Health Case Studies
The management of HIV/AIDS continues to be a critical global health issue. While the prevalence of the disease in the African subcontinent is still increasing, there are also a number of other countries where incidence is increasing and potentially could lead to significant public health challenges. These countries include China and India, where population numbers provide the environment for a potential pandemic that could be of a greater size than that in sub-Saharan Africa.
HIV/AIDS Management Programs
In our African operations we have long-standing programs to minimise the potential impact of HIV/AIDS on our employees and their dependants. We also promote a number of community-based programs that deal with the management of those impacted by the disease. Most of our operations in the region offer voluntary testing and counselling programs to employees, under the strictest confidentiality; in general, these programs are being increasingly utilised. From the testing programs, it is estimated that currently about 15 per cent of our employees in these operations are HIV positive, compared to about 30 per cent of contractors.
Voluntary testing programs for employees are supported by universal medical insurance, which offers access to appropriate treatment methods for the disease. In many cases, treatment programs offered to employees are overseen by specialist external resources, again acting in strictest confidence, which ensure that the employee receives a fully coordinated management program for the disease and that the process for management keeps pace with new developments in medical science. These resources are fully funded, either through the insurance arrangements or as a separate entity.
Our involvement in community programs has focused on those providing assistance to people directly and indirectly impacted by the disease. This includes the operation of hostels to assist in the management of those suffering the illness and the support of others impacted as a consequence. Recently, a hostel of this type was developed at one of our mine sites from a building that was once used to house groups of male workers, a practice that was known to increase the risk of HIV/AIDS. As Company policy is to minimise the use of this type of housing in preference to a locally employed stable workforce, the need for such accommodation was reduced and could be put to use in a positive way to assist management of the pandemic.
Our Company Charter expresses our commitment to the communities in which we operate. It is known that, although treatment for HIV/AIDS may be accessible to those with employment that provides medical care directly or through insurance, there is a great proportion of the population affected who have less access to treatment. The scale of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa makes it difficult for public health infrastructure to deliver the complicated treatment required for managing the disease. In many regions, resources are overwhelmed by the requirements.
There is a critical need to find simpler and more deliverable treatment mechanisms to be applied to populations in this predicament. While southern Africa provides the most urgent challenge in this respect, it is feasible that other nations such as China and India may also need such an approach to mass treatment.
Immune Therapy with Potential
An Australian company, Virax, has developed an immune therapy for HIV/AIDS that is given as an injection, similarly to a vaccine. While the search for a preventive vaccine for the disease has been disappointing, this treatment has shown some potential to fight the virus in those who are infected and potentially reduce progression of the disease. The benefit of this treatment is that it would only need to be given on an infrequent basis and would be administered under direct observation, ensuring that the person received correct therapy. If this type of treatment proves to be successful, it will offer a solution to the significant infrastructure issues hampering the management of HIV/AIDS epidemics in developing countries.
We have been supporting Virax in an investigation of the potential to run a clinical trial of their product in South Africa. There is great interest amongst regulatory and health authorities in the country to conduct this trial. Further to the initial support given to Virax, funding has been provided to assist in developing an outline of the clinical trial and in seeking further financial support to conduct the program. The focus for further support has been on the corporate community, in the hope that a consortium may be formed to progress this important initiative. Consequent to this, we have committed to significant cornerstone funding to the program if all requirements can be met.
With the development of this initiative, we believe that we are providing an holistic approach to the management of HIV/AIDS that reflects all facets of our Company Charter.
