The awards were presented in Port Elizabeth on 30 October. Nelson Mandela Bay municipality includes Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage and Despatch.

Netty Green, the director of Training 4 Africa, helped launch these awards with a committee of volunteers from local businesses, all with a passion for promoting wellness, under the banner of the Port Elizabeth Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PERCCI) and in partnership with the South African Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (SABCOHA).

"The awards promote the business case for wellness in the workplace," says Green. "HIV and TB are big problems in our area and we wanted to focus companies on what they could do to get involved. We also included NGOs in the awards to showcase their ability to deliver effective services in the health and wellness field."

There was an enthusiastic response from small, micro, medium and large businesses to the awards; participation was free of charge. Included in these organisations were non-profit organisations, government departments and companies in a variety of sectors, such as financial services, transport, media, health care, food and beverages, and telecommunications.

Important criteria for judging were commitment, innovation, sustainability and resourcefulness in encouraging proactive attitudes towards health among employees. The competition was judged by Brad Mears, the chief executive of SABCOHA; Sam Venter, of PERCCI; Dr Kasongo, of Pathcare; and Dr Margo de Kooker, of Training 4 Africa.

The focus was on all health issues, from HIV and TB, to exercise and a healthy lifestyle, to social and environmental initiatives. In considering health and wellness portfolios, the judging panel looked at the inclusion and execution of one or more of the following domains: HIV/AIDS programmes, health and wellness programmes, community service and supplier chain initiatives.

Awards weren't linked to the size of the organisation or its budget, but to the resourcefulness and effectiveness of its health and wellness programmes.

Entrants competed against similar-sized companies and each category had its own criteria. Awards presented were: NGO Award, Small/Micro Business Award, Medium Business/Supply Chain Award, Large Business Award and Merit Certificates.

Those small and micro businesses - from two to 50 employees - that entered the competition, submitted portfolios with a variety of information, including their health and wellness programme's interventions and its mission statement. They also had to state the level of involvement of the company's leadership in the programme, the communication strategies used to inform employees of health issues, the programme's monitoring and evaluation systems and new ideas that had been implemented to make it innovative and different from others.

In the medium and large business category, particular focus was placed on how resourceful companies had been. Businesses in this category typically have between 51 and 350 employees - medium-sized business - or more than 350 employees - large business.

In evaluating these businesses, judges looked at wide ranging factors, such as whether the organisation's policies included the guidelines and principles set out in the Southern African Development Community Code of Good Practice on HIV and Employment. They also focused on how the programme was managed and whether the business had conducted a baseline study, determining knowledge, attitudes, behaviours and practices.

Included in the evaluation criteria was whether an awareness programme that led to health seeking behaviour had been implemented, and if it was specifically targeted at addressing trends established in the baseline study.

Judges examined whether the business had identified HIV-related training needs at different levels of the organisation and if it had determined the degree of stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV/AIDS. Also considered was if the organisation's HIV programme incorporated home-based care for either employees, their relatives or the broader community, as well as if it offered a voluntary counselling and testing programme, a treatment and care facility and a comprehensive HIV prevention component, including access to condoms and femidoms.

The Volkswagen South Africa branch in Uitenhage won first prize in the large business category. Dr Alex Govender, the company's manager for corporate health and safety services, says: "We offer a comprehensive health and wellness programme and the award shows us we're on the right track. We receive a lot of support from unions and top management which creates an enabling environment to perform our work."  - By Thandiwe McCloy

Awards were made in five categories:

NGO Award

First: Missionvale Care Centre

Second: La Pumilanga

Third: House of Resurrection

Small Business Award

First: Saffil Automotive

Second: KMS Medical

Medium Business/Supply Chain Award

First: Johnson Controls

Second: Ford SA

Third: Coega Development Corporation

Large Business Award

First: Volkswagen SA

Second: Telkom SA

Third: Goodyear SA

Merit Certificates

General Motors South Africa

Nelson Mandela Bay municipality

SpecSavers

PERCCI-SABCOHA Health & Wellness Awards Picture Gallery