Big business has largely embraced its responsibility to educate its workforce about HIV/Aids, with workplace prevention programmes as well as voluntary counselling & testing (VCT) initiatives now de rigueur for large companies.
But do these programmes work? The aim of any Aids communication programme is to change behaviour, and few firms realise how complex this task is.
WHAT IT MEANS
 Aids programmes are sometimes tricky
Treatment must follow VCT
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Programmes fail when companies direct communication at people without proper consultation or research ; fail to recognise that human behaviour is shaped by interpersonal, cultural and economic factors; and that behaviour and social change take place over years.
Sasol's HIV/Aids response programme (Sharp) was launched in September 2002. At the time, only 167 employees were registered on its Aids disease management programme, no VCT had been offered and there was still huge stigma and misinformation around the disease.
Sharp manager Pamilla Mudhray says the priority was to educate everyone, from CEO to shopfloor worker, to demystify the disease and open the workplace to talk about a previously taboo subject. She feels the programme has worked because it was well designed, being based on knowledge, attitudes & practices (KAP) surveys and intense consultation that brought everyone on board.
It was also people-focused. "A common mistake companies make is to adopt a top-down risk management approach while failing to ascertain what people really need and want," Mudhray says.
The programme must also be inclusive. "Companies go wrong when they aim messages only at the shopfloor," she says.
Sasol recognised that though the solution is generic, the way it is implemented differs from workplace to workplace and between workforce segments. It is also careful to cater for age and language bias and cultural sensitivities.
Successful workplace programmes must guarantee transparency and confidentiality, and there must be a continuum of care. Convincing people to discover their HIV status is pointless if they are unable to access treatment afterwards.
Finally, Mudhray feels it is essential to keep reminding workers through consistent messaging that Aids is a real disease and the only thing that puts one at risk is indulging in risky behaviour.
After the Sharp implementation, VCT was offered. The average group-wide uptake was high at 82,3%. In a workforce of 24 000 people, the HIV prevalence rate was 7% - about half of what benchmarking had led Sasol to expect. VCT is available at the group's occupational health clinics and at wellness days twice a year. All employees and their beneficiaries who test positive can access antiretroviral (ARV) medicine.
There has been a big increase in registration on the Aids management programme - 657 members (261 are dependants) take ARVs through Sasolmed. Those not on the scheme can obtain treatment through a Sasol-funded treatment site at Sigma coal mine in Sasolburg.
Sasol has launched an Aids education programme in its retail fuel network. By the end of 2006, more than 3 000 forecourt employees at 210 Sasol convenience centres and Excel service stations will have attended education sessions.
