Slow ARV Takeup for South African HIV/AIDS
South African mining firm AngloGold Ashanti, reportedly the country's largest
company, has claimed that only 27% of its 2,700 employees requiring treatment
for HIV/AIDS-related conditions are receiving the antiretroviral (ARV) drugs
that the company distributes free of charge. The slow acceptance rate among
AngloGold's 36,000 staff has been attributed to social stigma surrounding the
disease.
The company has also criticised the National Union of Mineworkers, which it
claims does little to encourage acceptance of ARVs. However, the union has countered
that requests for treatment tend to lead to discrimination, and that the company
fails to continue treatment for workers once they leave employment with AngloGold.
Poor uptake of ARVs at AngloGold, and also at fellow mining concern AngloAmerican, mirrors slow progress in the country at large. Roughly 20% of South Africans are estimated to be HIV positive, although local activists have largely blamed government reluctance to boost conventional treatment for previous failures in halting the disease's spread. Meanwhile, despite a recent US$500mn tender for ARV drugs, officials continue to equivocate over the best means to combat HIV/AIDS. South African leader Thabo Mbeki has recently argued that good nutrition is more effective than ARVs as a means to ward off the disease.
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