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Old Mutual

Old Mutual is a leading financial services company with operations in South Africa, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom.

Goal

To focus on its employees and the workplace, the broader community, its customers and the business impact of HIV/AIDS.

Key questions

What can a company with a strong and established HIV/AIDS programme do to increase their VCT uptake rate?

Through what tools and to what degree can a company influence customers to increase their proactive management of HIV/AIDS in their own workplaces?

At what stage should a company undertake an economic assessment and does it require an unlinked prevalence assessment?

Programme description

Old Mutual’s strategy, which is based on the premise that HIV/AIDS is a manageable disease, consists of the following four dimensions: (1) workplace and employees; (2) the broader community; (3) financial services and advice for customers; (4) the business impact.

Old Mutual first developed an HIV/AIDS policy for its South Africa operations in 1987/1998. The Workplace HIV/AIDS Strategic Policy Committee, composed of representatives from all the Old Mutual South Africa Business Units as well as the relevant employee representative bodies, revised the policy in November 2001 as part of its annual review.

Old Mutual’s workplace prevention and awareness programme focuses on staff and management training, peer education, condom distribution, sexually transmitted infection (STI) treatment, and a youth-focused workshop. Old Mutual also helps to support and fund a number of partnerships, particularly Soul City and the Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI).

All employees are offered free, voluntary and confidential HIV testing which includes pre- and post-test counselling through an independent service provider, the Centre for Human Development (CHD).

Old Mutual offers HIV-positive employees and dependants access to a HIV/AIDS management programme which includes access to medically appropriate Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART).

Old Mutual works to balance the need to provide suitable and affordable financial services and advice in a country with a high HIV/AIDS burden.

Click here to read the full report.
Click here to read Old Mutual’s HIV/AIDS policy.

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Small businesses

Is it reasonable to expect small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa to offer HIV/AIDS services to their employees?

As evidence has accumulated of the negative impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the South African economy, some sectors of society have taken action, while others have not. In the private sector, many large businesses, having recognised the imminent costs of the epidemic and the potential benefits of proactive intervention, are now offering HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment services to employees. The vast majority of small and medium sized businesses, however, are not .. >.