India Inc joins hands to fight HIV/AIDS

In a unique initiative, the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) has signed an MoU with Ballarpur Industries and ACC Cement to provide free anti-retroviral drugs at their therapy centres.

Joint Director (IEC) NACO Mayank Agarwal told The Indian Express that the move was part of a public private partnership. NACO aims at providing a supportive environment, specially when corporate conglomerates such as Ballarpur Industries and ACC Cements have joined hands to fight HIV/AIDS under the aegis of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

The corporate anti-retroviral therapy (ART) centres are being facilitated by CII for workplace employees and even nearby communities suffering from HIV. NACO will provide free diagnostic test kits (HIV/CD4), ARV drugs (first line) and drugs for opportunistic infections at Ballarpur Industries' unit in Chandrapur, Maharashtra and at the ART centre of ACC Cements at Wadi in Karnataka. These centres will be recognised as NACO designated centres.

Meanwhile, a project-Access to Care and Treatment (ACT)-has been initiated by CII along with four other NGO partners through a consortium approach. The consortium comprises Population Foundation of India, Engender Health, Freedom Foundation, Indian Network of Positive People and CII. Corporate India has responded by having a workplace policy which includes a plethora of services which corporates have signed up for.

What's more, India Inc is training employees to conduct HIV/AIDS awareness sessions at the workplace. HUL, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, SRF group, Bilt, Apollo Tyres and Transport Corporation of India are some of the companies which have partnered the International Labour Organisation (ILO), whereby the ILO trains the companies' employees on disseminating information about HIV/ AIDS at the workplace.

Not only that, corporates are educating truckers about HIV/ AIDS prevention, control and care at their factories and have also tied up with the state AIDS control societies for awareness sessions.