Private sector participation in HIV mitigation vital

It had been estimated that around 4,200 HIV infections, two new infections a week and 260 AIDS deaths took place in 2011. Can we still ignore this issue? Asks Chairman, Lanka Business Coalition on HIV and AIDS, (LBCH), Kishu Gomes.

HIV and AIDS risk mitigation

Private sector employees, number over five million people out of the country's total workforce of approximately nine million. If you look around the world for recent examples of economic growth, you would find that it is due to technology, trade, land and natural resources, capital investment and people resources. While we have all these factors in limited quantity, the biggest asset we have is people. Therefore, we stress the need for business leaders to recognise the magnitude of the issue with two new HIV cases reported every week.

While Sri Lanka is considered a low prevalence country, given that the country's economic growth is centred around tourism, foreign employment, trade, sports marketing and export related travelling, our workforce has become highly vulnerable.

In this backdrop, we business leaders have to work together to mitigate this huge potential risk our workforce is faced with.

Think beyond social responsibility

There have been many individual success stories in business response to the epidemic, but this is not enough. Partnering the national response to HIV and AIDS needs to be an intrinsic component of the way in which a company operates.

Isolated centres of expertise, resources and material are available within the business sector, but there is a lack of engagement by corporates to access resources and best practices. The triple bottom- line focus with adequate attention to people is the way forward and we need to protect our people if we are to honour our commitment as business leaders.

The social and economic costs of HIV and AIDS to the global community are stark and well documented. In the Asia Pacific region alone, around 10 million people could now (2010 statistics) be living with HIV and AIDS.

The International Labour Organisation estimates that close to one million people in the region are unable to work because of AIDS related illnesses. The annual financial loss to the region associated with the disease has been estimated by the Asian Development Bank to be over US $ 17.5 billion. The best we can do as business leaders is to learn and act with commitment to minimise the social and economic impact it would otherwise have.

The epidemic has the potential to undermine sustained growth of the Sri Lankan market because it strikes at the most economically active age groups - the workforce, people aged from 16 to 49. These costs are not just a concern for public policy makers; they are a matter of serious concern to all businesses operating in the country.

The business community should respond to HIV not just out of humanitarian concern but for sound economic reasons. The lead role in fighting diseases like HIV and AIDS one could argue, should be borne by the government. However, there are now many examples from around the world of better outcomes when the public and private sector work in partnership to achieve an important development goal.

Businesses and business leaders can and should play a vital role, by proactively acting now.

Implications to business

Let's learn from countries with a high prevalence of HIV and AIDS. Business organisations in those countries are paying for their own mistakes and ignorance. We should not make the same mistakes in Sri Lanka. At individual company level it makes sense to develop an effective prevention plan. Look first at the bottom line. HIV cuts into planned company expenses by increasing costs of employee healthcare, recruitment and training.

Companies with employees who become HIV positive are likely to see a reduction in productivity as staff become ill. As prevalence levels rise profits are impacted as expenses increase, service delivery fails to adhere to planned schedules, and customers change their purchasing plans because of the HIV expenses they incur. Given the magnitude of the issue and complex action needed, joining all other governmental and non-governmental organisations with a collaborative approach is a must in my view.

CEOs and Senior Managers of successful companies view their workforce as their most important asset. They are therefore unlikely to be so short sighted as to not want to protect their employees' health. Leading companies are aware that their responsibility goes beyond producing a satisfactory return for their shareholders and to have a positive interaction with the broader community of which they form a part.