HIV/AIDS
The spread of HIV/AIDS represents a significant risk to our workforce in South Africa and to the stability of communities in which we operate. In addition to the humanitarian concerns, we believe it is in our business interest to invest in testing and treatment for our employees and the community.
We began addressing HIV/AIDS in the workplace in 2004, after carrying out a cost-benefit assessment that compared the impact of doing nothing to the cost of a fully funded intervention, prevention and treatment programme. This analysis clearly demonstrated the business case for rapid intervention to halt and reverse the spread of HIV and AIDS in our workforce.
Our approach involves tackling the contributing factors to the spread of HIV and AIDS, including:
- eradicating single sex hostels for mineworkers
- working with the wider community and government to implement door-to-door outreach programmes and improve access to HIV testing and treatment
- investing in education and prevention campaigns targeted at young people and remote areas
