The Spreading AIDS Pandemic
The AIDS pandemic is reaching such catastrophic dimensions that, in a historic move, the U.S. government has formally declared it a threat to U.S. national security. The declaration may help raise the global business community’s awareness of the human and economic devastation being wrought by the disease worldwide.
According to government analysts, the spread of AIDS could well set off ethnic wars and topple free-market democracies in various areas of the world, including southern Africa, south Asia, and the former Soviet Union. The U.S. National Security Council, which has never before been involved in fighting an infectious disease, has been required to direct a rapid reassessment of the U.S. government’s efforts to combat AIDS.
Some U.S. politicians have suggested that the Clinton Administration’s move is meant to appeal to certain domestic interest groups, but the data indicate that a genuine global crisis is at hand. AIDS is spreading more rapidly than predicted, particularly in developing nations -- those with the fewest resources to devote to study or treatment. Worldwide, about 16,000 new infections occur each day. The infection rates are highest in sub-Saharan Africa. Government analysts project that a quarter of southern Africa’s population is likely to die of AIDS.
Even more appalling, the situation in Africa could be just the tip of the iceberg. “We are just at the beginning of a pandemic the likes of which we have not seen in this century, and in the end, will probably never have seen in history,” states Sandra Thurman of the Office of National AIDS Policy. By 2010, south Asia could surpass Africa in the number of HIV infections, according to a U.S. intelligence report. Although the number of infections is still relatively low in south Asia, the growth rate is high and governments are slow to respond. Infections are also growing rapidly in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
The repercussions could be devastating, according to the intelligence report. Aside from humanitarian crises, the rising rates of infection may well lead to widening military conflicts, infectious-disease-related trade embargoes, and restrictions on travel and immigration.
Slowing the spread of HIV and providing treatment for it are hindered by the sheer costs involved. AIDS is a tale of two worlds -- the haves and the have-nots -- writes journalist Aaron Derfel. A year of triple drug therapy treatment for AIDS -- effective for some patients, if they can afford the price -- can cost $18,000. Workers in some African countries, however, earn only several hundred dollars a year. The high cost of the drugs may be having a frightening impact on government policy in some nations. WiredNews reports that South African President Thabo Mbeki’s strange claim that there is no clear connection between HIV and AIDS is a sign that the nation wants to avoid the enormous cost of treatment programs.
Some experts note that current patent laws are preventing developing nations from getting affordable critical drugs. The Washington Post reports that the U.S. government “has agreed in principle to encourage cheaper access to life-saving drugs by relaxing hard-line positions that protect U.S. drugmakers’ intellectual property.” It seems likely that international legal debates over intellectual property issues will grow more intense in the near future.
Companies headquartered in wealthier nations may not appreciate the critical nature of the global AIDS crisis. “Leaders of U.S.-based companies, thinking in terms of their own country’s epidemic, need to reframe their awareness and their plans in light of the long-range business effects of global AIDS,” writes Nancy Breuer, who specializes in AIDS in the workplace. In the regions being hit hardest, AIDS- related deaths and illnesses cause many work-related problems, including a shrinking pool of available workers, increased costs of labor, rising healthcare expenses, greater worker absenteeism, higher new-employee training costs, greater disruption of family patterns, etc.
In Zimbabwe, for example, some large firms say that health expenses have doubled, consuming as much as 20% of businesses’ earnings. Some Tanzanian companies report that AIDS-related illnesses and deaths have cost more than their total annual profits. Some firms in Botswana say that AIDS-related expenses, now 1% of the total wage bill, are predicted to increase fivefold over the next six years.
A number of organizations are taking proactive steps to reduce AIDS- related problems. Barclays Bank in Zambia, for example, strives to help its workers fight AIDS by focusing on awareness and prevention. The severity of the situation hit home nearly a decade ago, when the company realized how many employees it was losing to the disease, reports managing director Iain Knapman. “When we looked at the figures of employees dying, we saw it was creeping up to such an extent that we had a very big problem,” notes Knapman. “Recruiting someone, training them and then seeing them die in their late 30s or early 40s is devastating. These were going to be the leaders and senior managers of the future.”
Barclays drew up an AIDS policy and launched a prevention program, using its in-house publication for education and awareness, offering free condoms in workers’ restrooms and providing employees free access to medical counseling services. The financial institution also incorporates nondiscrimination measures as part of the plan and does not test its workforce or applicants for HIV. Knapman reports that the initiative has been effective in lowering the death rate among workers. Since the program was launched, annual workforce mortality rates have dropped from 2% to less than 1%. Barclays is now regarded as one of several Zambian companies that serve as role models for workplace efforts against AIDS, according to the Financial Times.
