ATTENTION TO HIV/AIDS INCREASES AMONG LAGOS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 001044

SIPDIS

UNCLASSIFIED

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SOCI KHIV PGOV NI
SUBJECT: ATTENTION TO HIV/AIDS INCREASES AMONG LAGOS
BUSINESSES, BUT EFFECTS OF AIDS GO UNMEASURED



1. Summary: Little statistical information exists on
the effect of HIV/AIDS on the private sector in Lagos.
The number of businesses with AIDS policies and
programs has risen, but such efforts remain largely the
domain of large multi-national companies. Anecdotal
information indicates the HIV/AIDS stigma remains high
in the workplace. Though business people interviewed
assumed some colleagues had HIV/AIDS, none knew a
person who admitted to having HIV/AIDS. With so little
information on prevalence, Lagos businesses are unable
to quantify the effects of HIV/AIDS on absenteeism,
productivity, or staff turnover. If the relatively
sophisticated companies cannot quantify the effects, a
fortiori companies in smaller markets in Nigeria would
also be unable to measure the effects. End summary.


2. Methodology: to gain some expression of the effect
of HIV/AIDS on businesses in Lagos in the absence of
statistical data, econoff spoke with the managing
director of the Nigerian branch of a West Africa
regional bank, the corporate affairs manager of the
Nigerian subsidiary of an international beverage
company, the medical director for the Nigerian
subsidiary of a multinational oil company, the general
manager of one of Nigeria's largest livestock
production companies, and the executive secretary of
the Nigerian Business Coalition Against AIDS (NIBUCAA).
The USG currently supports NIBUCAA's project to get
companies to institute HIV/AIDS workplace policy under
the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through
USAID.

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Policies and Programs Increase
Among Larger Enterprises
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3. Among Nigerian businesses, attention to HIV/AIDS
has increased in recent years. An increasing number of
companies have HIV/AIDS policies and programs.
However, few smaller enterprises have policies or
programs. For example, NIBUCAA's entire membership is
composed of multinational companies, their Nigerian
subsidiaries, or the largest of Nigerian enterprises.
Even with this increased attention, two of the four
large companies interviewed have no HIV/AIDS workplace
policy or awareness program. One of the companies with
no internal policy supports HIV/AIDS-awareness programs
at several universities. A representative of the other
company said AIDS is not a "priority disease" for his
company, as they lose employees to "many diseases."
The company does, however, offer voluntary HIV testing
for employees. The NIBUCAA executive secretary said
several coalition members and other companies with
which he has worked do not want policies for individual
diseases; they prefer to address HIV/AIDS under their
general health policies.

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Employees with HIV/AIDS Still
Avoid Disclosing Status
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4. Despite a slight reduction in stigma over the past
several years and an increase in the number of Lagos
companies with HIV/AIDS policies, people living with
HIV/AIDS rarely disclose their status to co-workers or
management. One contact commented a "thick curtain of
secrecy" remains in place. He estimated that, two
years after implementation of a company AIDS policy and
continuing awareness programs, perhaps 10 percent of
employees have changed their attitudes regarding
HIV/AIDS. He said only few employees have used the
counseling and testing services the company provides.
He suggested the biggest problem is many people still
do not believe they will be personally affected by the
disease. The representative said, however, that
management considers HIV/AIDS programs an obligation to
employees and the company will continue its program
regardless of how many employees utilize it.


5. Another contact said he has seen a difference since
his company began awareness programs in 1997: people
talk about HIV/AIDS more frequently and knowledgeably.
He acknowledged, however, that the stigma remains. He
said generally, people do not want to know others' HIV
status and they do not want others to know their
status. The company works to instill in its managers
the belief that if they care about business, they have
to care about HIV/AIDS.


6. Seeming to support the statement that people do not
want to know each others' status, none of the
representatives, other than the medical director of one
of the companies, knew of anyone in his or her company
currently living with HIV/AIDS. One contact said that
of his company's 2,500 employees, he knew of four who
died of AIDS in the last two years. He knew the cause
of death of these four because they used the company
clinic. He acknowledged that others unknown to him may
have died of AIDS, particularly since many seriously
ill employees simply quit work.

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Comment
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7. With so little information on employees' HIV
status, the effect of HIV/AIDS on productivity,
absenteeism, and staff turnover goes largely
unidentified and currently not measurable among Lagos
businesses. None of the representatives had an idea of
the level of impact on their company. Until the
effects become more measurable, the primary incentive
for companies to institute HIV/AIDS policies and
programs will continue to be a sense of corporate
obligation or fear of the potential consequences if
current HIV/AIDS prevalence escalate.