber of Mining and Petroleum
and Nasfund were the only visible co-ordinated signs that the
private sector was taking an interest in HIV and AIDS. Coupled
with isolated company responses to the growing epidemic by Ok Tedi
Mines, Coca Coal Amatil and Nestle, the sector has remained
largely mute on the matter.
The urgency for a private sector initiative was summed up by the
Minister assisting for HIV & AIDS, Sir Peter Barter.
"Information we have on HIV/AIDS in PNG shows a national trend of
increasing cases of infections among the economically and sexually
active age. According to the UNAIDS December 2006 Annual Report,
PNG accounts for three quarters of the estimated 7,000 (3,400 -
54,000) people who acquired HIV in 2006 or an estimated 81,000
(50,000 - 170,000) people living with HIV in the Oceania region."
At the BAHA launch night, officiated by Governor General, Sir
Paulias Matane, with guests from the Asia Pacific Coalition on HIV
and AIDS (APBCHA), Chairperson of APBCHA, Qantas's Margaret
Jackson and Deputy Chair, Lachlan Murdoch saw some of PNG's
leading companies, including Rimbunan Hijau, OK Tedi, PNG
Sustainable Development Fund and Steamships Trading raise total
commitments of K4.5 million over three years.
Joining the crowd were Australia's Olympic swimming legend Ian
Thorpe, and PNG's commonwealth gold medallist, Ryan Pini, who both
gave strong messages on support for the HIV cause with emphasis to
young Papua New Guineans. Sir Paulias who has a reputation for
speaking his mind weighed in with strong support for the BAHA
initiative and stressed the role of condom usage, making it clear
in his words "Condoms are the most effective protection against
HIV, when used correctly."
The background to the formation of the PNG Business Coalition on
HIV and AIDS began in 2006, when the Asia Pacific Business
Coalition was launched by Australian Foreign Minister Alexander
Downer and former US president Bill Clinton specifically to co
ordinate a more pro-active business response to the growing HIV
problem in the Asia Pacific region. The Asia Pacific Business
Coalition is on a mission to role out to over seven business
coalitions through out the Asia Pacific region within the next few
years. The launch of the PNG chapter was the first and its ability
to galvanise business support and funding has already being touted
as a model for the Pacific region.
In late 2006, Mr Mitchell was approached by the Asia Pacific
Business Coalition to work with them in developing a PNG model for
a private sector response in tackling HIV. The outcome was the PNG
chapter and in a short time the organisation has welded together
the major business groupings in the country under a single banner
to provide consistent approaches to dealing with HIV & AIDS in the
workplace.
The major aims of BAHA are as follows:
To develop a reliable and efficient client service arm to deal
with HIV/AIDS queries from private sector workers and their
employers and act as a referral agency.
Develop a business case for HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness from
an employer perspective to bridge the current lack of co ordinated
response by employers
3 Work with employers to develop a workplace policy with emphasis
on
Elimination of HIV-based discrimination in the workplace
Ensuring a consistent approach within the private sector in
dealing with employees who are living with HIV/AIDS
Developing and coordinating HIV/AIDS awareness and behaviour
change programmes for private sector workers and
Ensuring private sector employee access to HIV treatment and
support services.
"Common to most businesses is a view that HIV & AIDS is a
secondary issue -will deal with it when it comes approach," Mr
Mitchell explained.
"We are going to shift business attitudes from a reactive position
to a pro-active approach where business will see that it's in
their interests to take HIV head on to the front gate so to speak.
Clearly, with sensible and consistently applied workplace
policies, company support and access to antiretroviral drugs,
encouragement of condom usage and condom vending machines in the
work environment and ongoing workplace education we can make
substantial inroads as a private sector."
With HIV & AIDS now finally on the Governments radar screen after
a long hiatus (this year the PNG government more than tripled the
budget for HIV and AIDS from K5 million to over K17 million) and
with the recently announced AusAID commitment of over K200 million
under the SANAP WANTIM program for the next five years, the
opportunity to turn the tide against the epidemic has never looked
better. The key to the success beyond resourcing and funding
however rests on using these resources through effective messaging
to change attitudes especially about women and their role in
society.
The PNG business Coalition which officially opens its doors on
April 1 has already kicked some major goals with a comprehensive
website (www.baha.com.pg) which focuses on employee and employer
issues from a PNG perspective.
While Internet usage among the population is small, most employers
have access to Internet and most employees in medium to large
enterprises have access to intranet with which the BAHA website
can be accessed from
Mitchell explains it as follows, "the websites greatest strength
is that for the first time we have in PNG an on line date base of
over 400 PNG agencies, church groups, NGOs, healthcare clinics and
government organisations who are involved in HIV /AIDS - broken
down into Provinces. This is a great resource for employers and
employees needing assistance on HIV"
The other major strength is as a resource in developing workplace
policies and as a storage site of workplace policies of employers
committed to international best practice.
Mitchell outlined that challenge at the launch of BAHA.
"It is unacceptable that recent statistics suggest that 68% of
women in our society have been the victims of serious violence.-
88% of those women who have been the victim of serious violence
have faced it in their own homes. Now if we over lay these
statistics with the fact that only 40% of women have functioning
literacy and school attendance rates for their children barely
reach 50% what we are in effect doing is creating a perpetual
cycle of second-class citizenry.
But unfortunately the challenge is even greater. The
politicisation of the police force and reports on police
victimisation of women and children, leads us to the major
conundrum in the fight against HIV & AIDS. If we cannot elevate
the status of women, guarantee their safety and educated and
protect children, then the battle to contain HIV becomes all the
more difficult, albeit lost."
A difficult challenge has just commenced.
 
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