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For more information about AIDS as a national security threat, please see
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40503-2000Apr29.html
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/july-dec99/aidssplash_8-31.html
For information about South Africa and AIDS, see
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,35859,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/daily/0,2960,43510,00.html
According to government analysts, the spread of AIDS could well set off ethnic wars and topple free-market democracies in various areas of the world, including southern Africa, south Asia, and the former Soviet Union. The U.S. National Security Council, which has never before been involved in fighting an infectious disease, has been required to direct a rapid reassessment of the U.S. government’s efforts to combat AIDS.
Some U.S. politicians have suggested that the Clinton Administration’s move is meant to appeal to certain domestic interest groups, but the data indicate that a genuine global crisis is at hand. AIDS is spreading more rapidly than predicted, particularly in developing nations -- those with the fewest resources to devote to study or treatment. Worldwide, about 16,000 new infections occur each day. The infection rates are highest in sub-Saharan Africa. Government analysts project that a quarter of southern Africa’s population is likely to die of AIDS.
Even more appalling, the situation in Africa could be just the tip of the iceberg. “We are just at the beginning of a pandemic the likes of which we have not seen in this century, and in the end, will probably never have seen in history,” states Sandra Thurman of the Office of National AIDS Policy. By 2010, south Asia could surpass Africa in the number of HIV infections, according to a U.S. intelligence report. Although the number of infections is still relatively low in south Asia, the growth rate is high and governments are slow to respond. Infections are also growing rapidly in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
The repercussions could be devastating, according to the intelligence report. Aside from humanitarian crises, the rising rates of infection may well lead to widening military conflicts, infectious-disease-related trade embargoes, and restrictions on travel and immigration.
Slowing the spread of HIV and providing treatment for it are hindered by the sheer costs involved. AIDS is a tale of two worlds -- the haves and the have-nots -- writes journalist Aaron Derfel. A year of triple drug therapy treatment for AIDS -- effective for some patients, if they can afford the price -- can cost $18,000. Workers in some African countries, however, earn only several hundred dollars a year. The high cost of the drugs may be having a frightening impact on government policy in some nations. WiredNews reports that South African President Thabo Mbeki’s strange claim that there is no clear connection between HIV and AIDS is a sign that the nation wants to avoid the enormous cost of treatment programs.
Some experts note that current patent laws are preventing developing nations from getting affordable critical drugs. The Washington Post reports that the U.S. government “has agreed in principle to encourage cheaper access to life-saving drugs by relaxing hard-line positions that protect U.S. drugmakers’ intellectual property.” It seems likely that international legal debates over intellectual property issues will grow more intense in the near future.
Companies headquartered in wealthier nations may not appreciate the critical nature of the global AIDS crisis. “Leaders of U.S.-based companies, thinking in terms of their own country’s epidemic, need to reframe their awareness and their plans in light of the long-range business effects of global AIDS,” writes Nancy Breuer, who specializes in AIDS in the workplace. In the regions being hit hardest, AIDS- related deaths and illnesses cause many work-related problems, including a shrinking pool of available workers, increased costs of labor, rising healthcare expenses, greater worker absenteeism, higher new-employee training costs, greater disruption of family patterns, etc.
In Zimbabwe, for example, some large firms say that health expenses have doubled, consuming as much as 20% of businesses’ earnings. Some Tanzanian companies report that AIDS-related illnesses and deaths have cost more than their total annual profits. Some firms in Botswana say that AIDS-related expenses, now 1% of the total wage bill, are predicted to increase fivefold over the next six years.
A number of organizations are taking proactive steps to reduce AIDS- related problems. Barclays Bank in Zambia, for example, strives to help its workers fight AIDS by focusing on awareness and prevention. The severity of the situation hit home nearly a decade ago, when the company realized how many employees it was losing to the disease, reports managing director Iain Knapman. “When we looked at the figures of employees dying, we saw it was creeping up to such an extent that we had a very big problem,” notes Knapman. “Recruiting someone, training them and then seeing them die in their late 30s or early 40s is devastating. These were going to be the leaders and senior managers of the future.”
Barclays drew up an AIDS policy and launched a prevention program, using its in-house publication for education and awareness, offering free condoms in workers’ restrooms and providing employees free access to medical counseling services. The financial institution also incorporates nondiscrimination measures as part of the plan and does not test its workforce or applicants for HIV. Knapman reports that the initiative has been effective in lowering the death rate among workers. Since the program was launched, annual workforce mortality rates have dropped from 2% to less than 1%. Barclays is now regarded as one of several Zambian companies that serve as role models for workplace efforts against AIDS, according to the Financial Times.
====================================================
For more information about AIDS as a national security threat, please see
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40503-2000Apr29.html
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/july-dec99/aidssplash_8-31.html
For information about South Africa and AIDS, see
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,35859,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/daily/0,2960,43510,00.html