Nedlac to broach HIV/Aids plan

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Ranjeni Munusamy

The executive management committee of the National Economic Development and Labour Council is to meet on Friday to reopen discussions on the national treatment plan for HIV/Aids.

The council's executive director, Phillip Dexter, said he was waiting for state and business negotiators, who had to consult their principals on two disputed clauses in the agreement, to indicate whether they were ready to discuss the matter this week.

But the government is unlikely to buckle on the issue of funding the rollout of anti-Aids drugs as it wants to stall a decision until a task team of treasury and health officials who are investigating the cost implications of such a move makes a report in April.

Labour Department Director-General Rams Ramashia said the government was willing to implement all aspects of the agreement, except clauses spelling out that the government should finance the phased provision of antiretroviral drugs. The Treatment Action Campaign has demanded that the state implement the framework agreement.

The issue boiled over this week when the government accused both the campaign and Cosatu of lying about the agreement.

The campaign's head, Zackie Achmat, said they wanted the government to return to negotiations. "We have given them till the end of February to finish their research studies," he said.

Aids funding is well used

Letters

The article "Aids charity denied UN funds" (January 12) and others the Sunday Times has published in the past have created a false impression that Soul City and Soul Buddyz projects have been equal recipients with other organisations of the UN Global Aids Fund total of approximately R1.8-billion.

We are particularly concerned about the negative impact this is having on our work. While we have indeed received funding in the region of R21-million, it is approximately 2% of the total.

This is as opposed to the biggest beneficiary, loveLife, which has received approximately 58% of the R602-million allocated.

Soul City: Institute for Health and Development Communication will use this money as part of a media strategy which has been operational for the last 10 years, comprising prime-time TV dramas; radio dramas in nine languages; supplementary print materials for the general public, teachers and parents (over six million copies printed per series); as well as educational materials for non-formal educational settings and training.

Soul City's interventions are rated by many international practitioners as among the top three social change initiatives in the world.

It is with this track record that we hope to be responsible custodians of the money granted to us and to continue to make a tangible difference , in particular as regards the HIV/Aids pandemic. - DR GARTH JAPHET, Executive Director, Soul City: IHDC, Johannesburg

Test case for HIV testing

HIV/Aids

GILL MOODIEand SHANTHINI NAIDOO

Fishing and food company Irvin & Johnson could open the way for South African companies to do voluntary but anonymous HIV testing of workers without first having to get court approval.

In a potentially precedent-setting case, I&J this week asked the Labour Court in Cape Town to allow companies to provide testing - if they can guarantee it is voluntary and confidential - after they started an HIV/Aids education programme for their Cape Town workers last year.

I&J started voluntary testing in June but stopped when it was told it needed Labour Court approval. In papers before the court, the company says it wants to continue its testing so that it can accurately assess the potential impact of HIV/Aids on its workforce and plan accordingly. It wants to be told by its testing agency only the number of HIV-positive workers in various age and health categories.

Granting the application would increase testing countrywide, said I&J's attorney Dave Loxton, adding that small and medium businesses could not afford to go to court.

Henk de Beer, I&J's Cape Town trawling human resources manager, said: "Employers don't get involved in the nitty-gritty of HIV/Aids. This would allow them to get involved in testing and wellness programmes."

"The union is 110% behind I&J on this," said Trawler and Line Fishermen's Union shop steward Kenny Adams. He added that employees would be more likely to seek counselling if they knew their HIV status, thus removing the stigma around the disease.

The union has about 800 members out of I&J's 1 100 Cape Town staff.

Jennifer Joni, an attorney at the University of Witwatersrand Aids Law Project, said this week the project supported I&J's move because the law was not intended to prohibit voluntary testing.

"The Department of Health says people should be finding out about their HIV status - that is the same thing that should be happening in our workplaces."

If the application is granted, HIV/Aids counsellor Lucia Aranes will counsel I&J's employees. "We want to educate people so that they can make informed decisions. And it's not only to provide support for those who are HIV-positive. We want to encourage those who are HIV-negative to remain negative," she said.

Acting Judge Owen Rogers will give his decision on Tuesday.