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In South Africa, experts believe that the mining industry is hardest hit by HIV/AIDS, with HIV infection rates above 20% among miners. Given national statistics and based on our HIV testing statistics we estimate one in five of our employees is HIV positive.
HIV/AIDS has had a marked impact on illness rates, absenteeism and employee deaths as well as the general wellbeing of the communities where we operate. It presents a risk to our business but one we finally believe we are able to manage successfully.
The Lonmin HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis Steering Committee was launched on 29 July 2010 with representatives from both management and our employees. The Committee finalised the comprehensive HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis Strategy and will meet on a quarterly basis to monitor the implementation of the strategy.
Through the HIV/AIDS Strategy we will reflect on the current situation, the strategic objectives and the plan of action to mitigate HIV and Tuberculosis infections so that we can manage the impact of AIDS on the Company. The strategy will uphold principles of equality and non-discrimination; privacy and confidentiality; access to information; and access to health services and support.
The wellness programme targets all HIV-positive employees and involves the provision of prophylactic treatment to prevent opportunistic infections, supplying nutritional and vitamin supplements and six-monthly monitoring of CD4 counts. Once an HIV-positive employee’s CD4 T-lymphocyte count is below the acceptable limit, they are encouraged to join the ART programme. We make this available through the employee’s medical aid with no additional cost. Employees are offered ART for life.
Our partnership to fund Virax’s Southern Africa HIV Therapeutic Vaccine Project drew to a close in 2010. The project involved South African and multinational mining companies with interests where HIV is endemic, forming a consortium to provide funding for the development of the VIR 201 vaccine. The participating companies all acknowledge their wider social interest in supporting the development of a vaccine as part of their response to HIV/AIDS. Although this trial failed to yield a proven therapeutic vaccine against HIV, we believe that there was an encouraging move in the right direction.
We are encouraged by the number of our employees on our ART programme, but we failed to reach our target of 620 employees enrolled in our wellness programmes with only 498 employees enrolled. A contributing factor of this is that some employees are redirected to participate in our ART programme on entry into the wellness programme as a result of their CD4 counts. Once an HIV-positive employee’s CD4 T-lymphocyte count is below the acceptable limit, they are encouraged to join the ART programme. We make this available through the employee’s medical aid with no additional cost. ART are offered to our employees for life. In 2010 we had 1,349 patients on ART compared to 962 in 2009. The lower participation in 2009 is partially as a result of the restructuring and reorganisational process the Company followed.
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