What is the Lanka Business Coalition for HIV and AIDS?
Wednesday, 18 September 2013 00:00
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The Lanka Business Coalition for HIV and AIDS is a coalition of individual corporates who have partnered with organisations such as the National STD/AIDS Control Programme of the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labor, ILO, UNAIDS, Chambers of Commerce, and Employers Federation to address the critical issue of HIV and AIDS awareness and prevention.
In Sri Lanka, individual corporates have partnered organisations such as the National STD/AIDS Control Programme of the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labour, ILO, UNAIDS, Chambers of Commerce, and Employers Federation to address this critical issue. In addition a National AIDS Committee has finalised the National AIDS Policy, a National Tripartite Declaration signed by the Government, employers organisations and trade unions and a National Strategic Plan for Prevention of HIV and AIDS.
The Coalition will also work with its existing partners to make sure that each of the member organisations will have an HIV/AIDS Workplace Policy in place, as well as provide ongoing tailored HIV and AIDS awareness training through a pool of professional trainers with no cost to organisations; setting up trainer skills and facilities in each of the member organisations. In the long term the Coalition plans to identify vulnerable subgroups in areas that are often difficult to access, and encourage businesses working in those areas to join the coalition and thereby raise awareness through the shared learning and skills of the existing members.
Spearheaded by the Standard Chartered Bank the Business Coalition emerged as a result of the eighth International Congress on AIDS in the Asia Pacific (ICCAP) that was held in Sri Lanka in August 2007. The Lanka Business Coalition on HIV and AIDS is a member of the Asia Pacific Business Coalition on AIDS.
What it does
The Coalition conducts sensitisation programs and peer educator programs for its member organisations. Sessions include training for senior level management, peer leaders and all levels of staff including production floor and even medical staff. The training materials developed in both English and the local language is shared with the organisation at no cost.
The Coalition also strives to drive Sri Lanka’s business sector to implement much needed HIV and AIDS workplace policies throughout their organisations. The policy would provide a framework for action to reduce the spread of HIV and AIDS, avoid stigma towards those living with the disease and manage its impact on the labour force. The Coalition provides awareness training sessions and customised policy development services at no cost to the organisations. It also provides a platform for centres of expertise, resources and material to be shared.
Organisations that have been trained by the LBCH will also be provided with a certification; an acknowledgement of having received internationally recognised and locally endorsed HIV and AIDS awareness training.
HIV and AIDS is our problem; let’s take ownership to find a solution for sustainability of our economy. The biggest asset we have is the people asset with over eight million people in the workforce and hence, we as business leaders should recognise the issue and own it for a solution through early mitigation action.
Therefore we stress upon the need for the Sri-Lankan 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, sport marketing, exports related travelling etc, our workforce has become highly vulnerable.
Given this backdrop we the business leaders have to come together and work together to mitigate a huge potential risk our workforce is faced with.
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. Let us prevent Sri-Lanka from having to experience what Africa is going through today – this should be priority for all business leaders and action must be taken now.
AIDS is everybody’s business
Being part of an effective response to raising awareness and training on HIV and AIDS in the workplace demonstrates a company’s commitment to good corporate citizenship and to the well-being of its employees, customers and communities.
Just as no country has remained untouched by AIDS, no business institution can be immune to its impact. Until recently, most of the business world passed on the responsibility for the pandemic to the government, activists or the public health community. However, today there is growing evidence across the business community that becoming involved in the response to HIV and AIDS is crucial not only as part of good corporate citizenship but also due to corporate self-interest.
It may be wise to learn from the experiences of other businesses and take heed from the warning made to business leaders by Dr. Brian Brink, Medical Director for the South African mining conglomerate Anglo American who said: “Don’t make the same mistake we made in South Africa – we saw this coming but the first reaction of business was that it wasn’t our problem, that it wasn’t threatening us now, that we’d let the government sort it out.”
While Sri Lanka is considered a low prevalence country, research has indicated that HIV spreads faster and is most deadly in countries that are burdened with widespread poverty and armed conflict. Where poverty and armed conflict exist simultaneously, HIV and AIDS becomes a development setback that can erase nearly four decades of economic progress.
Can this issue be ignored?
There have been many individual success stories in the 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 of corporates and access to existing resources and best practices. It is, therefore apparent that there is a critical need for an entity to bring together civil society, NGOs and the corporate sector, to combat this global crisis.
