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INTERVIEW - Dr. Anthony
Pramualratana, Executive Director, Thailand Business Coalition
on AIDS |
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| "Prevention is cheap and works
extremely well" |
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| What are you most proud of in terms of
the achievements of the Thailand Business Coalition on AIDS? |
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| In the last decade, the Thailand Business Coalition on AIDS
has approached and worked with more than 3,000 businesses in
Thailand. I am proud that since our establishment in 1994 we
have had the opportunity to directly or indirectly get involved
in the establishment of business responses to AIDS in over a
dozen countries in Africa and Asia. Through this time I have
met businessmen and women whom I call 'committed diamonds' in
their response to HIV/AIDS. My gratitude and great respect go
to these men and women from both large and small enterprises.
For readers of this article I would say: Go in search of these
committed individuals in your own country, as they are not hard
to find. When you do find them, give them guidance and assistance
to work on HIV and AIDS. They will be great advocates and implementers
of positive and compassionate change in your society. Lessons
learnt from working on AIDS will make us all better human beings. |
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| What should business do in response to
HIV/AIDS? Can you give a best practice example from Thailand? |
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| There are numerous good examples of how companies effectively
manage HIV/AIDS in the workplace. Best practices include businesses
conducting regular HIV/AIDS awareness and education programmes,
policies and procedures that effectively and compassionately
manage employees living with HIV/AIDS, and regular community
outreach programmes related to HIV/AIDS. Other examples include
businesses that do not conduct pre- or post employment compulsory
testing and do not terminate employees purely on the basis of
HIV status. |
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| Many businesses in Thailand and Asia undertake these practices
for three interrelated reasons, either because they have HIV
positive staff or because of the organization's values demonstrating
their corporate social responsibility, or finally because they
find that addressing HIV/AIDS in the workplace is a good management
practice. |
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| Do businesses have a role in fighting stigma
and discrimination? |
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| Yes, the private sector definitely needs to address
stigma and discrimination in the workplace. But business coalitions
and their networks cannot do it alone. This is a key area for
strategic partnerships between government, the private sector
and civil society. The private sector employs most of the adult
population around the world. We experience on a weekly basis
workplace situations where employees are fearful of colleagues
that are rumored to have HIV. The private sector has a 'captive
audience' in their employees. They have a controlled working
environment where awareness, education and non-discrimination
messages can be shared-and perhaps much better than in the larger
community. |
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| Do you think South-South collaboration
among business communities has a role to play in the global
response? |
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| Of course it does. Examples of Daimler-Chrysler and Standard
Chartered Bank come to mind. They have a comprehensive programme
in South Africa and saw a clear business reason to roll this
programme out on a global basis. Many of the businesses that
belong to the Global Business Coalition on AIDS have begun to
implement their HIV/AIDS programmes in a serious and committed
way in their various country offices. |
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| However, the prevalence of the epidemic in Southern Africa
and Asia is different and this difference results in many Asian
workplaces placing less importance on their programmes. HIV/AIDS
in Asia may never be as serious as in Africa (though rates in
Eastern Europe, India and China may be proving this wrong),
and advocacy messages may have to be different. In Asia we have
found that effective human resource management, such as education,
non-discrimination and continuation of employment, are key factors
of good management. |
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| What advice would you give to business
communities in the early stages of the epidemic? |
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| Prevention is cheap and works extremely well. I would ask
businesses to ponder the following questions: What will you
do with your first HIV employee case? What will you do to address
discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS in the workplace?
What will you do if your employees refuse to work with a colleague
rumoured to have HIV? What will you do if you have HIV? I certainly
hope this will never happen to a business. But can you be sure?
Dedicated awareness and education of your staff can prevent
this form of unpreparedness. Sustained success in businesses
and the workplace will need a coordinated effort in the private
sector, supported by a willing national government and NGOs
operating in the country. I urge both governments and NGOs to
reach out to the private sector to get them on board. Many businesses
want to get involved but don't know who to contact, what choices
they have to contribute back to the society they operate in,
or where to go for assistance. |
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| Dr. Anthony Pramualratana is Executive Director
of the Thailand Business Coalition on AIDS. |
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| Source: CHOICES Magazine |
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