BMW South Africa’s HIV/Aids workplace programme has received a “highly commended” acknowledgement from the New York-based Global Business Coalition on HIV and Aids.
BMW South Africa’s HIV/Aids workplace programme has received a “highly commended” acknowledgement from the New York-based Global Business Coalition on HIV and Aids (GBC).
BMW’s programme met the GBC awards’ criteria for contributing to HIV/Aids awareness, prevention, care and treatment of employees and community members. The GBC is dedicated to combating the Aids epidemic using the business sector’s skills and expertise. It has an alliance with 114 international businesses – with over four million employees in 178 countries.
More than 2 000 employees, or 68 per cent of the workforce, have volunteered to participate in BMW’s HIV/Aids testing and counselling programme in the past 14 months. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Health Initiative case study on BMW’s programme, this is the highest recorded level of voluntary testing amongst corporate companies worldwide.
BMW recently expanded the programme to its dealers and suppliers and has established resources in surrounding communities by training local doctors in HIV/Aids management.
“The commitment of our employees to a strong internal HIV/Aids programme is obvious,” says Ian Robertson, managing director of BMW South Africa. “With this kind of participation, we are confident that we are taking the right steps to manage the risks of the disease at BMW and to ensure the wellness of our employees.”