Government

SABCOHA has from the outset shown support for the government’s strategy on combating HIV/AIDS, STIs and TB and plays a key role in the revived South African National AIDS Council (SANAC). The partnerships it has formed with two provincial governments – the Gauteng and Eastern Cape governments - have been mutually beneficial and have paved the way for the highly successful national-level partnership with Khomanani – the government’s multi-million rand communication campaign against HIV/AIDS. SABCOHA also partners the Department of Health in its condom distribution programme.

Gauteng government
The Gauteng government’s Multi-sectoral AIDS Unit has sought to mobilise the whole community in HIV/AIDS prevention and care. A Memorandum of Understanding between the Gauteng government, unions and SABCOHA to formalise co-operation between all parties on workplace HIV/AIDS responses, is in the offing. The intention is to share expertise and increase links between workplace programmes and the communities in which employees live, where similar services are required. SABCOHA, which is represented on the Gauteng Aids Council, has worked hand-in-hand with the provincial government, as well as with trade unions, to help with the practical implementation of workplace programmes to lessen the impact of AIDS on businesses, small and medium enterprises and government. A Workplace AIDS Indaba, held in May 2005, brought together SABCOHA representatives, union federations and the International Labour Organisation, among other players, to share information and chart a way forward.

Eastern Cape government
SABCOHA has partnered with the Eastern Cape government, the Eastern Cape Development Corporation, the Automotive Industry Development Corporation, InWEnt and VWSA in implementing HIV/AIDS strategies in the motor, construction and agricultural industries. SABCOHA is partnering VWSA in a supply chain project setting up HIV/AIDS programmes in seven automative component suppliers to VWSA. SABCOHA has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Automotive Industry Development Centre to maximise the roll-out of HIV/AIDS programmes to companies in the automative industry.

Khomanani
SABCOHA’s partnership with Khomanani – a wide-ranging communication campaign led by government – has been highly successful in motivating businesses to come on board in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The partnership, formalised in the middle of 2005, facilitates co-operation between individual businesses and government. It is effectively an extension of Khomanani into the business community. The partnership also prevents duplication by both business and government of certain services. For example, through their association with SABCOHA, Khomanani and Anglo Platinum realised that both were training fieldworkers to raise awareness in rural communities and agreed that government should take over their management. Similarly, Mittal Steel stopped printing its own pamphlets and utilised those being put out by Khomanani instead, which freed up more resources for its own employees affected by HIV/AIDS.

Khomanani Excellence Awards
The annual awards pay tribute to those community workers, health workers and businesses making outstanding contributions in the field of HIV/AIDS. In 2005 SABCOHA sponsored the business category of the awards. Two awards were given – one for small and medium-sized businesses and the other for large companies. Anglo Platinum won the large company award (BMW, Standard Bank, De Beers and Sasol were finalists) and St Leger & Viney won in the small business category. SABCOHA was intent on creating a special category to mobilise smaller businesses which – hard-pressed to find the time and money and yet with less capacity to resist the consequences of HIV/AIDS in their workforces - are lagging behind in putting HIV/AIDS programs in place.

Pledge-a-thon
SABCOHA and Khomanani are also partners in the hugely successful “Pledge-a-thon” campaign that in 2005 saw 500 000 pledges from individuals, companies and other sectors to take action rather than simply give vocal support in the fight against HIV/AIDS. SABCOHA plays a pivotal role in mobilising companies to add their pledges.

South African National AIDS Council
SABCOHA continues to play a key role in the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) as the business sector representative on the council. SANAC, comprised of government and civil sector representatives, is the co-ordinating body through which resources from the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria are channelled. SABCOHA strives to play a supportive role at all times to the council.

Business Organisations

African Institute of Corporate Citizenship (AICC)

The African Institute of Corporate Citizenship (AICC) is a non-governmental organisation committed to promoting responsible growth and competitiveness in Africa by changing the way companies do business in Africa. AICC’s long-term goals are to ensure:

• Responsible growth and competitiveness throughout Africa.
• Corporate Citizenship is an integral part of how companies do business in Africa.
• Transparency in companies’ interaction with governments.
• Non-financial reporting is as important as financial reporting.
• Governments play a role in ensuring corporate accountability in Africa.
• South Africa adopts corporate responsibility guidelines, which are best suited for South African companies operating in Africa.
• Corporate Citizenship becomes part of the curriculum at business schools throughout Africa.
• International standards on Corporate Citizenship support the African context and promote responsible business and competitiveness.

Business Unity South Africa (BUSA)
SABCOHA and Busa signed a record of understanding in early 2005 with the aim of developing a comprehensive strategy around HIV/AIDS for the private sector in South Africa. Busa represents South African business on macro-economic issues and other national and international matters affecting business. SABCOHA has contributed to business’s position on the issue of self-funded ARV programmes and fringe benefit tax. SABCOHA has helped Busa develop international policy around HIV/AIDS and employment. In April 2006, SABCOHA and Busa jointly hosted the first ever private sector conference on HIV/AIDS, entitled “Taking our response to the next level”.

German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ)

SABCOHA is working with the GTZ to assist in the formation of the Pan African Business Coalitions on HIV/Aids. It will use the PABC as the conduit to provide technical assistance to developing countries.

