More than 33 million people around the world are HIV positive today. The virus primarily affects the working population, pushing businesses into the front line of the fight against the disease. A growing number of large international groups, including AREVA, are getting involved in efforts to provide information and to prevent and treat the disease.
The spread of Aids is a matter of concern in many regions. In some countries of southern Africa, life expectancy has gone from 55/62 years 20 years ago to 32/37 years today.
The magnitude of the pandemic in these countries comes on top of the human drama lived by every person with the disease. It is a tragedy that has major social and economic consequences for the entire community. The working population in particular is heavily affected. As a result:
- companies are faced with growing costs due to absenteeism, low morale and productivity, and increased healthcare expenses, among other things;
- there are macroeconomic impacts on the markets: lower productivity, loss of income by the working population, negative impact on growth, poverty, etc.
According to the World Bank, “economic growth has reversed” in some countries. The disease and the lack of medical infrastructure are a threat to the future of young generations.
To meet the challenges, AREVA is providing support in the field throughout the group while maintaining its involvement at the international level.
Multinational companies have been mobilizing against Aids for a number of years. Long based in Niger, AREVA naturally took action in that country first, with early initiatives dating to the first decade of this century. Today, its actions are structured around two aspects:
- the development of a comprehensive HIV/Aids case management program: prevention, screening, access to treatment and support;
- integration in the national health program and partnership with local players aimed at strengthening their capabilities and ensuring the sustainability of actions taken.
In China, AREVA launched a program with Marie Stopes International, an NGO recognized for its experience in implementing Aids programs at the workplace. Employee information and awareness raising sessions are held on the characteristics of the virus, its modes of transmission and high risk behaviors. This prevention phase is vital, as Aids is still poorly understood in China. However, it was not possible to conduct screening, as was done in Niger, as AREVA could not guarantee the confidentiality of results. Symbolically, activities in China were kicked off on December 1, 2006 to coincide with World Aids Day.
In Niger, AREVA started implementing in 2007 a triennial agreement to prevent Aids and provide care for its victims signed with the government of the Republic of Niger and the public interest group Esther.
In India, several HIV/Aids assessment missions were conducted at our sites. These led to the establishment of field action plans.
Le groupe a adopté une politique SIDA en formalisant son implication dans un document spécifique reprenant les valeurs, les principes et les engagements d’actions : respects des droits de l’homme, non-discrimination, confidentialité, intégration dans les politiques nationales de santé.
Cette politique constitue ainsi le cadre nécessaire à la contribution opérationnelle du groupe dans ses pays d’implantation.
Par ailleurs, cette politique illustre deux des engagements de développement durable d’AREVA : l’intégration dans les territoires et l’implication sociale.
International mobilization is the third level of AREVA’s Aids strategy. Anne Lauvergeon has been a member of the board of directors the Global Business Coalition on HIV/Aids (GBC) since 2004. Chaired by Richard Holbrooke, a former US diplomat, the coalition brings together more than 220 multinational corporations committed to the fight against Aids.
The objective is to facilitate the sharing of experience among businesses, strengthen their contributions, and develop partnerships with key international players, including governments, the World Bank, the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and others.
AREVA is also a member of SIDA-Entreprises, the French extension of the GBC. Together, GBC and SIDA-Enterprises founded “Partners against Aids” to manage aid funds provided by the Agence française de développement (AFD, the French development agency). The objective is to provide advice and training to businesses interested in initiating or strengthening programs to fight Aids for their employees, their families and the surrounding communities.