WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2003-12-30 Posted By: Jan
From the News Archives of: WWW.AfricanCrisis.Org
Date & Time Posted: 12/30/2003 6:24:49 AM
Botswana: HIV infection rate: 40%
[Note. This article is about HIV apathy… but hidden in it is the interesting statement that HIV infection rates in Botswana is now a staggering 40%. Jan]
South African multinational companies are dragging their heels when it comes to implementing HIV/AIDS policies in their Botswana subsidiaries, according to a new report by the Norwegian aid agency Fafo and the Botswana National Productivity Centre.
The study, which surveyed 100 companies across the economic spectrum, highlights how the apparent double standards between what South African companies do at home and across the northern border to Botswana is making the country’s casual labourers particularly vulnerable to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
“(South African) provision of voluntary HIV/AIDS testing and counselling and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases and opportunistic infections is by no means ideal, but it is much poorer in Botswana,” says the report.
The study found that South African operations were more likely to have dedicated HIV/AIDS budgets, and to have introduced more education and training programmes than their Botswana subsidiaries.
The study’s authors say the apparent paralysis on the part of the Botswana subsidiaries is largely due to the fact that they are run as franchises.
“The crossborder franchise relationship (is) fraught with vagueness about who has control over decision making, most critically in the area of HIV/AIDS,” says the report.
The study also blames South African companies’ labour practices, saying that many companies had exported “non standard” forms of contracting workers, such as using casual labour hired from a daily labour pool. The Botswana subsidiaries of South African multinationals used casual labour much more extensively than Botswana-based firms.
Casual labourers have little or nothing in the way of a social security net with no medical insurance, sick leave, or the HIV/AIDS benefits offered to permanent staff making them much more vulnerable to the effects of the disease.
Botswana has one of the world’s highest HIV/AIDS rates, with an estimated 40% of its population infected with the disease.
The study also highlighted stark differences between how South African and Botswana companies perceived the potential effect of HIV/AIDS upon their businesses.
The Botswana subsidiaries and Botswana companies were concerned about how the pandemic would affect their survival their future financial sustainability and market position and generally reported greater skills shortages than the South African companies surveyed.
The South African multinationals indicated that they were most concerned about the direct costs of HIV/AIDS and its effect on productivity.
Although the South African companies were doing more on the HIV/AIDS front than their Botswana subsidiaries, the study emphasised that domestic companies’ efforts were not ideal.
“There is a long way to go before any of the companies we studied approach compliance with the South African Development Community code on HIV/AIDS and employment, and by extension the various codes that apply to them in both countries,” the report said.
Source: AllAfrica.com
URL: http://allafrica.com/stories/200312290532.htm…br>