Nelson Mandela Metropole Business Coalition (NMMBC)

As part of its mission to empower business in the fight against HIV/AIDS, SABCOHA has formed a partnership with businesses in Port Elizabeth. With a focus on the automotive industry, SABCOHA and the NMMBC are in discussions to bring the NMBC under the SABCOHA umbrella.

The theme of the breakfast  on 14 May will be: "Has HIV/AIDS dropped off the strategic agenda of business leaders in South Africa? An update on progress and key challenges ahead" .

National Business Initiative (NBI)

SABCOHA and the National Business Initiative are working closely together and jointly organised a business breakfast to be held in May 2008 titled: "Has HIV/AIDS dropped off the strategic agenda of business leaders in South Africa? An update on progress and key challenges ahead." HIV/AIDS is impacting on economic activity and social progress around the world. The business costs of unmanaged HIV/AIDS are now well understood. Besides the costs to individual companies, unmanaged HIV/AIDS is hampering human resource development, undermining the skills base and driving away foreign investment.

International Organisations

Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

SABCOHA has received funding to the tune of $8,5-million in 2007 from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to strengthen SMME workplace HIV responses. The funding - $1,7-million a year for the next five years - will give a massive boost to SABCOHA's SMME-related programmes. The rollout of the CDC programme has required significant organisational focus but is proving to be a highly worthwhile experience.  

United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID)
SABCOHA could not run effectively without the generous seed funding received in 2003 from DFID, the UK government arm to fight poverty and promote development. Around half SABCOHA’s costs are covered by DFID, with the rest paid for by membership fees. Beyond this however, SABCOHA enjoys a strong partnership with DFID in receiving their advice and guidance in developing the correct strategic response from business to HIV and AIDS in South Africa.

United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Funding from USAID, the US agency that gives assistance in poverty alleviation enabled SABCOHA to launch BizAIDS, a programme to help very small businesses protect themselves against HIV and AIDS. The initiative aims to save jobs and protect business owners, families and broader communities. USAID funding has also facilitated the employment of a SABCOHA project manager, which has enhanced internal capacity and led to several positive spin-offs for the organisation.

International Executive Services Corps (IESC)
The BizAIDS programme was launched in partnership with the IESC, a United States non-profit organisation that promotes wealth and stability through private enterprise development. The IESC formed a partnership with SABCOHA to support very small businesses in South Africa, after its experience in Zambia with small business impacted by HIV/AIDS there. BizAIDS consists of a series of workshops that help businesses cope with and plan ahead for the ravages of HIV/AIDS.

Global Business Coalition
With over 200 members around the world, the Global Business Coalition is a force to be reckoned with. A United Nations initiative that originated in the United States, the GBC’s stated mission is “to harness the power of the global business community to end the HIV/AIDS pandemic”. The GBC aims to: expand the number and diversity of companies involved in fighting the pandemic; facilitate the use of their core competencies and products to this end; help companies to devise strategies to tackle HIV/AIDS in their workplaces and communities; and use the powerful business lobby to influence public policy on HIV/AIDS. While SABCOHA’s focus lies within South Africa, the GBC’s lies within the Southern African region as a whole. Although SABCOHA oversees SMMEs in the country, it also looks to the GBC for technical support and guidance on international best practice, however.

World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum, whose motto is “entrepreneurship in the global interest”, is an independent international organisation based in Geneva with 1 000 leading companies among its members. The WEF facilitates partnerships with the aim of achieving economic growth with social development. Its Global Health Initiative encourages greater private sector responses to HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. The GHI, assisted by SABCOHA, has helped enable large South African companies, namely Accenture, Volkswagen SA, Unilever and Eskom, to extend their HIV/AIDS workplace programmes into the smaller business environments along their supply chains. The initiative, launched in October 2005, is a critical step in the battle to get smaller companies, which are hampered by resource shortages, to respond to the AIDS crisis.

World Bank
In February 2005 the World Bank and SABCOHA launched its Guidelines for Building Better Coalitions Against HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. As the World Bank’s Elizabeth Ashbourne commented: “Coalitions assist companies by facilitating information sharing; permitting economies of scale in the development of workplace HIV/AIDS products and services; and create a strong and unified front for public policy debate and advocacy.” This unity is ever more crucial on a continent where 41 percent of companies are experiencing serious impacts as a result of HIV/AIDS, according to a survey cited by the World Bank.

InWEnt (Capacity Building International Germany)
SABCOHA is a partner in a groundbreaking initiative in the Eastern Cape, led by InWEnt (Capacity Building International Germany) and the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC), to train SMMEs in HIV/AIDS mitigation in the workplace. The Eastern Cape AIDS Council is another partner in the project, which began in mid-2005 with the initial training of 12 service providers, followed by the training of the SMMEs themselves. So far, 30 SMMEs, ranging in size from 10 to 120 employees, have been trained and have started workplace-based interventions. SMMEs in the construction and agricultural sectors, which are unable to finance HIV interventions themselves, have so far been targeted. The project aims to train a total of 200 small businesses altogether, and the next 80 SMMEs have already been earmarked. SABCOHA is expected to bring human resources to the project by opening a regional office in Port Elizabeth shortly.